Knowing How Your Characters Act

Parents, friends, family, they all say one thing about a certain person they know, eventually. "_____ was a leader, not a follower!"

It is no small fact that ever character is a follower in the start of every novel. They follow your lead, your directions, your orders. You say, "Bob, I'm going to make you a lazy bum. You don't do nothing, you just tip the bottle." And this is how Bob will be, and will act.

Sooner or later, however, he will change. He will become a leader, and afterwards you cannot control him without him, or you, looking like a total goof.

Take Bob, in my first few chapters, Bob didn't do a thing. He didn't have a girlfriend, had a job bagging groceries at the downtown market, and went to bed every night cradling a liquor bottle to his chest affectionately.

In chapter three, Bob isn't going to go looking for a new job. He isn't going to skip going to the beverage store, and he isn't going to get cleaned up to pick up Susie-Q for a night on the town. He is now a leader.

Another example? My Ricky, my MC of this years NaNo. I have him all worked out on paper, in my head, in character sheets, how he is going to act and what his past is. Because of his abuse as a child, and his brothers abuse, he isn't going to beat up his brother because the younger man said/did something out of line. He also isn't going to hire a hooker, nor is he going to leave the house in a t-shirt and lounge pants to work at the office.

"Well, how do they change?" You ask?

Something in the plot changes them.

Bob meets a young lady at the beverage center, trying to get a bottle of Rum for her alcoholic father. While helping her pick out a good brand, she bursts into tears and starts telling him how her life is with a father that drinks and nothing else. Feeling sorry for her, and a ping of guilt for his own drinking problems, Bob takes her next door to a diner to get her a cup of coffee. They converse, and make arrangements for the next date.

A gradual improvement of Bob will follow.

Ricky finally gets himself a girlfriend who is from a small town, and isn't used to his rich life style. One day he decides to take her out for ice cream, but she doesn't want him wearing his $2k suit to do so. Because he loves her, he decides he will wear a pair of jeans and a nice casual shirt to take her out.

Moral? Never turn your characters into an overnight opposite of who they were. I won't believe it, you won't, your reader won't, and your character will suffer. If they are going to change, make sure you know how, and have something serious enough happen to make the change seem real.

There comes a point where you cannot make you characters do whatever you say. There is no more peer pressure, you have no more power as a writer, you have to let them decide. You have to work the plot, the other characters, and the story around them.

When it comes to a point where you tilt you head and say, "My MC just isn't like that... he would never do that..."

Then you know your character is all grown up. He's not a follower anymore, he's a leader.

Back

Here I am! I know, you all missed me so much, but moving takes more than I can handle out of me. I'm all set up now, and gearing up to get some more writing done. Not to mention it's less than a month to November. No, I'm not talking about the elections, I'm talking about NaNoWriMo. And Heirlooms has become my novel of choice. (I know of some one who will be very happy with that...)

For now, however, I cannot leave you with a prompt. I will do so tomorrow, however. But I can leave you with an idea on how to use, you've guessed it, legal pads. Yellow legal pads.

How to organize your characters:

1. Get a yellow legal pad. They are really cheap. Try to find a package of them because I find them to really come in handy.
2. Get a few different color pens, just so this will look pretty and organized.
3. Write the following in one color:

Name

Age

Appearance, (hair, eyes, skin tone, build, etc)

Family

Occupation

(Optional: name meaning and origin)

You may also want to add a few other sections according to you novel. For my Sci-Fi there were ranks for the officers. So on the side of each character I put rank, and had pilots, commanders, medical officers, and so on.

Fill this all out in another color of pen.

Underneath it all write a paragraph about your character. Ask yourself who this person is, and maybe how you would describe them to a friend or family member. No full life bios! This will come later.

At the top of the page put the characters last name, then first name. If you want, tear the sheets out and put them in a binder in order. Then you can start writing more sheets up on them, like full bios, lists of medications, phobias, whatever, and put them in the binder as well. For added cuteness, clip them with a paperclip or mini binder clip and label it with a little post-it.

I hope this helps you out some. It's nice to know your characters. Good luck! Remember, leave your comments and tell me how you're liking it. Suggestions, questions, comments, are all appreciated.

Writer's Prompt - VIII

Sorry I've been a bit absent.... packing is evil. I smell of cardboard and packing tape... it's so nasty, it makes me want to puke.

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For your character...

One of your characters has been given a chest of old family documents. All of the people named in the documents have passed away, so they have no rightful owner. How does you character handle such documents? They could hand them off to a different family member, in hopes of ridding themselves of the property, or they could go and get the documents specially treated and restored by a professional, then keep them as a family heirloom.

So what do they do?

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For an object...

What object is most important to either your plot, or your character? Why is it important, and what role does it play in your novel?

Examples in my work...

- Richard Giovetties gold chain is a symbol of his family business, and when each man comes of age in the family, they receive one of their own.

Examples elsewhere...

- The "One Ring" in "The Lord of the Rings" was the entire reason for the adventure, wars, deaths, and loss of the books.

- Herold Crick's wrist-watch in "Stranger than Fiction" was once referred to as a character in the movie. However, it also helped to catalog the events of the movie, as well as almost cause of his death.

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Mini-Muse workout...

Write a 500 word story on the following subject, either using an existing character, or a new character.

"The local paper has mistakenly put your characters name under the obituaries. What does the article say, and how does you character react?"

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Your comments are always welcome!

Stock Up Now!

It's that time of the year, again back to school! You may have kids, but if you don't, you just know those savings!

