Creating Memorable Characters - Part 2: Character Profiling

So, creating memorable characters is still the theme and Part 2 here is going to focus on planning out your characters before you start building them. You might remember from my last post that I mentioned how literature (read: the publishing industry) has started to lean toward character driven stories more than deep plot. As much as you might want to disagree, their rational for this is pretty solid. They figure that if your characters are real enough and your readers can connect on many levels with them, then your readers won't really care what the plot is. They'll be more interested in how the characters navigate it. Basically, if you create the perfect character for your audience to fall in love with, you can stick them in pretty much any situation you want and readers will follow them. Take the first half of the last Harry Potter trip for example -- after all we've been through, Rowling gives us a camping trip? And guess what... we bought it! We bought the hardcover and brought it to the movie! My point is, characters are extremely important, so naturally, the process of designing them and then fine-tuning them is important as well.

Before we get started in on the lengthy wall of text that is sure to ensue once I get going, I would like to list a couple of quick rules for character design. These of course are just guidelines. Take them for what they're worth. I'll expound upon them afterwards.

1. DO NOT start writing your story without having carefully planned out your characters first.

2. If you don't like the character or you just can't get into them or get into their head, neither can your reader.

3. You characters should be organic to your story. If they seem forced, your readers WILL pick up on it.

4. Make your characters unique. If you have several very similar characters, it can be confusing for your reader. This goes for similar names as well.

5. Don't stuff more characters than you need into your story just because you like them. Having too many characters can be distracting, especially if they all share one scene.

6. Make sure your characters are believable. If a character is over the top, he better have a really good reason for it. Readers want characters they can relate to.

7. Going back to my last post, make sure your lead characters are 3-dimensional before you start writing them. If you can't honestly say that they are, go back and get them there before you go on.

Alright, that list certainly isn't all inclusive, but it should give you some things to focus on as you're getting started. Now, let me get started here with #1. Planning out your character before you start writing them is the best way to make sure that your character will be the best possible addition to your story that he can be. Think of yourself as an artist, a graphic designer. The first thing you're going to do when you sit down to draw a picture is do a rough sketch, usually in pencil with a million eraser marks. This is the same thing you should be doing when you create your characters. Once you have the basics for the character laid out, then you can start adding in the detail work.

So the first thing I want you to do when you sit down to create your new character is just close your eyes. Make sure there's no distractions around you and just focus on that character in your head. You may already have a good idea of what you want them to be, or you may not. The key is, you're putting in the pre-work to make sure that your audience sees them the same way you do. A lot of rookie writers will have an idea in their head of what their character (and sometimes their whole story) is and they'll just sit down and start typing. Now don't get my wrong, this might work for some people, but most of the time, this is a really bad idea. Your character is going to evolve as you write him anyway. At least if he's well thought out and crafted ahead of time, you'll have an anchor point, rather than some amorphous blob thing that isn't consistent from scene to scene.

So now that you've taken the time to imagine your character, it's time to start piecing them together. Here's what I do. You're welcome to do it this way, or you can come up with your own system. I create a new folder in my story's portfolio and I label it "Character Profiles." In it, I create a separate word document for every major character (that means the ones that are going to spend the most time impacting the story in front of the reader). I name the file with the character's name, then open it up. The next thing I do is solely because I'm a very visual person. If you are too,  you may want to try this. If not, try it anyway, it's fun if anything. Anyway, the next thing I do is imagine how the character looks, then I go find a picture in Google Images that's very similar to that character and I copy and paste it in their Character Profile. Now I have a visual representation of that character that I can always reference or use to motivate me.

The next step depends on how well I know my character. If it's one that I've used for a long time and I know very well, I'll skip a few steps and cut right to their motivations in the story. But if it's a fresh character, I start from scratch. Start by listing all of the traits that you want this character to have. When you're doing this, remember the context of your story and make sure that their traits are organic as I stated above. In fact, everything you do from here on out, you should first be asking yourself if it fits in your story -- right down to their looks. Now, as you're listing these traits, don't just focus on broad general things. Saying that this character is funny, charming, cute, witty, etc., doesn't really help you. Those should be starting points, but you should narrow your focus from their. Going back to the graphic designer analogy, at this point you're just starting to fill in the general form of the drawing with basic colors, but ultimately you're going to cut a lot of this stuff out or cover it with greater detail. You have to remember, at this point, you're playing God in a sense. You're creating a person that, if you do it right, will be living and breathing. You're designing their personality, their humanity.

Now that you have some basic traits to describe your character, it's time to go deeper. Look at each trait. How did this character develop that trait? How does it impact their every day existence? Is it obvious in their voice? Their swagger? The key here is, now that you have the what, you need the why. Why is a question you should be asking yourself every time you do anything in your story. If you can't answer it simply, neither can your reader and you'll probably end up confusing them! What we're doing here is creating this character's backstory, their history. If you want, you can literally write them a short history. I've known writers that create backstories that explain how a character developed and how they're relevant to the current story. No one ever reads this but you, so you can make it whatever you want. Some people just like to list bullet points. Whatever suits your style best is what you should do. The point is to answer all of the WHY's before you start the story.

