Character and Characterization

December 9, 2009

Mary Rosenblum:   This is our question forum to make up for last week, when I didn't have electricity at all.  At least I have that. Um...maybe I shouldn't say that too fast.  So what do you folks want to talk about, regarding characters and characterization

How about showing character growth?
Mary, does a novelist typically start out with a plan, i.e. characters and full name and traits? My nano wrimo story ended up a disaster in part because I just winged it I think.
Mary Rosenblum:   Well, let's start with Speck's question.  Then, David.
So as to character growth....that's character change.  And character change is what makes a story different from a slice of life scene.  It can be revealed briefly, as in a short story, where we see a change in the character's life/mindset  Or the character can change over time -- usually in a novel length work -- i.e. character 'growth'.  You show it by letting us see that the character thinks about things differently, as revealed by his/her actions, internal narrative, or dialogue.
As to your question David, yes, it's a good idea to at least know your main characters because their internal dramatic arc -- the internal plot -- should complement and support the external dramatic arc -- the external plot.  If that person just goes about dealing with whatever the external plot throws at him/her, you have a plot puppet who adds nothing to the overall story.
What  is difference internal vs. external plot?
Mary Rosenblum:   External dramatic arc, David, are the events that the main character has to deal with in order to succeed....escape a forest fire, climb to the top of his corporation, save his tribe from invaders. The internal plot is the flaw/conflict within that character that needs to be resolved in order for that character to succeed.  Maybe she needs self confidence, he needs to realize he doesn't have to spend his life living up to his famous father, what ever.
How do you get into dialogue when you are writing a narrative?
Mary Rosenblum:   Linda Ann -- narrative and dialogue are a hard mix.  In narrative form, you're essentially writing first person but that first person character is the author.
Yeah tell me about it.
Mary Rosenblum:   It can be jarring to go from that narrative voice to 'here and now' dialogue.  If you're going to switch from the author telling the story to watching a bit of action on our own -- and that's a very strong thing in narrative -- you need a very clear transition from the narrative telling to the showing of the here and now scene. OR you just paraphrase the dialogue, the way you'd tell your best friend what your mother said when you told her about breaking up with that guy.
It  must be challenging, when you speak as a character, to stay in the character's voice and not your own.
Mary Rosenblum:   It is challenging, David. I spend a lot of time talking with my characters before I start writing. When their voices are solidly different from mine, I'm ready to write.  

I heard of asking your characters questions (have a talk with them) when you have a problem and need conflict in your story. Is this a good way?

Mary Rosenblum:   Some people get all ...welll...mystical about their characters being 'real people'. You create your characters and ultimately you make them do what you want them to do, for good or bad. If having them 'talk to you' allows you to work out what you need to work out to make the story succeed, do it that way! But don't expect mystical answers. :-) Ultimately it's you who figures out what the problem is, no matter how you go about it.
I have a major problem with doing that. I have been writing about a girl telling her version of her life
Mary Rosenblum:   Linda, I suggest that if you're writing about a girl telling her story, then you need to let her tell it and not try to narrate.  Just do a first person piece where she's telling us what's going on.  And if you're going to 'show' us scenes...which I recommend....just transition clearly from her telling us the story to letting us watch the scene.
Let me give you an example of that transition.

You know, Dawg is a real pain at times. I mean, he's my best friend and all, but sometimes, I kind of wish I didn't know him. Like the time we walked into town and he found that dollar bill just lying on the road. So Dawg figures we'll go buy candy with it. Even though Mr. Evers, who owns the store, hates him.
'Hello, Mr. Evers," Dawg says, marching right into the store.
"I told you you weren't welcome here." Mr. Evers glares at him over this glasses, like Dawg is ...well..a dog.
"I got money." Dawg waves the bill, grinning like an idiot.
Do you see what I'm doing?  I've kept my narrator's voice, so that we don't have a jarring change in style, but we see and hear Dawg and Mr. Evers talking.  I used a transition to take us to the here and now scene.

