Young Writers Society

more specifically, creating strong characters.

i can't seem to get into my character's heads and instinctively know what they'd say or do. whenever i'm writing dialogue for a character, i mind goes blank and i struggle to come up with something that specific character would say in a given situation.

it extends to inner monologues too, i have a hard time writing a character's thoughts. the events of a story fly at me a mile a minute, but to me, my characters are stale and dry because i don't know what they'd say or do, so i just slowly make stuff up that seems to fit.

i mean nobody that's read my work has ever said my characters lack depth, its just something that i feel.

no matter how much i practice my writing, this failing doesn't seem to get better. i'm just clueless. is there any advice for me?

You might be a plot first writer. Meaning, you think out a great story-line, filled with action and reversals and great stuff like that, but then sort of come to a lag in the character department. I'm the same way, but I've been training myself to shift into a character mode once I actually start writing. A few of my plots are even character driven. Heh.

Here's some advice:
1. Avoid stereotypes, cliches, and other nasties.
We've all seen the bruiser, the nerd, the chosen one, the evil overlord, the girl-in-a-man's-world, the army general, dishwater blonde, etc. etc. etc. *Cue yawns.* Thing is, these character types have been done to death. Over and over again. The minute you throw one of these guys in is the minute you throw in a dry, stale, cardboard cutout character. Now, while a character might fit one of these types, they should be no means be DEFINED by their type. For example, you might have a character who would be described as a nerd, but there needs to be something unique to THIS nerd. Maybe he's a daredevil at heart. Maybe his laboratory is the outdoors. Etc. Don't reach for the easy, reach for the realistic. If you want some really good info on character types, get the book Understand Me II, which explains the Myers-Briggs personality types. This might help you round out characters that would otherwise be called "cliche."

Remember, the best characters aren't defined by a type, but by action. How does this character SHOW their true nature? You need to look at the why as well: WHY are they acting this way?

2. Observe how real people act in real life.
This has a lot to do with #1. No one person is going to act like their type exactly the same time every single time. We all deal with emotions and circumstances according to both our personality and, well, the circumstance. Outside influences are always a factor, keep that in mind.

3. Write out a character onion.
Picture an onion. Chop it in half. See all those layers in there? Now, imagine your character as an onion. (I'm serious. xD) No one person is as shallow as the first layer, or even as single-minded as the core. We all have layers that build on top of one another, making us who we are. Here is how you build a character onion:
a. Start with their core personality.
Who is this character at their core? What is their heart really like? A guy may come off as cold and distant, but could be secretely sensitive and caring at his core.
b. What are his key attributes?
This can include his greatest strengths and weaknesses. They have to be defining though. Now, what would the CHARACTER list as his key attributes? In what ways is this accurate/inaccurate?
c. Major life events and culture.
This one is sort of obvious. If you had two people who had the same core personality and attributes, and throw them into different cultures and life situations, they would most likely turn out to be vastly different than one another, even if they're similar on a base-level. So, what events shaped the course of THIS characters life, and how did that affect their, well, character?
d. The Inner Journey.
(Take a look at the Joseph Campbell mythic hero model for this one.) Basically, the character needs to start in one place at the beginning of the story, and end up somewhere else at the end. What does he want? What does he NEED? How is his motivation driven by that desire? What is he willing to do? How does this come into conflict during the story?
e. What's likeable about this character.
This one is easy. If there isn't SOMETHING likeable about him, we aren't going to care about him, and we'll end up walking away. You know the "save the cat" scene in almost every superhero flick from the fifties? Well, give us a moment like that for your character. WHY should we care?
f. How do other characters percieve him?
This has to do with all those physical traits that make up a person's "image," as well as whatever first impression they're going to make. But then define the way his family, friends, and enemies see him. Are they accurate? How does their view of him differ?
g. Manners and topics of speech.
Or rather, mannerisms and speech patterns. Every character should be unique. When this guy walks into a room and starts a conversation, he should be instantly identifiable. What sets him apart from other people? We should be able to tell who is speaking even without the "John said, Mary saids" in there. How is your character different from everyone else?

4. Read character-driven books. Read books about writing characters. Read books that are classic examples of great characters. (Charles Dickens, the Great Gatsby, Steinback, etc.) If you read well, and read widely, you will gradually come to get a better grasp of what makes a truly great character, and how it's different from all the other bad characters out there in the literary realm. This takes time and a lot of work. But I think it's the best way to start to craft your own compelling, unique, and believable characters.

