The Character Challenge

With great story comes great characters. But what really makes for great characters, what plants them in the readers mind? Must we all come up with unique, charming, utterly witty and completely fascinating lads and lasses? Perhaps one brilliant character will be enough to gain attention, even though the rest of your cast lacks color, but well, they can't ALL be brilliant, can they?

But perhaps they don't all need to be brilliant. Perhaps they simply need to be alive.

You can give your character a plot. You can give them motivations and struggles. And yet. They could still be stale. People aren't boring. People aren't always predictable. They pulse with myriads of emotions, feelings, and thoughts.

Pixar. Avatar: The Last Airbender. Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Goldstone Wood. These stories have not one, not two, not three, but entire casts of unforgettable characters. And why? Is it the huge things they do in the plot? Their great accomplishments, failures? Nah, it's really just because they're them. And that covers a lot things.

So to create truly great characters, you're going to have to do a lot of behind the scenes. Some of it may never even come out in a story you write. But you'll know them. Simply knowing them will effect everything. You'll know how they'll respond to the twists and hurdles you throw at them, what their relationship with other people will be, how they will effect the world around them. As their personality comes out, you'll see their motivations, their frustrations, their *gasp* flaws, and *horror* not everybody is going to like them, cause people are simply too varied to have the same preferences.

This is a journey, a friendship, a commitment even. And here are a few challenges that helped me on my way.

The Serious

What kind of childhood did your character have? Their relationship with their families? Write a short story of them when there were young and something happened that would affect their later life.

 
Be aware of the culture and lifestyle your character is accustomed to and how they may feel in different parts of the world. What would shock them, what would interest...

What sort of education was your character given and is it realistic with their state of life? Are they acting according to the type of education provided them?

Nervous habits. Most of us have them. Whether you just have so much energy and bounce your knee (and drive the composed person next to you nuts) or hum when you're happy (hopefully you're by someone who appreciates musical joy) or scratch your head when you're stressed....its just something we do. And some may find it endearing, some may find it annoying, but its just a part of who we are.

What did your character think of romance as a child and what do they think of it now? In view of romance are they optimistic, pessimistic, uncertain, or do they just really prefer to observe and enjoy other people's romance?

(There's always that nosy match-maker...)

Can you imagine your character grown up with kids? Kids have a way of testing patience, temper, and dignity. What exactly might come out in your character if they were a parent?

Is there something rather simple that your character is afraid of? Why do they fear it?

What kind of humor does your character have? Humor is a huge part of life and most people have a certain kind. Have you noticed that most favorite characters in books or movies are the most popular. Sometimes I suspect the villains are more popular because they are more clever and jokester. Understanding the amusement or cynicism of their soul can bring them such life.

 The Silly 

(and every bit as important, in my opinion)

If your character was invited to a big dance party....and they could dance ANY dance they wanted (ignoring restriction of time period and culture)...how would they dance?

Are there any Disney songs that can be altered to fit your story and character? I've seen this employed by Jaye L. Knights fans and had quite a bit of amusement with it myself.

Comic courtesy of my brother

Find another close writing friend whose stories you know well, and ask if they'd be interested in your characters exchange letters. See what your character is like when they can pour out their feelings and inner struggle onto paper. Writing back and forth is a great for character honesty and encouragement, not to mention for their authors. I found this endlessly valuable...also, it gave me loads of material written by an intimate 1st person POV by my character of their short and long term response to events in the story. Also the communing characters just MIGHT become best buddies.

One little exercise the Big Hero 6 creators used that I found interesting was picturing a chair in an empty room and what each character would do if entering that room.

Imagine your characters celebrating a holiday with some of their family and friends.

Hope you all enjoy this challenge and learn some fun new things about the people you are privileged to bring to life!