It was sometime back in high school that I really started being concerned with characterization. I don't know what prompted this--if I had to guess, I'd say it was about the same time I started reading a lot of fanfiction, and became familiar with the term "Mary Sue." (For those who don't know what that is, wiki it--if nothing else, it's one more bit of internet jargon to familiarize yourself with.)
Either way, I became hyper-aware of my characters, both as roles in the story and as people; and I hope, by this point, that that awareness comes through in most of the stuff I write. Characterization is probably the most important thing, to me, in judging the quality of a story.
When it comes to writing, I like my character growth to be as organic as possible. This used to mean writing out in-character journal entries, or filling out surveys; then I realized it was much faster to simply role-play the character, either online or in real life. The latter, especially, helped me get a really quick sense of how the character spoke, thought, and moved--things which are, in my mind, at the core of consistent characterization. The rest of the stuff is reasons and details.
At some point I became able to just sort of think to myself "I have this space in the story. I need /x/ sort of character," and wait. I'd compare it to putting out a "Help Wanted" ad--because that was what it felt like, the moment that an /x/-shaped character sort of...showed up. With these sorts of characters, I try to just give them space at first--I might write down their name, or talk about them with other people, but I don't actually write the character until they've "settled" and I have a bit of an idea of their backstory. Generally speaking, it isn't backstory I consciously come up with; where I used to have painstaking psychoanalysis of a favorite character's reasons for being the way they are, these days I just...ask.
And that's pretty much how I judge whether MY characterization's on-target or not--am I asking, am I listening to the answer, does the answer come easy and make sense; yes? Good.
So, nowadays, I guess I would say I don't "build" characters so much as get to know them, the same way you would people.
This probably sounds pretty schizophrenic to those who do things differently--SO! Let's hear your opinions on the matter. Am I nuts? How do ya'll build characters? How important is characterization to YOUR writing?
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4 comments:
I didn't think much about my chars and their characterization until only recently. Reading books with shallow chars, like the Inheritance Cycle, made me nervous and made me want to make memorable chars lest I be criticized like Paolini is.
Usually, I don't go into any great detail into my chars. They mainly exist in my head and on paper. What I try to do is give my characters a couple of traits, but sometimes I forget I've even done that and don't follow it. However, as the story "evolves" through better writing, then the characters gain more depth, I hope.
Some of my characters have stereotypes with a slight twist. For example, Ornilas. Ornilas was loosely based off of Jayne from the "Firefly" tv series. Both are big and burly and are more on the belligerent side. However, unlike Jayne, Ornilas is a stubborn rebel at heart who has no sense of humility or forgiveness.
I don't know how I can characterize my chars, but I'm still learning and making them more complex. One thing that does help is real- life experiences. For example, Nishaun's guilt over his pride and Leial's fear of leaving Amilor Dinic are both based off of sins I struggle with in my life. Nishaun's ups and downs in book 2 "Distant Thunder" are also based on my current experiences.
wow... I like... I fear that I do have trouble with my characters... and I really WANT them to be more... real? I think I will make this a focal point as I continue writing... Var... do you have any tips, on specific things to do... to get to KNOW your character better? What do you mean by roleplay in real life?
Harrison - by "roleplaying in real life," I basically mean playing pretend. Go through your normal day, but be your character, instead of yourself (within reason--obviously if your character is a violent psychopath, you don't actually want to HURT anybody; and if a character is really vulgar that doesn't mean you should cuss in front of a teacher or a boss). View your world through their eyes. The key to it, I think, is to try not to think about it too much; just sort of say "Okay, I'm this character," and go with it. Does that make sense? XD
In terms of getting to know your characters better, like I said, I've always been fond of character journals, "interviews"--things that are separate from the plot and usually not meant to be included in the text. Free-form things. It gives your subconscious more room to create, I feel like.
The MOST important advice I can give is to think of your characters as people. I mean, obviously keep in mind the difference between fantasy and reality--but keep that in the BACK of your mind when you're writing. Teach yourself to think of your characters as real people. Talk to 'em, talk to other people about 'em, make fun of 'em, go crazy with it. XD
Dunno how helpful any of that is, but I'd totally be willing to chat with you about this. I love babbling about characters.
yeah... ill try some of that :D and next time your on gmail we can chat some more :D a character just sortof popped into my head the other day, and i need to get him sorted out :P
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