5. Experiment
It's important to learn the rules before breaking convention, but don't hinder your creativity. Allow your characters to "surface" in your subconcious. You can't go around yanking characters out of your hat like you're pulling a tooth or something. It needs to be natural, in a way. If you try too hard, it will often come across that way. Which eventually= dry, stale, static characters. Let your characters speak for themselves. They might just end up surprising you.

~ED

When it comes to getting inside my characters heads I always return to Stanislavski. He's an acting teacher who wrote a load of books (my favourite being 'An Actor Prepares,' if you ever want to look him up) based around method acting.

One of the most valuable things I learned from him was in a chapter where the teacher told a young female student that she had to pretend she was looking for a pin. So she did, she reached high and low and scratched her head and looked around. She walked to the other side of the room and looked worried and then pushed her hair out of the way and carried on looking along the floor.

Then he told her that there was a pin in the curtain and that if she didn't find it she would fail her course. The next ten minutes were spent watching her with her nose against the curtain, with flustered cheeks and trembling hands, combing through every thread of the curtain like her life depended on it.

To transfer that skill over to writing sometimes it helps to take yourself away from the keyboard and act out what's going to happen. For example, if your character is walking into a room where the bad guy is, then stand in front of a door and mull on it. Press your hand against the wood and imagine knowing that some awful presence lies behind it. Feel that sick, sinking feeling in your stomach, and stay there until you find that you can't possibly walk through that door.

Close your eyes and thing of random words that express that feeling (and scribble them in a notebook if you like.) Then let them grow into sentences until eventually you'll have an internal monologue before you've even opened the door.

When you get better at it you'll be able to close your eyes and do it without moving from the desk. For me it's one of the best parts of writing because it's in those moments that I can truly forget I'm part of the real world.

But then there's the negative. Fear is not a nice feeling, nor is grief or persecution, and by not fully connecting with your characters you can spare yourself from these things. It'll be easiest for your mind to close up when you reject these feelings because that's what we do in reality as well as in our imaginary world. It's a natural defence mechanism and like with any it's something you have to ease out of.

Luckily you get to experience the good as well as the bad.

There are other ways. You can learn to mimic other peoples writing styles but then your own style and expression is restricted to the edges of your repertoire.

Get away from the keyboard, go outside and walk like you're someone else, stand in front of a door, get dressed like a king or wash the dishes like a slave. Then come back and let me know how it goes =]

@EloquentDragon thank you for the excellent response, the character onion concept is very helpful and i'll be referencing this post frequently as i create characters.

@Tenyo i love your suggestion to put myself mentally and even physically in my characters shoes, i think that's going to end up being really helpful. i'm surprised i didn't think of this myself, it seems like a natural way to go about writing characters.

When I make new characters I tend to do a characrter sheet for them, which gives me a time to think about the character.

I do it in this format:
[list=]
1. Name [Full Name]
2. Age
3. Birthday
4. Gender
5. Family
6. Appearance
7. Personality
8. History[/list]

This is one that I made:

My big thing is to make sure you know how characters see themselves and the world around them, in general attitude terms. Once you know how they see themselves, you know how their inner monologue is going to go. Once you know how they see the world around them, you know how their descriptions are going to go.

Now, how they see themselves and how they see the world do not necessarily reflect reality. Somebody can see themselves as a heroic figure, when in reality they always mess things up. The reverse can be true, where they see themselves as useless when they're the most useful person there. They can see the outside world as dangerous, or a prison, or as nothing but sunshine and rainbows.

These are what I call taints. They taint and colour every single description you're going to do. Once you know where to start and what the overreaching framework in, you can build it more for each situation.

thanks everyone for your input, it was all very helpful. i made a story sheet for a short story i've started, i'd like some feedback on it.

and before when i didn't use story sheets, i had a LOT less ideas, so this was great.

plot, act one: Dante Asher is a thirteen year old boy. at age twelve his father was killed in action as a police officer, after which Dante is grief-stricken and feels lost. Dante and his father were extremely close. at age thirteen, Dante begins developing strange powers that start with hearing other people's thoughts. soon he's able to move objects with his mind and even alter people's perception, feelings and actions. man this is sounding more and more like The Force. that's bad. his abilities are dictated by his emotions, the more emotional he becomes, the more influence he exerts. Dante tries to supress his power in order to be "normal", but they only grow stronger.

act two: Dante is sixteen. he's trying his best to be normal but his power has grown considerably and he frequently and inadvertantly influences people and objects around him. a man (Reapstar, a man with the same powers as Dante but stronger) observes this in a coffee shop one day and begins stalking Dante, observing him. he thinks he can use Dante's powers to his advantage, if he can mold him to suit his needs. Reapstar reads Dante's mind and learns of his father's death. he sees this as an opportunity to become close to Dante and concocts a plan to become the father figure Dante wants. Dante falls for the trap and takes to Reapstar, who slowly tries to indoctrinate Dante, but when he reveals his plan to subjigate humans, Dante rebels and fights him.

