Unleash Your Character

photo credit: kaymoshusband

Did you know that a character will take on a life of its own if you let it?

I hadn’t realized. I mean, I heard about this phenomenon, but I hadn’t really experienced it for myself.

No wonder writers often refer to their books and poems as offspring. When you create a character and let her live and breathe on the page (or on the screen, as the case may be), she starts taking over, making decisions and saying and doing things that you never would. You build a nice foundation and give her the tools she needs to exist in the world and then next thing you know she’s all grown up and calling the shots.

But characters don’t come out of nowhere. You have to start with the basics. A name, age, physical description. Now you have someone who you can picture in your mind. This gives your character flesh and blood but your character needs heart and soul. She needs a history.

You begin at the beginning. Birth. Where and when was she born? What were her parents like? Did she have a joyful childhood or a stormy one? What major events shaped her early years? As she got older, what kind of interests did she develop? Who were her friends?

This is the point where your character first starts making her own decisions. Things start popping into your head. Suddenly your good little girl has a cigarette hanging out of her mouth and she’s sleeping with every guy in town. Your mouth drops and you wonder what happened.

I’m guessing this is where many writers lose their character. They try too hard to control the outcome, failing to recognize that this character has a mind of her own. If you try to shape the character into some mold that you have in mind, she’s going to come across as contrived. Fake. Made up.

And you need your character to be real.

That means you have to know her. And not just how she looks or what her childhood was like. You have to know what kind of attitude she has, how she interacts with others, what her dreams and fears are. Your character is a person (usually) and people are complex organisms.

I have one word for you. It’s a compound word and it’s what gives your character depth: backstory. I know that not every writer develops a detailed backstory for their characters. So this may not apply to you. But I’ve recently learned that if you’re not some adept master fiction writer and you want your character to pack a real punch, backstory can be the key to unlocking your character’s reality.

So what is backstory? It’s your character’s entire history. It’s all that stuff that happened in childhood and then some. It’s those moments that seem insignificant at the time but stick with you for the rest of your life. Backstory is the things your character wants, what she feels, how she views the world. Her spirituality, education, perception, her values and her secrets. it’s what she knows and what she wants to know.

You can write a backstory. I find it helpful both to shape the character and as a warm-up writing exercise. However, I find that the backstory happens even when I’m not working on it. I’ll be making dinner, driving in the car, or listening to music and all of a sudden a little scene will play out. It’s a scene from my character’s life and it has nothing to do with the story I’m working on but it says something about my character and who she is.

Maybe it was the time her grandmother took her to see Cats at the theater. Or the day she filled out her university application — that moment when she dropped it in the mail. Maybe it wasn’t her first kiss, which was nice, but her third kiss, which was wonderful. Maybe it was just some day, some completely unremarkable day when she realized that she loves the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. These little scenes from my character’s past just appear out of nowhere as if the character fairy tucked them into my head while I was sleeping and set them on some kind of timed release.

What’s truly magical is that all of this information comes together and it creates a real person, someone you get to know and understand. When your character is confronted, you know exactly how she’ll respond and you’re delighted and surprised that her reaction is completely opposite of what your own reaction would have been. At first this is confusing. You think — wait, I would never do that. But then you remember that you are not your character. You are merely a vessel through which your character communicates her thoughts and actions.

She’ll say yes to the things you would say no to. She’ll eat things you can’t stand, things like cheesecake. She’ll make decisions that you’d call irresponsible or frivolous. And she’ll spend money that you would stash in the bank.

Your character can be full of surprises like this. But you have to unleash her.

This is not an easy task. But let me tell you something. Once your character is up and running, you’ll have more fun writing than you ever thought possible.

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What Can Fiction Writers Learn from Poetry?

The following is a guest post by William Womack who also blogs at Words for Writers.

Fiction writers are scavengers. We scour daily life collecting faces and names, sharp words and longing glances, then hunker in our caves to weave tapestries from the pretty bits we’ve found. It isn’t just ideas and images we pilfer; techniques and craft are fair game too. Some of our most potent writing tools are borrowed from our poet friends.

A well-turned poem often seems close to magic in the way it telegraphs strong emotion and vivid imagery in a compact space. Fortunately for poets and fiction writers alike, magic has little do to with it. We can dissect poetry, lifting out the parts that are most useful to us. Take for example a passage from my most recent manuscript, Last Thursday. The main character has gone for a walk along the river in Portland to sort out his thoughts when (surprise!) it starts to rain.

A pellet of water slaps the bridge of my nose. I frown at the heavens. Crap. Jerking to my feet, I scramble down the path toward my bike. The brambles around me quiver with a steady piff, piff, like bullets grazing, as random raindrops fall to Earth.

One poetic device this paragraph employs is the recurring theme. Outwardly, the passage is simply describing the onset of a storm. On closer inspection, the subtext created by the choice of words indicates something more-an antagonistic relationship between the main character and fate (or life, or God). He doesn’t just frown at the sky, he frowns at the heavens. His argument with the almighty is an ongoing motif in a number of the early scenes.

