One of the big rules in fiction is: the main character must change over the course of the story.  Another big rule is: characters must act in a believable fashion – they must stay in character.  Okay, now we have two rules that seem to oppose each other at times, but must play together within our manuscripts.  Or maybe these two rules aren’t opposed, but are the start of one rule explained in multiple parts.

A character must reflect reality – real people.  We, real people, learn and grow, stumble and try again, are good at some things and weak in others, and all have something beautiful in us as well as something ugly.  Everyone has a history as well as a future, and we dread some potential futures even as we look forward to others.  We may or may not act as expected all the time, but we have our reasons.  We change, but rarely from something strictly within, rather from an external influence: a rumor, a lesson, an observation, an experience, a conversation, a tragedy to ourselves or someone we know, a hardship, a blessing, a baby, a death, or even something small that sparks a realization – these small things are often the most meaningful over time.

When writing a character, I try to make her/him change only after an event, even a small event sparking a larger realization.  In between these changes, the character is static – almost predictable.  Fortunately, change is a constant in real life, so it happens often to my characters.  The trick to writing a believable character over the course of a novel is to establish the character early and show the events triggering each change.

Sometimes the best way to get to know a character is to find out what they want – what motivates them.  I’m not going to elaborate too much today, but I will give a small example.  I will let you see a little of my wishes, and from there you might be able to guess a little of my priorities, and my past.

If I had a genuine genie lamp, my three wishes would be:

3. To have the fan base of J. K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer without all the critics or stalker-type fans.

2. To be the perfect input-output machine.  Meaning, to:

• accumulate and retain information like Johnny 5 in Short Circuit
• access and process that information like Bean in Ender’s Shadow
• apply that information like Albert Scherbius
• articulate that information like Gouverneur Morris

 1. To be wealthy enough to spend my time traveling with my family, writing, and reading.

Do you see enough there to build a character profile?  Is there enough consistency to see a common thread yet enough variance to be multidimensional?  -I hope so; it’s me we’re talking about after all.  Feel free to make a character based on me – I would probably be honored… depends on the character, I guess.  You can also leave a few notes about your wishes, dreams, or goals.  Who knows, someone may make a character based on you.

People commonly accept that there are five senses: smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight.  We know this, and yet many of us (me included) choose to ignore many, if not most, of the senses in our descriptions.  We prevent our readers from fully experiencing our characters when we do this.  Other less known senses include: balance, acceleration, direction, and possibly (not really a sense) perception.  Those can be important as well.  I’m going to try to describe something without ever telling you what it is.

I focused the camera on the bright pink scar hidden behind black hair, which almost distracted me from the black eyes that were focused directly at me.

Okay, we have a start.  Don’t know if it is male or female; human or animal; alien, fantasy, or earthly; old, young, or somewhere between; or aggressive or passive.  However, we do know that we have its attention and it was recently injured.

A guttural growl exploded from its mouth.  It dropped to all fours and charged much faster than I could hope to run.  I stood my ground, hoping to call its bluff.

Now we have a sound, a growl.  We also know that it can stand upright and move on all fours, which is another visual.  We also judged acceleration and direction.

Its head rocked back and forth and plums of dust rose whenever it exhaled.  I wanted to run.  It smashed its paw into the ground, throwing clumps of earth and rock and causing vibrations under my feet.  My knees nearly gave out.

Now we know it is an animal.  Many of you might be able to guess at the kind.  It is large enough to make a person tremble, can cause the earth to vibrate, and it takes deep, intimidating breaths.

Two cubs walked into the clearing, whining.  It reared up and growled in my direction.  Pieces of spit and undigested food splattered over my face.  The last thing I remember before I fainted was the overwhelming smell of rotten fish.

Okay, if you pictured a bear, without me actually telling you, then I described it well – although I did cheat by using the cubs.  I used everything except taste and balance.  I could have used taste, but I didn’t want to go there.  Now we can go back and replace the word ‘it’ with ‘bear,’ ‘her,’ and ‘animal.’

I focused the camera on the bright pink scar hidden behind black hair, which almost distracted me from the black eyes that were focused directly at me.  A guttural growl exploded from the bear’s mouth.  It dropped to all fours and charged much faster than I could hope to run.  I stood my ground, hoping to call her bluff.  The animal’s head rocked back and forth and plums of dust rose whenever it exhaled.  I wanted to run.  The bear smashed its paw into the ground, throwing clumps of earth and rock and causing vibrations under my feet.  My knees nearly gave out.  Two cubs walked into the clearing, whining.  She reared up and growled in my direction.  Pieces of spit and undigested food splattered over my face.  The last thing I remember before I fainted was the overwhelming smell of rotten fish.