On your way to get some notebooks for the students, grab a few for yourself. Notebooks at Walmart are 5 cents each! A that price you can't go wrong! Pick up some pens, folders, files, index cards, and whatever else you may need for NaNo or any other part of writing.

Now is a great time because it's just right for out lining and the like. All the department stores are holding sales. Grab a paper and make a list. Compare prices, see what you can find. Most of all, but in bulk. You may not need five notebooks, but get them. 100 note cards? Please, get a couple packages at these prices! Buy a little tote and store them all, so when you need a legal pad you can just grab one from your stash.

Not only that, but there are some great sales on home items that most students use for their dorms. This is great for your little corner of the home where you real or write. Get some lamps, a mini coffee pot, and some pillows to make your writing area a little more comfortable.

Come on, doesn't it feel awesome just to spoil yourself for a while?

Writer's Prompt - VII

For your character...

It's the little things that count, right? We all love the little things in life. A good chap-stick, a pen that writes just amazingly, the smell of money/gasoline/magazines.

What are some little things your character enjoys? How does that reflect their personality, childhood, past, or dreams and ambitions? Do they keep these little things close, or is it something they enjoy on rare occasions?

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For your setting...

There is a place in every one's book that holds a certain importance, whether it's to the plot, or just your character in general. Pick a specific building and describe how it was built, who built it, when, what special events happened, and the first time your character visited it.

Was it a house your character moved into as a child? What was their first night sleeping in it like? Is it a cafe they frequent? How did they find it?

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Mini-Muse Workout...

If your character could have a tattoo, what would it be? Family crest, a name, flag, cross, Chinese symbols... what? And don't forget to include how it reflects you character!

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Can't wait for your comments!

Writing Prompt - VI

Sorry for the delay, but I promise not to disappoint. Have at thee!

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For your character...

What is your character's smallest big secret? The "big" part being the depth of the secret, and the "small" part being the actually object said secret is. Say your character is hiding the "big" secret that she is engaged to be married, and the "small" secret is her engagement ring, in which she hides.

Who might your character be hiding their secret from? Why wouldn't they want somebody to find out about their secret?


Here's my example.

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Mini-Muse workout...

What is your MC's theme song? Does it describe them? Or is it a soundtrack? Don't mind it if your character is from a time where there isn't much in modern music, pick whichever song you like in which pertains to your character.

Mmmm.... Dialogue

I feel as though writing a novel is like performing a very long and elaborate dance. Mind you I don't dance, but you hopefully get my idea. You only write what you want to write, how you want to write, and when.
Lets try something else, however, how about a cake? Ah, now I have your attention. Well, your novel is like a cake, chocolate let's say. Each ingredient is a element of your novel.
Today, for this article, we are going to be focusing on the eggs. Ahem... the eggs are the dialogue pieces.
Some of the most awe-inspiring moments happened if brief moments of silence. Movies fade-out quietly, people fall in love without a sound... Try this for me, however, find somebody and have a conversation with them without speaking.
All that body language is good and all, not to mention the thoughts and emotions of your characters, but don't you just love to dive into some good, meaty dialogue? So do I.
Let's review the does and do nots of dialogue, shall we?

The None Quotation Dialogue

I read a novel once, of which came with a solid plot, but the dialogue was... well, what dialogue there was, caused me to trip and to stumble. The author did a lot of this...

Bob said that he'd been working late at the office on Thursday nights. John
asked him why, and wondered if it had anything to do with his new boss. Bob told
him that, despite the fact his new boss was a well enough guy, he worked his
employees to death.

Instead, this is what I may have preferred:

Bob shook his head, sighing heavily. "I'm just tired, I've been working
late at the office every Thursday night for the past month."
John raised a
brow after taking a small sip of his coffee. "Why?" He brow furrowed. "Does it
have something to do with that new boss of yours?"
"Oh, well... Fred is a
nice guy, don't get me wrong." Bob looked down at his hands. "But he works us
all to death..."

Do you see what I mean? The second example is more meatier, and you can hear the voices of the characters. A bit of the first example is acceptable but... I want to hear your characters, see them, feel them.

The Fortune Cookie

Unless your character is one whom talks like Shakespeare, watch it. I hate reading the average Joe talk like he went to Oxford. None of this:

"Alas, my economical status has befell me!"

Try:

"Oh, darn, I forgot to pay my phone bill..."

The Pointless Small Talk

The reader doesn't want to hear about the weather, unless it's important to your plot. Nobody enjoys small talk in real life, so don't butcher your reader in the meanwhile. This of what you would want or need to hear in your dialogue, in order to get your point across more easily.

Accents

I have my share of characters with accents... but there is a point where the reader just can't read what they are saying if you lay it on thick. Simply mention they have an accent, then show the language difference through certain phrases or words they may use. My character Lex says, "old chap", when referring to another one of my male characters. You can tell he's English, although me writing some complex sentence with several grammar errors and cob-job spelling to make him sound as if he's from London.

Thoughts

Don't forget to include some of your characters thoughts. This can count as dialogue, and is like giving your readers a peep into their minds and emotions.

Silence

It is possible to silently conduct dialogue through body language and small gestures. In fact, writers try to make this a key part of expressing their characters. However, do no let this be the only for of communication.

Speeches

Speeches can be annoying, sometimes inspirational. Before your character begins to speak, make sure you know what he/she is going to be saying and if it requires a long rant or not. Things that might be long might include some one expressing their love to another. Something not requiring a long explanation may be your character recalling the events of their last date. Nobody wants a list of an event, especially not your reader.

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Thank you for reading my first article. Please leave me a comment, or request an article on any field of writing you wish.

Write on!