Simile and metaphor offer shortcuts to understanding by comparing one thing to another (often unrelated) thing. This is no simple rainstorm beginning, but a personal affront. Somebody’s out to get him! His choice of simile, like bullets grazing, underscores his belief that he’s being targeted by an uncaring fate.

Although it’s subtle, there’s also a bit of assonance, the repeated use of a vowel sound. Crap, scramble, path, brambles, random, the a’s set up a backbeat that draws the eye along. It’s fun to read aloud, too. A little alliteration also rears its head with random raindrops. As with any of these techniques, a dollop goes a long way.

Another thing you might notice on reading this bit aloud is the rhythm. The first two sentences are structured in deliberate groups of three syllables da da da - da da da - da da da - da da da. Again, this is subtle, but it makes for sentences that roll along at a pleasing pace.

And finally, there’s a bit of onomatopoeia, that clunker for words that sound like their meaning. My favorite from above is slaps. Not only is it visceral and sharp, but it repeats the persecution theme. I’ll make the case for the non-word piff as another example, although it invokes a bit of poetic license.

I’ve only slightly scratched the surface with these examples. There are countless other ways we can raid the poet’s toolbox to build fiction. The next time you’re casting about for an inspirational novel to get your head set for writing, try grabbing a book of poems instead.

About the Author

William Womack is a writer and graphic designer living in Portland, Oregon. He is currently working on his second novel, Last Thursday, a tale of murder and intrigue set against the backdrop of the Portland arts scene. For more of his thoughts on writing and the writing lifestyle, visit www.wordsforwriters.com.

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I Want to Write a Book, and Here’s Why

A few days ago, Anne Wayman of The Golden Pencil asked, “Why Do You Want To Write A Book?” While commenting on the post, I started thinking about all of the reasons I want to write a book. What is it that drives us to do what we love? What moves us to reach for certain goals? No person can answer such questions for another, but I can share my own desires and the motivations behind them with you.

Legacy

I would like to leave something here on earth that will be around long after I’m gone. I believe that throughout the course of our lives, we gain wisdom and knowledge (at least I certainly hope so), and writing a book presents a unique opportunity to share such knowledge with others. Fiction writing goes a step further because it has a special ability to capture the essence of humanity and the human experience in an engaging and creative manner.

Ideas

I have so many ideas for books, both fiction and non-fiction, that it would be a waste to never see them realized (in print). Interestingly enough, this is also one of the reasons I haven’t written a book yet; I have so many ideas that I tend to jump from one to the next without finishing. I am constantly barraged by characters, plot ideas, and scenes. I think it would be a shame to keep them all to myself, because some of them are actually pretty good.

Wisdom and Experience

I think going through the process of writing a book, from start to finish, will be a wonderful and enlightening experience. I also feel that there is much wisdom to be gained from that process. Exploring characters, for example, will certainly lead to greater understanding of human psychology and relationships. Any non-fiction project is sure to increase expertise and knowledge about the topic at hand.

Career

I’d like to have my own career, which means I won’t be dependent on some company to see to it that I have a job and steady paycheck. I’ve worked for two start-ups that went under, and while I’d probably join a start-up again if I ever had to take another day job, I very much prefer bearing the responsibility for my own financial fate. I also like being my own boss. Can I take a vacation? Why of course you can! How about a raise? Most definitely! It’s pretty nice. Now, if I can turn freelancing and blogging into becoming a published author, that will be some career!

A Story to Tell and a Message to Spread (Expression)

I have a story to tell, several of them actually. Some of my stories are just glimpses into the reality that we all know. Other stories contain cleverly woven messages or ideas about the workings of our world and the threats and dangers that we may (or may not) someday face. In general, writing allows us to express ourselves, our stories, and our ideas. Writing a book, to me, is a huge accomplishment in self-expression.

Creativity and Accomplishment

Speaking of accomplishment, having a book published is an enormous one. Writing the book is an achievement in its own right. Getting it published means that someone out there believes in your work, and feels it’s worthy of an audience and has the potential to make money. It’s not always desirable to connect creativity with money because the two are often at odds with each other, but it’s a wonderful thing to make a living doing something you love!

Fantasy

Most of my book projects are in the science-fiction and fantasy genres. What other medium allows you to fly a dragon, soar through outer space, or blink through time? Writing opens up new worlds, and it’s a way that you can create worlds of your very own. I love that! Sure, video games and movies let you escape into strange fantasy worlds, too, but you don’t get to create those worlds and all the people and creatures that live in them!

It’s What I’m Good At

Writing is what I’m good at. So good, in fact, that I know the previous sentence does not adhere to the rules of proper English. I have a knack for written communication, a passion for reading, and a voracious appetite for all things word and grammar related. I even like styling and formatting written content.

I Think I Should Listen to My Mom

She’s been saying it for years: you should be a writer. Shortly after I started freelancing and blogging, she said, I always knew you’d be a writer; I just had this feeling. She went on to explain that she thought I’d be writing books, not copy and web entries. My mom is wise when it comes to things like this, so I’m pretty sure I should heed her advice, and that’s exactly what I intend to do!

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