I chose an animal for this example, but the concept applies to aliens, fantasy creatures, people, and even to animate objects.  Try it yourself, using as many senses as you can: smell, taste, touch, sound, sight, balance, acceleration, direction, and perception.

“Every decision you make – every decision – is not a decision about what to do. It’s a decision about *Who You Are*. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do.”
  – Neale Donald Walsch

How true is the above quote?  Are we really defined by our actions?  If you are doing something wrong, you hope you are not defined by that action.  However, others can’t see what is on our inside, what we are thinking; they only see what we do.

How often do you read a news report about an alleged pedophile and think, “He needs to be locked up and the cell welded shut”?  How often do you open your wallets to a charity that helps kids, homeless, or victims of a natural disaster?  Why is that?  We don’t know who those people are inside.  We don’t know the motivations for each action.  But we do know what the actions are.

When you are developing a character, it is much the same.  You may have a character that is defined by what they think, but that would only be your main character.  The others are defined by what they do and say. 

Our readers are going to have good and bad thoughts about characters based upon the character’s conversations and reactions to situations.  So, if you are going to show the character saying or doing something, do it intentionally.  Every action, every decision, will define who they are.

• If someone always writes hand written messages and visits people’s homes for dinner, what type of person would you picture?  Would you visualize an older or younger person?
• If someone is sexting, texting, and consistently on the cell phone, would you picture someone in their 60s or someone under 25?
• If someone emails, uses cell phones, and IMs, do you see someone you know?  Do you see someone who lives or works in a city, is between 15 and 55, and has consistent access to the internet?
• If someone is making video calls, visiting blogs, and emailing, what comes to mind?  Do you see a tech savvy adult, who is either a business person or hobbyist of some sort?

Why is that?  Because ways to communicate has been changing and expanding at a quick pace.  This era (2000-2010) has more diversity in communication technology than any other time in history, and some may die out in the next few years.  Different generations and social classes have locked into specific modes of communication. 

While I am obviously going to be making generalizations and playing with stereotypes, I think you will see my point.  This is kind of the 2010 over-generalization primary forms of communication related to age/social class (you can bicker in the comments if you like):

• Drawings – young children that have been traumatized, architects, fashion designers, and crime scene investigators
• Walkie-talkies – kids
• Journals – teen girls
• Sexting – younger, more risqué people
• Social (online) games – teens and young adults, mostly males
• Video Calls – richer, more likely to be young business men
• vidBlogs – younger, dynamic, high-energy people
• Text – younger, mostly in cities, hipper
• Consistently on Cell – normally people younger than 35
• Instant Messaging – people with consistent access to the web
• Social Networks – baby boomers to kids
• Blogs – normally business/special interest people, age independent
• E-Mail – average / common adults for today 15-55
• Occasionally on Cell – average / common adults for today 15-55
• Pagers – In 1990 it was drug dealers, then medical field, then everyone, now back to just medical field
• Home Phone – non-techie people
• CBs – On-the-go business communications and hobbyists
• In Person Visits – family/church oriented people, normally older
• Hand Written Mail – almost exclusively seniors

I’m sure there are tons of methods that I forgot (and one that I purposefully excluded).  And you may disagree with the specifics of any one, or many, categories.  These are just to form guidelines for this snap-shot of history, April 14, 2010. 

When you introduce a new character, you can give them a very specific feel by describing how they are communicating.  They work effectively if you combined them.  Take these examples:

• John looked at the incoming text on his phone and slammed the privacy shield closed on his computer’s web cam.  The incoming message read, “OMG!  CANT BLIEVE U TALKD ME N2 THIS.  SHOW NE1 – UR D.E.A.D!”  John smiled as he shuffled over to his bed, flipping through the pictures Amber sent.
• John shook his friends’ hands as he backed out of the doorway.  “Sorry I have to leave so soon.  I know I don’t come by enough these days.  But I have to get these letters to the post office and Amber will be having supper on soon.”

If you can see the difference, then many of your readers will also.  While communication mode isn’t enough to solely describe your characters, it is a powerful enhancement to other forms of description.