Supposing  I know things my character doesn't. Or my character doesn't have the vocabulary that I do.. I imagine my self swinging between the two more than I should

Mary Rosenblum:   If you're writing limited third and your character doesn't have your vocabulary, you'll have to find a way to let your character explain in his or her vocabulary.  And if that character doesn't know something, it's your job as writer to find a way to let the readers know what they need to know without violating that POV.
Mary, suppose I (college educated man) want to have a main character who is a high school educated woman. Maybe talking to her best friend about relationships and her interactions with guys. How do I make her speak as she is and not as my voice. How do you get into someone else’s mindset and head?
Mary Rosenblum:  You listen to people, David. ALL the time. Your most important job as a writer ....of both fiction and nonfiction....is to watch people and listen to them.  I can't say that loudly enough here!  Watch people and listen to them. If I'm standing in line, waiting for plane at the airport, sitting in a doctor's waiting room, I LISTEN. I surreptitiously watch. When I was first starting out, I took notes. I wrote out the scene with body language, words.
I find that I have to force myself to have a bit of "cognitive dissonance" to successfully create a character--I must see the character as an individual quite separate from myself, and yet get into their skin and become them. At least, that's my goal ;-)
Mary Rosenblum:   That's it exactly, Dale.  I guess it's a bit like method acting....you split off part of yourself and let that part be the charaacter, and at the same time, you deal with that character from outside.

 Mary do you have any tips on bringing a character into the third dimension? My characters are very real to me in my mind but I’m afraid they don’t come across as fleshed out as I’d like.
Mary Rosenblum:   It's largely a matter of craft....learning what it is that makes the person seem real.  I suggest that you buy Orson Scott Card's 'Characters and Characterization' from Writers Digest Books.   It's a very good 'how to'
A GREAT game that I used to play with two other writer friends: We'd go to a cafe or a mall food court or just a public bench in a well-populated place. As people strolled by, we'd observe, then make up backstory and a story about where they had just come from, where they were going and what they were going to do, all based on body language, clothing, expression.
Mary I blogged my short story from my entry in the short story contest on blogspot.com. I did it because I couldn't understand what was wrong with it. everyone who read it liked it but I got no bad word about it.
Mary Rosenblum:   Alas, Linda, this is what happens when you hand your work to people who are not writers.  Most people are polite and don't want to say anything 'bad'.   A writers group helps where you have people who can way what's weak.  Ask questions, Linda.  Specific questions.  Did the character seem real? Why not? Did you see the ending coming? Could you 'see' the scene?
You mean a story could be really good, better than the one that won, and not win a contest?
Mary Rosenblum:   Sss...'better' is a loose term.  I can write a really really good mystery and if I send it to Asimov's magazine, it'll get rejected.  It's well written but wrong for the mag.  If I send it to Ellery Queen, they'll likely buy it.
I find writers groups invaluable, especially at spotting the disconnect between what's in the text and what was in my own head (or should have been). A technique I've been using is to "reverse outline" a story to figure out exactly what happened without the cool writing getting in the way :-) I usually try and get this document to the writer.
Mary Rosenblum:   Good practice, Dale, but even now, when I'm REALLY good at splitting my brain into 'reader' mode and reading what's on the page, my readers still spot stuff I miss. What are the most important elements in developing a character?
Mary Rosenblum:   Sunshine, the most important thing to know is what is wrong with my character -- what are his/her weaknesses, flaws, personal fears?  Those are going to drive your character arc. Know that character as well as you know your best friend.  If that friend  suddenly changes and behaves in a way that you know he wouldn't have behaved last week....what do you think?  There's something wrong with this person, right?  You want to make any character change intentional and it is what drives the character arc.  If the changes are just random, your character will not seem real. We change for some reason or other. And readers are ALL experts on real human behavior. We all are. You should know your MAIN character as well as you know that  best friend or sibling.  I live with my main characters for a week or more before I write a story.
Who is this person? What's his/her background? What would he/she do in this situation? In this one?
You  take a whole week to develop your character before you even start to write?
Mary Rosenblum:   Often more. But I usually have several stories 'in development'.  And at the same time, I'm often working on one or two others.
Do you ever walk away for a short time and then come back to get a better feel for who your character is?
Mary Rosenblum:   Often, Steffy.  If I realize I’m not sure what this character would do in a given situation, I take a break and get to know the character better, so that I am sure.    When I feel 'stuck' or the story starts to feel dull, I work on a different one to clear my head.  When that one bogs down, I go back to the first. People watch always.  Yesterday, I was getting my car certified for registration (checked for pollution). I was watching the techs donig the testing. It was very cold. Just noticing who was bored, who was cranky, etc.

People are the soul of your story, so get to know them well, then you’ll write them well. 
Have a great week and stay warm!