I'm so pleased to be introducing our guest today, K.M. Weiland. She writes historical fiction and is the author of three books, including Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, and has an awesome blog at Helping Writers Become Authors. You can also follow her on Twitter on @KMWeiland. Enjoy the post!
We all know what a compelling character looks like.
Han Solo. Scarlett O’Hara. Tom Sawyer. Anne Shirley. Frodo Baggins.
Those are the characters we’ve cheered for, and those are the kinds of characters we want to put into our stories. But watching Han Solo swashbuckling on the big screen is scads easier than trying to write someone who can pull in readers with the same force of sheer charisma.
Sometimes we get lucky, and a fantabulous character plops onto our pages fully formed. Other times, our characters are less than cooperative and we have to work at making them likable and interesting. We’re not going to find an absolute formula for writing great characters. But, instead, we can break down the great characters of literature and film to figure out what makes them tick.
Start by grabbing a blank piece of paper and writing down a good long list of all your favorite characters. Then, consider why you like them and write down the traits you particularly resonate with. Try to keep the traits to one-word tags to simplify the exercise and keep it as generic (and therefore widely applicable) as possible.
I did this a few years ago to figure out what traits contributed to the best female characters. Here are a few results I came up with:
Cora Munro from The Last of the Mohicans
Traits: Tough, Brave, Loyal, Open-Minded
Trinity from The Matrix
Traits: Tough, Brave, Skilled, Dedicated
Elizabeth Bennett from Pride & Prejudice
Traits: Witty, Outgoing, Opinionated, Loyal
Danielle de Barbarac from Ever After
Traits: Optimistic, Spunky, Passionate, Idealistic, Ethical
Sue Barton from Open Range
Traits: Kind, Brave, Unprejudiced, Generous, Unflappable
The traits your list highlight will vary, depending on the type of characters you examine and your own personal values and preferences. But, in the end, you should come away with a rounded idea of what traits you want to emphasize in your own character to achieve the same effect as those from your favorite stories.
The trick here, of course, is to make sure these traits appear organically within your character. Saying you want a tough, brave, sweet heroine is fine, but you can’t force any of those traits onto a character. You have to work with them and mold their personalities, back stories, and motivations to make sure these traits are an inherent part of their personalities—and not just tacked on for aesthetics.
Using this fun little exercise, you can take character work from the realm of the merely instinctual to that of conscious decision.
PRACTICE
Make a list of your favorite characters. Then, think about what character traits you like about them.
Spend at least fifteen minutes on this to make sure you get a well-rounded list.
If you’d like, share your results in the comment section.
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If you enjoyed this post, consider checking out our new tutorial, Characterization 101: How to Create Memorable Characters. If you want to create characters that stick in your readers' minds for years, you should think about signing up.
Joseph Campbell, the mythologist and author of “The Hero’s Journey”, pointed out that early in a story the hero will indicate through some subtle action that he or she is capable of transformation. Because, let’s face it, a hero isn’t someone who can pummel the most villains, but the person who has the courage to change. To drop their own belief systems and emerge as someone truer to their higher nature.
I love The Hero’s Journey, PJ. So to use the Michael Jackson song, to change the world, the hero has to start with the man in the mirror?
Really, the only characteristic that singles out the protagonist from among every other character in the story *is* that ability to change. Literature and film are full of fabulous characters (antagonists, side kicks, etc.) who only missed on the starring role because they had no character arc.
You gave great examples here – – I especially like Sue Barton – it’s really easy to “see” her characteristics, not by being told but simply by her actions. Good one!
You bring up a great point, which is, of course, that character traits never fully resonate unless the character proves them through his actions. An author can say a character is brave until he’s blue the face, but the character won’t *be* brave until he faces down an enemy battalion single-handedly.
Agreed. True characterization is all about showing through action and plot.
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Joe!
Whatever. Thank YOU so much for writing this awesome post!
Brilliant! This is so useful 😀
Also, just wanted to let you know that I really love this blog, so I’ve nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award! It’s a great way for bloggers to network and support each other! I have more information here: http://jcpiech.blogspot.com/
xx
Thanks for reading! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Thanks, JC!
well said.
Thanks for reading!
I like that you reminded us our characters need *motivations*. That’s crucial to creating a natural, believable story. After all, characters should be crafted as people–not two-dimensional things on paper.
We’ll never achieve memorability in our fiction if we’re not able to present well-rounded, realistic characters, and, as you say, that means their believable actions have to stem from believable motives.
Very true, Rebecca. We went into depth on exploring your characters motivations in a post earlier this month. You’d like it:
https://thewritepractice.com/how-to-explore-your-characters-motivations/
I like a lot of the classic “guy movies” as you can see. Almost all of the characters I like are rebellious, sarcastic, funny and smart.
