 For Authors: January 23, 2008 Issue [#2162] |
  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Vivian  
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Have you ever become interested in a story or novel to the extent you can "see" one or more of the characters but the others seem flat, or one dimensional? Perhaps you've read something and thought, "A real person wouldn't act like that or do that"?
Characters who aren't "real," who don't breathe, don't live for the reader can destroy an otherwise good plot.
Perhaps one resolution for this new year would be to create characters who breathe.
Viv
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Characters That Breathe
Believable, living characters make a story, novel, article live and breathe, too. Several tips can help the writer create a “can’t put it down” manuscript that could catch the eye of an agent or publisher and finally readers.
* Know your characters. Create a life, likes, hates, etc. for each characters. Even if most of the information never makes its way into the plot/story. The more real a character is to you, the writer, the more believable he or she will be to others.
Personally, I make a chart for my characters, listing even unimportant aspects such as favorite color, food likes and dislikes, as well as major components of their personalities and physical appearances.
* Characters needs strengths and weaknesses. Whether characters are likable or unlikable, they need good traits or strengths and bad traits or weaknesses. No living person is one dimensional, so neither should fictitious ones be. Even Superman had one weakness, even if an external one.
One sub-point - characters can be unlikable, protagonists, or evil without being excessively vulgar or profane.
* Flaws and passions should be revealed in layers. This idea ties into “show, don’t tell.” A writer can write a paragraph or more explaining the personality traits, feelings, strengths, and/or weaknesses of a character, boring a reader to tears, or the author can reveal layer by layer of the character through the plot and storyline - showing the reader the character rather than telling about the character.
* Be able to “show” your characters’ intentions. Thomas Mullen, author of The Last Town on Earth, stated when interviewed for the January 2008 The Writer: “I wanted to create a novel in which all the characters are motivated by good intentions, so I could play with the conflicts that would nevertheless result.”
Yes, some characters in some stories or novels have evil intentions; but sometimes bad things can happen even if a character has good intentions. Knowing your characters intentions and revealing them through the plot helps make living breathing characters.
{indent{If you, the writer, know the whys and hows of your characters actions, thoughts, and words, then you can help the reader know, too.
* Observe and listen to people around you, or use your memory. Watch how people act and react. Listen to how they talk. Remember people you knew and how they acted and reacted, their foibles. Use those ideas in developing characters.
Those are a few tips for developing characters that breathe, that live for anyone who reads your work.
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Comments from Readers
arcadian 
Dear Vivian, thank you for a fine article on writing fiction for children.That's a huge subject isn't it? It's wonderful that some people have the ability to recall the mindset they had at a certain age and sustain that long enough to write a whole piece. Maybe they don't do that, but I can't help thinking it would be necessary. Anyhow, your guidelines in this newsletter are excellent (and apply to other fiction as well). Thank you.
I'm glad you enjoyed the editorial. I don't know about others, but I try to put myself in the mind of a child the age of my audience.
ftrinta
Hi Vivian
Great newsletter! Just for fun I've written a story for my small nephews. I've used some of the tips here mentioned (even without knowing them), and it worked well. At least they liked it!
I've just one observation regarding hint nr 17. Exupery made his own drawings to his book The Little Prince. He was for sure not an artist but the originality of the drawings were like part of the book. Anyway, I understand what you mean but maybe ou should have mentioned this "exception".
Cheers, thanks for the great newsletter and have a wonderful 2008!
Nanda
Exceptions usually exist for most ideas, rules, and guidelines, but I wasn't dealing with exceptions in that editorial. The Little Prince was written over sixty years ago, before large numbers of authors of children's books tried to be published. Many things were easier and more lax then.
April Sunday
This takes one back to when parents read the illustrated books to the kids. I'll never forget how we loved the humour geared to parents in Stephen Kellog's works. What a gem of an author/ illistratotr. Happy New Year, Viv.
Happy New Year, Teff.
SantaBee 
Viv, well written, topical, and engaging. Two thumbs up. I agree - the active voice works well for kids. I'm constantly reading to my 5-year-old, and I think the Dr. Suess books are the best. They definitely engage him.
Dr. Suess had a knack that many writers try to copy, but few succeed. Too bad.
leifgreen
I always think about writing children's books, and most of my writing CAN be considered "Children's," so this newsletter really stuck out to me. Great points! And know exactly what you mean when you say "Children's books should be of the highest quality!" But, do all children's books need to focus on what applies to the child? I read children books, and I'm 15! ^_^
Thank you for your feedback and reply! If you don't reply, I understand! Thank you again! ^_^
- Little preacher man.
I read children's books, too, and I'm much older than fifteen.  A good children's book applies to children to the extent that the subject, story, plot, and characters interest children.
NickiD89 
Hi Vivian! Fantastic information on writing children's stories, thank you so much -- especially for your advice about talking animals. My story uses animals to deliver its message. I hoped the animals' behavior would act as a mirror for children. As the animals worked through their behavioral changes, I hoped my juvenile audience would reflect on changing their outlooks, too.
Just remember that talking animals need to be multi-dimensional characters, just as they would need to be if human. Good luck.
I hope you'll join me next month for another set of ideas from
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