Once you've done this, it's time for the finishing touches. You now know what your character looks like, how they're relevant to your work, what they do in any given situation, and why they do it. Now it's time to figure out what makes them tick! The last part of my Character Profiles is the "Motivations" section. This is where I list all of the things that drive my character's actions in this specific story. This section contains story elements and explains why each character is doing what throughout the story. It doesn't need to be long and involved. A few bullet points or a short paragraph is usually enough. You aren't outlining their whole plotline, just giving a short description of what motivates their actions, and how they relate to other characters in the story. Let me give you an example. This is really generic and totally fabricated on the spot, so don't criticize it too much.

"Thomas follows Anna everywhere she goes. He's her sidekick and wants to help her accomplish her goal. She confides in him on a personal level. He helps to remind her that there's still hope. Thomas has a secondary goal though. He has secretly loved Anna since childhood and he hopes that helping her will make her fall in love with him too. He will do anything she asks to accomplish this goal."

Now you can go about that however you want, but it gives you a solid basis for the character that you can always go back and look at if you need to be reminded how they should act in a certain situation. Once you've determined what motivates the character and how they relate to the other characters that they'll interact with (including important specific relationships like one with the protagonist), you've probably got a pretty good grasp on the character. At this point, you can always come back and fine tune their profile, but you should be ready to get started fleshing them out in the work.

I hope this post has helped you realize the importance of properly planning out your characters ahead of time, and the power that it gives you when you sit down to write your story. Please check back soon for Part 3, the final part of this character series, where I'll focus on how you can make sure your most important characters are as three-dimensional as they can be!

As always, comments are always welcome, as are rankings, reviews, likes, follows, subscriptions, +1's, etc.! If you want me to keep blogging, let me know that it's helping! Please share this post and this blog with all of your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever other social media you choose to enjoy. The more views I get, the more I'll post! Don't forget to check out my other blog at http://secondworldfantasy.blogspot.com.

Until next time,

Curtis Galluzzo
"Nerdy is the new sexy!"

Pro Writing Tip #2

The tip of the day today is something that I've always felt is one of the biggest keys to making your work appeal to your readers.

Master your voice.

Your narrative voice is the lifeblood of your work. In non-fiction, your voice is what makes you sound like you actually know what you're talking about. And in fiction, the voice, the narrator is the character that your readers are going to spend the most time with. That's right, I said character. Your narrator is as much a character as anyone else. They speak, they give insight, they have a personality, and your audience interacts with them directly. If your narrative voice is weak, your entire project will be weak.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you for honing your voice, your narrative style, is to make sure that it fits your subject matter. The best way to make something believable is to have someone believable narrating it. For example, think of the most epic book you've ever read -- and I'm talking apocalyptic, fire and brimstone epic. Was the voice narrating that story sarcastic and witty, shooting in smart little quips between fountains of gore and death? I doubt it. Chances are pretty good that the voice had a heaviness to it. It spoke directly and eloquently. It sped up, utilizing short sentences when it needed to quicken the pace during a fight scene, and it slowed down with long-winded prose during the love scenes.

Just remember, your voice will make or break your writing, so take the time to master it. Find the style that you're most comfortable with, that you can portray as believable and choose a subject matter that it fits.

Here's your homework. I want you to go find a piece of Literature that is similar to whatever it is that you're writing currently (if you don't have a current project, just make this a writing exercise). I want you to read this piece closely, focusing specifically on the narrative voice and style. Take notes. When they do something you like, write it down. When they do something interesting that you didn't realize they did before, write it down. Just study the work very closely and glean from it whatever you can. Then I want you to write a few paragraphs in that voice, about whatever you want. If you'd like, you can post your work in a comment here and I'll go through it with you.

So to recap:

Pro Writing Tip #2: Master your voice.

Happy writing folks. Talk to you later!

Best,

Curtis Galluzzo
"Nerdy is the new sexy!"

P.S. As always, please check out my other blog if you like this one. You can find it at http://secondworldfantasy.blogspot.com


Pro Writing Tips: Learn To Write Better Today

Pro Writing Tip #1

This very first writing tip is a very simple one, and it's true for all types of writing. From essays to fiction and everything in between, this is the single most important tip you can remember.

Only write about what you know.

The simple fact of the matter is, if you aren't well informed on the topic that you choose to write about, it's going to show in your work. Now, this doesn't mean that you're limited to only the few subjects that you're really familiar with. It just means that if you intend to write about something beyond your normal scope, you must first be willing to put in the time required to research it.

This doesn't just apply to writing essays or informative articles, although those would be the most obvious. It also applies to writing fiction of any kind. Think about this. If you're writing a modern military espionage thriller novel in the style of Tom Clancy, and you don't know what the names of the weapons and equipment your characters use are, or you're unfamiliar with the intricacies of the foreign nations they're adventuring in, don't you think your work is going to come off feeling weak? The same principle applies to high fantasy, where you'd think that you can just make up stuff to fill in the blanks. Well, that's true to an extent, but won't your work feel more real if you're well-learned on medieval weaponry, fighting styles, and architecture? Exactly.

So once again:

Pro Writing Tip #1: Only write about what you know.

And if it just so happens that you love the topic/genre too, then that's icing on the cake. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Best,

Curtis Galluzzo

P.S. Check out my other blog on Fantasy and Science Fiction at http://secondworldfantasy.blogspot.com


Pro Writing Tips: Learn To Write Better Today