Marg McAlister

Regardless of whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction, your aim is to present characters in a way that will appeal to your reader. It's quite simple, really - your characters have to inspire some sort of emotion. It doesn't matter whether your characters are real or imaginary; whether they are villains or heroes. They have to be INTERESTING.

If you are bored by your characters, it's not going to be easy to write about them in a way that will interest your readers. If you're writing fiction, and you can't get interested in your characters, then start again. Create story people that DO stimulate your imagination. If you're writing non-fiction, look for some quirk of personality that you can work with.

Let's look at some basic 'rules' for creating and developing characters.

FICTION

1. Your lead character (the 'good guy', not the villain) is someone that you are going to be spending a lot of time with. Therefore, it is important that you LIKE this character. Why? Because if YOU don't like the character, then your readers probably won't like him/her either. And that's bad news - because nobody wants to spend hours reading about someone they don't even like! (In real life, we sometimes don't have a choice about who we spend time with. If we're reading a book, we do! And what's the simplest way to get away from a character we don't like? That's right - close the book.)

2. Your lead character should not whine, complain or feel sorry for herself for extended periods. Readers like resilient characters that bounce back from adversity. They like underdogs that keep trying to win. They like strong, feisty characters that give as good as they get, without being sarcastic, nasty, or violent. While it's okay to have brief periods during which your character feels sorry for herself or lashes out with the odd sarcastic remark, it's not wise to make this a personality trait.

3. The stakes for the lead character should be high enough for the reader to care about what happens in the end. If your reader is yawning and muttering 'So what?' then you have a lot of work to do. Will your readers be able to identify with your character's goals? Will they want to see that character overcome any obstacles? Will they be cheering for your character?

4. The character's motivation should be believable. Always ask WHY your character is choosing "A" rather than "B". Resist the urge to jerk your characters around like marionettes just to fit the direction of the plot you have created. This quote from the first module of the "Spotlight on Characters" course sums it up: "The events of the story will be the outcome of the character's actions and reactions. Your character will decide to follow Plan A or Plan B. Each plan will take him in a different direction and present him with a new set of choices. The character's actions will largely be determined by his personality. (The personality YOU give him!) Suplots will also be related to your lead character's lifestyle, life choices, personal problems and interests. Each depends upon the other. Writers run into trouble when they try to force a character to behave in a way that doesn't fit with the circumstances, or with that character's nature."

NON-FICTION

If you are writing non-fiction books or articles, you still have a responsibility to make the people in your stories come to life for the reader. You will find that techniques used in writing fiction will be invaluable. Use your skill in creating scenes and dialogue to present non-fiction characters so that the reader can see and hear them almost as clearly as if they were in the same room.

One of the main 'rules' any writer of non-fiction needs to remember is this: People like to read about people. Whether you are writing about a holiday destination or a political coup, it's the people in your stories that will make the setting and facts vivid and interesting.

You need to help the reader visualise the person about whom you are writing. You need to reproduce their patterns of speech and body language so readers can not only 'see' them but get a good sense of what it would be like to speak with them, or to interpret the kind of non-verbal cues that we all pick up on whenever we meet someone face-to-face.

Here's a useful exercise for you: skim a dozen or so articles from different magazines and non-fiction books. Make notes about the different methods the writers use to help you get to know the people in their stories. You may even find it useful to actually type out, word for word, a passage here and there - it's surprising how much more you see when you're transcribing a section of text. It helps you to absorb the technique.

How to "Think" Your Characters Into Life

Not all of your planning has to be done in front of the computer. In fact, you are likely to gain a sudden insight into your character's needs or motivation or psychological makeup at any time. Here are some suggestions:

1. Think about your character when you are relaxed and/or close to sleep. Picture this person engaged in everyday activities - walking down the street, doing household chores, talking on the phone. Note your character's general build, fitness level, mode of dress, and grooming. Then zoom in on his facial expressions and body language. What judgements can you make about this character from what you are imagining? Now let your character speak. Does he sound like anyone you know? Does he have a pet phrase or an infectious laugh? How does his speech reflect his upbringing, level of education and general attitude?

2. Combine character creation with your fitness regime. Go for a walk, go swimming, go to the gym, go dancing, go kayaking. Wherever you go, study the people around you. Can you borrow an idiosyncrasy here and a body shape there? Watch how others move - how they walk, bend, interact with others. Think about how you could use this input in your scenes.

3. Go to a shopping mall with one purpose in mind - you're going to "shop" for characters! Sit there for an hour or so - on a bench, or in a coffee lounge with a good view of the passing parade. Have a notepad and pen handy to jot down impressions about the way people walk and talk, as well as the way they look and the way they dress. Note any difference in movements because of age, infirmity or obesity. See if you can guess why people are at the mall. Invent backgrounds and goals for a dozen interesting-looking people.

Further information on creating characters

Apart from the intensive Spotlight on Characters e-course, Writing4Success has created a free 4-part mini-course just to help you work on your characters: Story Character Secrets. You can access this mini-course simply by sending a blank email to: w4s-characters@aweber.com.

In addition, you can download a useful character checklist here: http://www.career-booster.com/Checklists_for_Writers.html (you're sure to find the other checklists useful too!)

Your goal for Week 7:

Take the time to think carefully about your characters. Make sure that you like them enough to spend time writing about them (and so that readers will want to spend time reading about them!) Be inventive about the way you get ideas for characters. Try to work in character creation exercises with physical exercise.