Dante Asher

Age: 13, then 16
Appearance: Small in stature at 13, hits growth spurt and by 16 he is 5'11". Kind face, pale complexion. Short, dark hair. Thin framed. Likes to wear loose fitting clothing. Wears glasses at age 13, has contacts by age 16.
Core personality: Kind, always ready to help people. his powers cause him to become withdrawn and to feel isolated. conflicted about his powers - he wants to be normal, but finds his powers interesting and empowering. longs for a father figure.
Life events: his father died at age 12, which causes him to carry his grief everywhere he goes. mother struggles to keep up with bills after father dies, they move from his childhood home to an apartment at age 13.
Culture: lives in Bogart Heights, Ohio (fictional). the area is reknowned for its hunting grounds and many of Dante's classmates go hunting with their fathers, just as Dante had done. year is 2011 at age 13.
Journey: Dante feels lost and purposeless after his father dies, and he is confused and afraid of his powers. he slowly becomes more comfortable with his powers, and finds purpose in using his powers to help others.

Likeable qualities: kind to others, only wants to help. highly intelligent.

How others perceive him: before his father's death, people see him as outgoing and kind, and most people who know him like him, especially his elders who appreciate his intelligence and grown-up attitude. after his father's death, most people see him as antisocial because of his quietness. his close friends know he is not antisocial, he's simply experiencing grief.

mannerisms and speech patterns: before father's death, very talkative and inquisitive. doesn't have much interest in what others his age are interested in, talks more about world events and philosophy, but does have interest in hunting. after father's death, much less talkative and is usually dry and toneless. still has interest in philosophy and world events, and still enjoys talking with his close friends, though he listens more than he speaks.

Nathan Petrelli

Age:13, then 16

Appearance: Bulky for his age, large, round face and strong build. wears t-shirts that feature his favorite comic book characters.

Core Personality: appreciates his bulky stature and uses it to his advantage, but isn't heavy handed with it. he comes off as a brute to most, but his intellect is close to Dante's own, though he appreciates things like comic books, video games and movies.

Life Events: mostly stays lost in video games, movies and comic books. was born in Boston, Massachusetts but moved to Bogart Heights at age 9 so his mother could pursue a teaching career. took to Dante quickly and liked hearing his philosophies. Dante's best friend.

Likeable qualities: uses his strength to stick up for weaker people.

how others perceive him: most see him as a dumb brute and fear him, but his circle of friends know he's a sharp wit and would only hurt someone if they were doing something hurtful to another.

Codename: Reapstar (real name unknown)

Age: unknown

Appearance: 6'2", hair at chin level. thin build. high cheekbones and narrow face. mustache and goatee. wears a black leather jacket and faded blue jeans. appears to he in his early fourties.

Core personality: seeks dominance over normal people, or as he calls them, mice. is domineering and controlling, and enjoys hurting people and secretly altering their lives to his own whims. brilliantly intelligent and manipulative.

Life events: in his youth, his powers caused him to be ostricized. he developed a dissociative syndrome and became brooding. a secret section of the government took interest in his powers, abducted him and held him for five years, enhancing his powers before he became too powerful to contain and he escaped. after that he vowed vengeance and became hateful of normal people, associating them with those who hurt him.

how others perceive him: he usually ignores people when they speak to him, but when he does speak he's sometimes sarcastic and mean and sometimes charming, depending on his needs. his dominant height and appearance makes people fear him. he always has a faint smile on his face and in his eyes, even when insulting or ignoring people. some people find this charming, others find it frightening and vaguely cruel.

mannerisms and speech patterns: depends on who he's speaking to. when he thinks he requires a person to accomplish something, he's smooth, charming, convincing and commanding. otherwise he's dismissive and mean.

Elizabeth Asher

Age: 35

Appearance: long dark hair, mousy face. dominiutive stature.

Core personality: warm personality but distant and sorrowful. patient and loving to Dante.

life events: grew up in Bogart Heights with Henry Asher, her late husband. married him at age 17, has Dante at age 23. Henry dies 12 years later, and she moves herself and Dante into an apartment. realizes Dante has powers soon after he begins developing them, and consols and tries to relieve his fears.

how people perceive her: vaguely sad but kind.

mannerisms and speech patterns: always encouraging to others.


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i may add more or alter parts as ideas come, but thats the gist. i swear with this character sheet the story writes itself