Rocky Balboa- simple. Stubborn. Determined. Real. Rebellious. Funny. Defies the odds.
Michael Corleone- flawed. Calculated. Thinker. Outlaw. Smart.
Han Solo- rough around the edges. Flawed. Courageous. Funny. Smart. Sarcastic. Outlaw.
Superman- the jekyll and hyde aspect of his life. Noble, full of honor. Smart.
(Heath Ledger’s)Joker- scary, intriguing, unstable. Isolated. Smart.
Doug Heffernan- funny, simple, lazy, smart, normal.
Arthur Spooner- funny, cynical.
Fox Mulder- sarcastic, smart, rebellious, adventurous, cynical.
It’s true. Even Joker is funny. Michael Corleone, though? Not so much. Although he’s the only one in your list who’s not.
‘Nother good list! Lots of great characters here. Ledger’s Joker is one I find very interesting as well. A lot to chew on there, and the movie left the door open for a lot of interpretations, since we know nothing about his backstory or, really, his motivations.
That was a great exercise. Thanks for warming up my keyboard this eve!
Gotta keep that keyboard warm – especially in the winter!
Ha!
Great post, especially in light of yesterday’s post! I’ve learned so much here in just the last week. I’m realizing I need to go back and do some serious evaluating and editing on my novel. It will be hard but worth it.
Laura Ingles
Traits – Stubborn, Kind, Curious, Adventurous
Jane Eyre
Trait – Honest, Patient, Strong, Sensitive, Adaptable, Survivor
Sherlock Holmes
Traits – Enigmatic, Brilliant, Loyal, Exciting
William Wallace (he’s the most difficult)
Traits – Driven, Idealistic, Sacrificial, Brokenhearted
Hercule Poirot
Traits – Clever, Fastidious, Endearing, Intuitive, Moral, Loyal
Virginia Harper (The main character in my novel)
Traits – Hopeful, Relational, Honest, Warm, Southern
This was more challenging than I expected! Good exercise for my little grey cells!
William Wallace. Good one. I’d add intelligent to his list of traits. I like that you put “Southern” as one of the traits you liked!
Fabulous! I love that you’ve got such a wide range of traits listed here. It not only gives a rounded view of the characters listed, but also gives you a lot more to work with in crafting your own characters.
Seriously awesome.
I’ve to agree with one of the comments I’ve read. This was harder than what I’ve expected. Thanks for the challenge!
Here’s my list of characters and their traits:
Tyrion Lannister – Cunning. Determined. Survivor.
Eddard Stark – Honorable. Loyal. Steadfast.
Vin – Brave. Stubborn. Instinctive. Determined.
Rick Blaine – Tough. Selfless. Kind. And he’s just plain cool (I know I’m breaking the “one word tag” but I just have to say it).
Batman – Smart. Complex. Tough. Ladies’ man.
Gregory House – Smart. Cynic. Exciting. Narcissist.
Good list. I like that you included House. I secretly love narcissists as characters in fiction.
Thanks! Yeah. I like them too. They’re more interesting than your usual goody two shoes heroes / characters 🙂
True. I especially like Jane on the Mentalist. What’s a good example of one in literature?
Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain from Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series.
Thank you very much. You’ve given me a great tool!
This was a very good trick to use. Here is a good long list of all my favorite characters:
The Phantom-Despairing, Lonely, Passionate, Abused
Captain Hastings-Naive, Reliable, Brave, Endearing
Kratos Aurion-Fatalistic, Silent, Fatherly, Regretful
Zuko-Lost, Honorable, Strong, Kind
Data-Inquisitive, Kind, Neutral, Endearing
Loki-Sharp, Neglected, Intelligent, Fierce
Bruce Banner-Furtive, Cautious, Moral, Accepting
Atticus Finch-Moral, Wise, Calm, Loving
Constable Crabtree-Innocent, Helpful, Wholesome, Idealistic
Miss Lemon-Obsessive, Supportive, Clean, Logical
Tali’zorah-Quiet, Willful, Practiced, World-Wizened
Mai-Depressive, Fierce, Neutral, Calculating
H.M Murdock-Endearing, Excitable, Naive, Puzzling
Barclay-Shy, Quiet, Skillful, Kind
Sirius Black-Brave, Affectionate, Protective, Hot-headed
Remus Lupin-Melancholy, Ragged, Truthful, Conflicted
Bard the Bowman-Solemn, Protective, Brave, Righteous
EMH-Artistic, Sarcastic, Human, Excitable
Thane Krios-Pious, Skillful, Caring, Pensive
Gangrel-Regretful, Madness, Depressive, Lonely
Logan (FABLE)-Misguided, Passionate, Misunderstood, Calculating
George Weasley-Kind, Hilarious, Mischievous, Intelligent