Bringing Your Characters To Life

Just as a two-dimensional world would be very flat and confusing, so is a storybook character that is less than three-dimensional. The question to be answered is how to make a character stand out as different from all the others in your story. I have heard some writers say, 'I can write a plot and tell a good story, but I am no good at dialogue'. I have heard others complain that they have trouble coming up with characters that are interesting. There is a lot to finding a good character for your story and you should not feel bad that you struggle a bit. I choose to use the word 'finding' a character, because I feel that if we are ready for it, a character will suggest himself to us and when he is clearly defined as to who he is, the dialogue will also come more naturally.

Let's begin by asking what makes your mother different from your aunt Martha (feel free to substitute another name). Or what sets your uncle apart from your grandfather? The number of differences can be staggering when you begin to list them. You may genuinely be surprised by it as you attempt the task. We tend to trust our senses and just 'take it in', recognizing that this is Mom and that is Great Aunt Tilly, but let's be more discriminating this time. (None of your relatives may fit the descriptions below, but traits like these can keep life interesting and fun!)

Start with physical features. Who is taller? Who is heavier? What color is their hair? Do they HAVE hair? What is the eye color? Is the nose short or long, wide or thin, chiseled or crooked? What is the general build--like a weight lifter? A bicyclist? A dock worker? A pencil pusher? A chef (there are some thin ones, but I wouldn't trust them)?

What does the voice sound like? Music? Breaking glass? Thin or rich? Similar to someone famous? What is the general mood of that person? Is he or she usually good-humored, sulking, flamboyant, shy and retiring? What are the mannerisms--are they confident, putting on airs, nervous, paranoid? Your relatives may not be like this, but your characters could be quite easily. What is the manner of dress? Is the individual fastidious or sloppy? Is the hair combed perfectly or just adequately? Maybe not at all--looking like it was 'combed with a mixmaster' or 'looking like an unmade bed'? I have looked in the mirror some mornings and the first thing that comes to mind is "The Wreck Of The Hesperus". Does your character smell of wine, of perfume, soap or just smell? All the senses can be used and observed to describe these beings. Only if it adds to the story, though.

Some of a persons' features may not show on the surface very easily. Is this person jealous by nature? Vengeful? Shy? Maybe a bit insane? A gossip? A lot of things make a person more interesting to a story. I have said before, but it bears repeating, that even identical twins will have some differences that makes them unique and sets them apart from one another. Perhaps one is more talkative, more studious, more gregarious and outgoing. Maybe one hates tomatoes and the other adores them. "Find" the differences that keep these people real and interesting. Look to others to get inspiration. Here is an exercise for you. Go to the mall or out on the street and sit and watch people (don't make them nervous or you could end up being questioned downtown). Take notes (also carefully). Imagine what kind of person this is--does he look like a spy? Is she a fashion designer or a model? Has he just come from strangling his boss? (Did he at least want to? Just curious...). Use your imagination, so that your readers can also use theirs. There is nothing worse than boring a reader by not giving them a clue as to who you are talking about. You can give too much and bore them, too, but it is a balancing act to find the right amount of information that will set a fire in the readers' imagination--that will let them connect with the 'movie' you intend for them to watch in their own minds. After all, you cannot force a story upon anyone--you must lead them into it and they must come of their own accord, getting caught up in it until they don't want to leave and suddenly it is an hour past their bedtime and... and... see what I mean about getting caught up in it? In a way, you need to 'see' the movie first in your own mind, before you can ever hope to have your reader captivated by it.

Is your character a good person, a villain (or villainess), a saint, a sinner, humble, arrogant, abusive, psychotic? What makes this one unique? Do they speak with an accent, a drawl, a lisp or do they stutter? Are they a genius or an idiot savant, mentally unstable or impaired? Is this one the underdog or the top dog? A schemer and conniver or without guile?

You may by now be saying to yourself that all I have done is make your choices more difficult by adding more variables, but it is the variables that make up life. A homogenous world with bland creatures makes no life you would want to live, nor any story you would want to read. Viva la' difference!