Fiction
characters have a dramatic function and a role in advancing the plot and theme
of your story. They need a reason to be there.
Your
characters need to appear real without being real. Characters in fiction
fulfill a dramatic function in the story for the reader and are, therefore,
more logically laid out. They may, as a result, be more coherent, consistent
and clear in their actions and qualities than a person in real life.
In his 1995
article in SF Writer called “On Writing: Constructing Characters”, Hugo and
Nebula award winning SF author Robert J. Sawyer reminds us that “story-people
are made-to-order to do a specific job.” This notion goes back “twenty-five
hundred years to the classical playwrights,” says Sawyer. “In Greek tragedy,
the main character was always specifically designed to fit the particular plot.
Indeed, each protagonist was constructed with an intrinsic hamartia, or tragic flaw, keyed directly to the story’s theme.”
When we
begin to tell stories, our characters can often suffer from lack of distinction
or purpose; they will clutter and dilute a story’s promise. You may wish to
focus on fewer rather than many characters. One way to tell if major and minor
characters are fulfilling their role in story is to assign one or more
archetypes to them (see my earlier article on archetypes in the Hero’s
Journey). If you can’t come up with an archetype for that character, he or she
may simply be there, filling up unneeded space. You might need to merge two
characters into one or nix a few altogether. This is especially important in
short story. The most common thing new writers do is clutter a short story with
too many characters and associated sub-plots. These stories are actually
novel-wanna-be’s.
You achieve
distinction in characters, including minor characters through a number of ways.
One is “voice”. A character’s “voice” must be unique. Give your character
distinctive body movements, dress, speech, facial features and expressions that
reveal his inner feelings, emotions, fears, motivations, etc. Then keep them
consistent.
It may also
be useful to create character dossiers on major characters to help keep track
of their distinctive traits and keep these consistent. Dialogue is an excellent
tool to reveal a person’s education, philosophy, biases, culture and history. A
character’s inflections and common vernacular can be used to identify them from
a particular region or culture.
Fictional
characters come to life by giving them individual traits, real weaknesses and
heroic qualities that readers can recognize and empathize with. You play these
against each other to achieve drama. For instance, a man who is afraid of heights
but who must climb a mountain to save his love is far more compelling than one
who is not afraid; same for a military man who fears responsibility but must
lead his team into battle; a shy scientist impelled to discovery; etc.—the hamartia that Sawyer talked about.
Make your
character bleed, hurt, cry, and laugh. This needs to be clear to the reader,
who wants to empathize with some of them and hate others. How characters
interact with their surroundings and with each other creates tension, a key element
to good storytelling.
“The lesson
is simple,” Sawyer tells us. “Your main character should illuminate the
fundamental conflict suggested by your premise.”
This is one of several articles on character and dialogue that appear in my ebook "What Every Writer Needs to Know: Character & Dialogue", the 3rd of a 12-part series" What Every Writer Needs to Know..." each for only $0.99 on Kindle.
For more detailed writing guidance, get The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now!
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Nina Munteanu is an
ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and
essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the
University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.
