Image by andyi via FlickrFiction writing is utterly dependent on the characters that carry the story, but where do they come from? Mine usually develop initially from gender, age, sexuality and physical type, according to the basic needs of the story outline I carry in my head. At this stage, I usually know only that I need x number of men and women to carry through the plot, such as it is.
The next stage, as the amorphous strands of the story start to cohere, is to find an image resembling the imagined character. I have a file of pictures, gathered during a lifetime of writing, holding a few thousand images of both genders. From this I can usually find a picture that fits my character well enough for the next part of the process.
For this, I use a preformed table in Word, which asks me various questions about the physical attributes of the character: eye, hair and skin colour, age, weight, height, etc. It also has open spaces for such aspects as political, religious, social and relational qualities. I write a short biography and ask some questions of the character and then name the file with the character's chosen moniker and place it in the folder that will eventually contain the story itself.
Because I generally write fiction driven by my characters, I tend to gather my participating people (and animals, where required) together first. Only when I have the cast assembled does the story start to properly develop.
My characters are never identifiable as individuals I know. But I do always use characteristics of associates, both close and distant. And all my characters, good, bad and neutral, contain something of myself, of course.
So, my question for you is this: How do you go about character development and selection? Please place a comment and we can open a discussion here to inform, educate and enlighten all.
Thank you.
6 comments:
For me, the people come first. A certain person in a certain dilemma or two people who can't be together.. and then the story comes from them. I've never managed it the other way around, but then my books are all character-based not plot-based. I do find it fascinating when people ask where these characters come from, because I have no idea! But I do find that creating a character with one, simple trait, say, the youngest of several children, leads to many other developments. Youngest, maybe a show-off, desiring attention, a bit overlooked by parents so allowed a free rein...makes for a compelling person when it's all taken into account.
Thanks, Jane. I understand your dilemma about the origin of characters; they seem to emerge from nowhere, partially formed, for me. I think it's a secret of the unconscious at work for us. And the idea of a specific trait is good, it gives you a base from which to build further characteristics, I think.
I think that by the time we recognise that characters are nudging us, even if they are wispy entities with few physical or mental attributes, our unconscious has been in silent overdrive for some while.
My fiction is character-led, too, and I tend to use the 'show' technique more than the 'tell', so having physical pictures of my characters is not something I use. I see through their eyes as the point of view changes, and I'm not a big fan of looking in mirrors in real life, never mind have characters doing so.
I am, though, big on the use of detailed character sheets. I do need to know if a bloke (or woman) is over 6feet or slim/fat as such details will make a difference to how they interact with their surroundings. When another character comments on the viewpoint character's looks (if it needs to come into the story)then that piece of info goes onto the sheet for continuinity.
Yes, Linda, 'show' is so crucial to the quality of fiction writing that I almost take it as a given. My reasons for 'picturing' my characters is that I am very visually based - I suspect my early career as a photographer is either causal or the result of a visual bias. By having a picture, I can more easily see them as 'real' people. It defines them in a skin, so to speak. Obviously, this technique won't work for all writers and I imagine we all gravitate to the method of characterisation best suited to our individual needs. And this is what this discussion is intended to show; that we are all individuals, whilst perhaps giving pointers to new writers about the various methods available to them.
Thanks for your insights.
My writing used to be very plot driven, but since knowing the wonderful array of talent in Hornsea writers, I now approach my work with much more thought for the feelings, ambitions and needs of my characters. In the Luke Ballard series, I am trying to build a 'family' of characters that readers will want to know about. I do search for pictures of my characters. I have vague ideas of their characteristics and pictures just sharpen that up for me. Like you, Stuart, I am a very visual writer, same as I am a visual singer and use mental pictures to help me place the notes etc. I use character pictures to 'see' my characters reactions. They people my imagination and I just sit back, watch the film and let my fingers tell the story I am seeing.
Of course, just watching the film isn't the half of it. I have to linger on faces to see how they have reacted to what has happened or what someone has said. My characters are with me constantly and we all have conversations in my head, which is fine for the most part as I spend most of my days alone. By doing this, when I visit the settings - as I did last week, see blog shortly to be written - then I just watch my characters people the setting, I follow them, listen to their conversations and watch their story. I love it!
Thank you, Avril. I, too, 'watch' my characters at work and play and 'seeing' their reactions helps make them more real for me.
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