For your writing challenge this week, try to find as many ways as possible to describe John’s leaving a conversation with anonymous friends to give attention to Amber.  Remember to use forms of communication to help define the age and social status of your characters.

What the story is about, its pace, where it’s going, and the plot are all obviously important as well, but the characters are the people the reader is “travelling” with, and the importance of them being not only believable, but interesting, cannot be overstated.  – Marea E. Johnson

One of my friends recently got torn up in a writers group because of his characters – they weren’t real to the other readers.  This bothered him (and me).  I thought about it a lot - a lot more than I want to admit. 

How would I react if someone told me that one of my characters, who I can visualize so clearly, is not believable?  That would be heart breaking.  It would be like someone telling me that one of my friends or family members is just a figment of my imagination.

So I tried to think of what makes a character believable to me, as a reader, and I came up with a short list.  A character must be:

• Well defined/developed – Do I understand where the character is coming from?  Has the writer done her/his homework about the characters past and present condition?  Has he/she conveyed the necessary information to me for me to understand the character?
• Consistent in reactions/rationale – Consistency doesn’t mean unchanging.  In fact, for me, it means the opposite when talking about a character.  Based on what I know of the character, do events change her/him/it in a way I can expect or at least understand?  Does the character’s thoughts and actions start at one point and develop at a rate that would be, well, believable?
• Within my experience – This is out of your hands.  If I have never met a person who matches your character, then he/she/it may never be believable.  For example:  I can understand physical pain.  I can understand giving into pain or continuing through it.  I can’t understand someone being trained to ignore pain.  I guess it happens; boxers and other fighters have to do it to an extent and even cooks might do it (hot pans, popping grease, etc).  But I haven’t done it and I don’t really know anyone that has been trained to do it.

That was my short list – the list before I decided that I needed to research.  After hours and hours of research spanning days and months and… (“Wait, wait, wait!  Didn’t you say ‘recently’?”).  Okay, I did a fair amount of research and found that my initial thoughts were not far off from what other writers and professors are recommending.

First, do your homework.  Develop the character until it/he/she comes alive.  I am a big proponent of character outlines – if not a physical one, at least a really good mental one.  However, I found some really good ideas online for more creative ways to developing your character:

• Lou Belcher recommends writing “a resume for each character,” and Jeff Heisler would have you “interview your character.”  These are great ideas, especially when put together.  You would get some history, skills, and geography from the resume and some personality from the interview.  Mahalo.com says to “Ask the hard-hitting, interesting questions, the things that most people don’t know” in the interview.  If done well, I can see where excerpts could be applied directly to the manuscript. 
• Hyacinth Winters asks writers to create a “character’s shopping list.”  This isn’t a grocery list, but a total shopping list.  You get an idea of a characters personality by what they buy, the other of things on the list, where they shop, how much they intend to spend, etc.  I would take it one step further and actually include what it is like to shop with them.  How do they interact with others?  Do they research their buys?  Do they read every label?  Do they try and pick up people at the store?  Oh, the questions just keep going.
• The article, “Create interesting and believable fiction characters” on essortment.com, says, “The best way to create believable yet interesting characters is to observe real people.”  I couldn’t agree more.  In the past I have recommended the same thing on other people’s blogs.  This is probably the most basic and fundamental part of doing homework as a writer – draw from reality.

Second, be consistent.  Consistency can be defined as “a harmonious uniformity or agreement among things or parts” and having the qualities of “reliability or uniformity.”  In writing, it is keeping your character in character and keeping your characters in line with other characters.

• Charles Bobbitt says, “They are believable because they all obey one simple rule: they act and think and talk in ways that are consistent with who (or what) they are.”  That doesn’t say they don’t change, events change people, but people normally don’t change without an event.
• Allen Teal adds, “Try not to make any character stand out too far above his or her counterparts. If you want to endow such a character with extraordinary abilities, the source of those abilities needs to be clearly revealed.”  I had never thought about this part, but it is so true.  When friends say, “I can do this…” or “I have done that…,” I don’t believe them.  I suspend belief until they ‘show me’ or at least explain the events that lead to them having the ability.  Writers have to do that for their readers – every time.

Third, the reader’s previous experience. I found zmkc’s comment on D. G. Myers’ blog:

Is there any way to formulate why some people are immensely attractive? I don’t think so – and I think your question about what makes characters believable is a similar kind of inquiry. Some things are indefinable – at least in the abstract.

