Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Central Characters

Central Characters

One of my new students asked me a general question today about Central Characters. This was my reply.

You hit on a good point. Let me suggest that instead of multiple, you think about having one central character. I know there are many novels that flit around with multiple central characters (CC) but for this workshop I want you to come out of it with one in mind. This doesn't mean you can't test drive some others and I encourage you to do so. In my Essense and the Stones I started out with a girl called Liope and somewhere in the middle Bedelia stepped in and stole the show. If you have read the "Girl With the Dragon tattoo," you will see that Michael started out the CC I but 'Lizbeth comes along and shoves him aside. Stephany Meyer in her twilight series had the same difficulties with her Native American buddie. These were (are) great writers and succeeded in a specctular fashion despite what I consider serious structural flaws in their works.

Here is the problem. One of the reasons a reader often can't get into a book is because the CC shows up late or the story doesn't really seem to have one. A reader is looking from the outset to identify and enter into a vicarious relationship with the CC. This is especially true for a stage or screen play but holds for a novel as well. When the writer starts messing with this expectation they are asking for trouble. The way I identify a central character is.... 1)They show up in the first chapter, 2) They are in the middle of things, 3) The story revolves around them and 4) they are the object of the "Life Changing Event. "In my One Act Play course over half the students always miss the boat on who the CC is. This is where they start swearing at me and mumbling under their breaths. One, who I dearly came to love, began to question my competence. This group has some heavy hitters and there will be some pushing, shoving and maybe a scuffle or two. You're going to love it!

So to answer your question, to start with just pick whoever you think is a likely candidate.... Then audition several iothers in your vignettes, test drive them so to speak... See what your muse is trying to tell you. When the course reaches the seventh week it will be decision time. However, think about it as you write your little "chunkettes"... stay fluid and don't shut out the possibilities during this developmental workshop. Finding out for sure who the CC is becomes huge after the course is over and you start pushing the pen or pounding the keys for record. That is an important part of this workshop. It will pay big dividends later in your novel.