Character Reaction

I've been in the throes for the Jewish New Year, a time of reflection and introspection.  This year, I decide to re-read part of the Book of Genesis, to get back in touch with a part of myself that tends to get lost during the normal routine of writing, editing, and revising.  I specifically focused on the stories of Abraham because scholars believe there is evidence he actually lived thousands of years ago.

The one story that resonated with me was the binding of Isaac and Abraham's reaction.  Clearly the story is about God testing Abraham and Abraham's reaction.  As I read the story I could help think in my writer-ish way, 'Gee, isn't life a serious of tests?  And how we react to them determines the kind of people we are.'

If that is so, then I reasoned I could use that simply fact to sketch characters for stories the same way.  For example, I could create a character who filters everything through a specific lenses.  Say he feels persecuted so everything that happens to him must be related to those feelings.

Or I could create a character with several general reactions to the trial in life.  That would have the character a most round and realistic feel.  But as I thought about, if I want to give my characters a realistic feel I really need to look at the character from many perspectives.

People are complex after.  A realistic character with going to have views on lots of different things.  For example, religion, politics, education, government, taxes, money, sex, food, art, music, books, age, women (or men), children, life, work, and so on.  All the things that you and I have opinions one.   Some will be shared by the society, others unique to the person.  Plus I need to consider the views in my fantasy world.  So I need to add views on elves, dwarves, and other races.  Also views on humans of other traditions.  View on magic are equally relevant.

What this means is you first work out the general world details and the details of a given society and then you put people in them.  You can go in the other direction too, but it is probably easier going from the general to the specific.

Now, much of the general info in my fantasy world is worked out: I've been writing novels using that setting after all.  If I didn't have the general info complete, I'd be in big trouble.  And some of the racial/societal views are known too but I've got some work there too I see now.

Lastly, I think this technique can help me create new characters faster.  I just need to work out the reactions.

One Hand Washes the Other

I've had feedback on several blog posts and it appears I've left some people with the wrong impression.  I'm going to see if I can clear it up.  I've been writing about the importance of characters and plot in my stories. Characters make my stories come alive but only when they react and interact with each other.  Plot is usually where I start in a story so that I know where the story is going.

From this, some people have assumed that for me plot is more important.  That's not true.  Plot, the way I use it, is like an outline.  It tells me what happens, when it happens, where it happens, how it happens, and to whom.  The characters tell me why it happens.  The character-plot connection are like two hands, one washing the other.  Even when I plot, character decisions get made and when I develop characters, plot usually changes.  Once I've worked out the rough plot details, I go back and focus on the characters to make sure their goals and motivation fit the story.  I can't do that without knowing where I'm going.  But the plot does not rule; if something does not fit, it is changed.

Could I start with the characters and seeing where the story leads?  Sure I could but what I've found is that wastes time.  It's like writing an essay (or a blog post) where you don't know what your point is.  Generally, you figure that out by the end of the piece and then go back and revise.  While that approaches is workable in something short, like an essay, or a blog post, or even a short story, I find it is not a feasible approach in a novel that is hundreds of pages long.  It is much better for me to know where the story is going so I can take the reader there.

That also does not mean, I've plotted out all the details.  Far from it.  I've only got the basic points down so that the characters can tell me things I didn't know in the process of writing.  In this way I can still surprise myself in the early drafts.

This, of course, is not the only way to go about writing a story, but it seems to work for me and the way I think.  I doubt it will work for anyone else, but you are all free to try it if you wish.

The Word Count Trap

Last year while revision my fantasy novel for the umpteenth time, I began to pay attention to the word count.  I did this because many publishers have minimum word counts for novels. For fantasy novels it is starts at 70,000 or 75,000 words but some places have minimum word counts of 100,000 words.

At the time, my word count was 50,000 words.  I found a place that required only 60,000 words so I made that my target since I had no illusions doubling the size of the book.

I managed to add 10,000 words by filling in missing scenes and revising the end so that I needed to write several more scenes.  This is a torturous process because I didn't want to add fluff but I needed add more words to make the publisher's minimum requirements.

Big mistake.

I say this because I recently I found out that my characters needed work.  When I started fleshing them out more I suddenly discovered an untapped source of material.  Their reactions and comments and fears and goals and hopes and dreams to events and information already in the book has added lots of words and pages. More importantly, it has been the story far more interesting. I am finally reading my own and saying, "Damn that's good!" and "Oh, I guess I know more about character x than I thought."

So if you are looking for things to say in your stories look no further than your characters.  I'll bet you'll find all the words you need from them.

It's a Question of Character

For me, the story's plot is the most important. I like to work out the details and construct an interesting story with twists and surprises if I can manage them.

But for readers (and publishers) it is the characters that take center stage. Knowing them is what captures the reader's interest and so that is where most sources on writing tell you to start.

So let's look at what knowing your characters means. In a nutshell, you need to know what motivates them. What are their goals, hopes, dreams, ambitions? What are they afraid of? What do they like to do and what don't they enjoy?

Equally important is how they express themselves? How do they show anger, fear, doubt, confusion, or suspicion? Note that by 'express', I don't mean just their dialogue. Facial expressions and body language are equally important.

Frustration is another key element. How they react to it controls how your plot unfolds. For example, character A is frustrated that the guild will not hire him. What does he do? He could work harder to convince them. Or he could practice his craft without their approval (risky and dangerous; if everyone did that why have a guild?) Or he could move on into another part of the realm and see if another guild will hire him. Each of these decisions changes the story. The choice you select depends on what makes sense for the character and the story you are trying to tell.

Keep in mind also that a character can react to an emotion in different ways and still be consistent. It depends on the situation. If setbacks make the character angry and want to lash out, perhaps in one situation he or she is warned against doing this. Knowing this ahead of time permits the character to temper the reaction expressed.

So experiment with your characters. Write small scenes that show your characters reacting to different situations. Use these efforts as exercises to learn about your characters. Doing so will help you write them in a more realistic way when it comes time to put together your story.