I agree.  How can you define something that changes from reader to reader?  D. G. Myers’ full post - http://dgmyers.blogspot.com/2010/03/believable-character.html – explains my last point better than I can (it’s short, go read it).  It is up to the reader to believe the character you created.  No matter how much homework you do beforehand, no matter how well you relay that information to the written word, and no matter how consistent you are, there will be some people that just won’t believe while others will completely get it.

So, do your homework and develop the characters before you start writing, have consistent characters, and don’t worry too much if a few people don’t always get them – others will.

My first character sketch was not designed for developing a character, but for remembering the characteristics I had for an existing character.  It worked/works great for secondary characters that don’t change much and tracking infrequent characters.  I have made a couple of tweaks and hopefully it is better.

I have also created a new character outline to be used in conjunction with event pages.   This outline is for creating a well rounded character and, should you choose, tracking that character’s development through the events of the story. 

There is a marker box before each field on the character outline meant to be used with an additional page, Influential Events.  You put a number in the marker field to specify an event that modifies or changes the character, then add an Influential Events page and put the same number by an event.  You then describe what happened and how it affected the character. 

If used properly, you will be able to see what the character looks like at the beginning of the story as well as track the changes that happen to the character throughout the story.  You can also use the Influential Events page to set up events which occurred before the story that have shaped your character.

For example:

Ralph starts out atheistic.  That is what you put in the “Religion” field.  However, part of this story has to do with Ralph meeting God, so there will be an event that changes this attribute.  Put a number in the event marker box next to “Religion” on the outline.  For my example, this will be the third event, so I will put 3.  Then, on the Influential Events page, I will write down the “Character” – Ralph, and “Event #” -  3.  I will then fill in the fields except possibly “Chapter/Page” – this I can only fill in after I have written the scene.   

That’s it; you can look at the outline and clearly see the characters position at the beginning of a story, what will change (if there is a number in the box), and see how/when that change occurs by looking at the influential events page.  Not only can you track how a character changes, but you can also plot the changes and use this tool in your storyline planning.

Here’s what available now:

• I have added mannerisms, political leanings, and the point of introduction to the one-page Character Sketch.
• The full Character Outline includes everything from the sketch plus: aliases, nicknames, fears, abuses, indulgences, passions, temperament, background, event marker for each field, and the fatal flaw.
• Beyond the character sketch and outline, I have some additional pages that can be used for Address History and Employment History as well as Events that have positively or negatively influenced the character.

Writing challenge:

• Describe all of your minor characters using the Character Sketch
• Develop you main characters using the Character Outline and Influential Events page

I’m taking input on my next post.  I previously created a character sketch outline so I could manage my secondary/infrequent characters.  I am now interested in creating a full character outline template for my primary characters.  I am going to included everything that is on the One-Page Character Sketch as well as fears, abuses, indulgences, passions, mannerisms, temperament, background, and the fatal flaw.

If you think the character sketch would be useful to you, but is missing some items, let me know.  I will be taking suggestions until noon on Monday, March 29th.

Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it’s just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it.  – David Sedaris

A name carries some history with it.  More than anything else you write, a reader will bring personal bias and knowledge based on a name.  Some names are common, some are famous or infamous because of an individual or group, and some names can take you to a different place and or time.  All of those issues can be researched; pick one that enhances your character.  The reader will also bring their own baggage along with some names – that cannot be helped.

What image comes up when you hear Franz, Petrova, Gabriella, Degas, Edward, Obama, Siobhan, Chow, Smith, or River?  Does your mind picture different nationalities, time periods, or personalities?  I believe it should have.  Names follow patterns of culture, time, and geography.  Any number of pages exist on the internet that can help you pinpoint where a name came from, when it was popular, and if it has spread to other geographic areas.

Names become even more powerful when they happen in sets.  What family do you picture with each set of names:

• Antwaun, Tomika, and Roshawna
• Star, Hope, Joy, and Leaf
• Sven and Lars
• Jeremiah, Elijah, Mary, and Elisabeth
• Hoshi, Kazue, Ume, and Yamato

Do you see different cultures?  Different colors and nationalities?  Different cultural viewpoints?  Whether they are conservative or liberal?  Can you picture what conversations at the dinner table would sound like?  Carefully chosen names can save a writer hundreds of words of description by allowing the reader to use their own knowledge.

What do you think when you see Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Elizabete, Elisabet, or Liesbeth?  Do you see different origins?  Can you place the family history?  If not, do you think you can research it?  As a reader, I don’t know where every name comes from.  But I don’t think twice about Elisabeth whereas I try to imagine where a name like Liesbeth comes from.  Choosing the proper name can give you a head start in your description of a character.

It is very common to see names in modern literature that lack flavor.  These generic names deny the character both history and personality.  If you call a character Chris, he can be any of a dozen nationalities.  If you call him Christian, Christopher, Christoffer, Crist, or Krystof, you give him depth.  You give the reader that little taste of who he is.  Then you can let his friends call him Chris throughout the story.

Let’s look at family names.  Do you picture something different when you see a sign with Garrett and Winchester versus Draper and Smith?  Does the first set of names feel more powerful?  Why?  Smith, on the second sign, is very common; it takes some of its power away.  Names like Smith, Jones, Miller, or Wilson are great for generic characters, for making them hide.  Also, Draper and Smith are names created from occupations.  If you are creating a character of one occupation, but give him the name of another, you can be creating problems for yourself.  For more information on occupational surnames, see What’s in a Name: Surnames and Occupations.  However, if you want to make an impact, choose something with cultural flare.

For a character, pick a name that means something.  If you are picking names for a family, pick names that naturally flow together.  If you are picking a family name, especially someone that isn’t going to be developed much, give them a name that brings forward images of race, history, culture, political view points, era, and class.  If you, as a writer, are going to maintain some illusion of control, you should try to work with your readers own preconceptions instead of against them.

Here is a writing challenge, develop a series of names that will help the reader see:

• A Chinese/American family during WWII
• Surfing buddies
• Russian lobsters (for children’s book)
• Irish immigrants before the civil war
• Tennessee tobacco workers in the 1969
• A French doctor

I knew a girl once who coward every time someone raised their hands.  I know a guy who does a fist pump whenever he takes a drag of a cigarette.  I remember a dog that barked at any man who wore glasses.  I know a guy who washes his hands any time he touches a doorknob.  I worked with a man who held his ribs as he laughed.  I met a woman who offered her hand to be kissed, even to other women.  I knew a girl who prayed over hamburger meat because cows were precious.  I know a woman who went through a phase where she always had someone check her rear-end after she used the restroom.  Ally McBeal had a character who always flushed a toilet by remote control before stepping into his stall.  I personally check behind the shower curtain before I use the bathroom.

Why did I tell you those things?  Because you can later identify each person from those mannerisms.

Before we get any further, let’s define a few terms.  A trait is a distinguishing feature such as a look, line of thought, or behavior.  A habit is an automatic, repeated, or regular pattern of behavior.  A mannerism is a pattern of behavior that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual.  In other words, a habitual trait is a mannerism.  Got it?

How is a mannerism helpful in writing?  It helps you manage your secondary characters.  Yes, yes – main characters have mannerisms as well, but they are often annoying and hard to keep consistent.  If you can do it, great!  You will have great depth in your main character.  However, that isn’t why I think mannerisms are important.

Do you remember the girl who prayed for precious cows?  Of course you do – I hope you do (it’s the whole point here so you better).  Let’s play with her mannerism for a moment.

Let’s say that you are writing a manuscript and you think it might become a series.  Let’s also say that you have a small character who you hope will come up from time to time, but not necessarily in every novel.  How can you hope that the reader will remember this girl?  By the name?  Not likely, there are plenty of repeated names in real life and the reader will not necessarily know if it is the same girl or not.

In the first novel you could introduce the girl as saying, “Aren’t they precious,” while looking at cows.  That will stand out, but it isn’t a mannerism.  Before the reader has a chance to forget her, somewhere in the next chapter or two, insert the mannerism, have her pray for the “precious cow meat that we are about to eat.”  That reinforced what you read earlier and set her up with a unique behavior.  Then, in book 3, 7, and 8, you can bring her back and just have her praying over the hamburger, “God, we thank you for the precious meat here before us.  Forgive us for taking the life…”  Each time you can make the prayer a little more mature, the girl is maturing, but the mannerism of praying for the precious cow will always remain.  Your reader will always know it is the same girl.  That’s all there is to it.

Remember, a mannerism is a habitual trait – it identifies your character in a way that a name alone cannot.

A writing challenge for you, create a list of mannerisms for all your current and former friends and coworkers.