 For Authors: November 08, 2011 Issue [#4709] |
  For Authors
This week: Effective Characterization Edited by: Jay's debut novel is out now!  
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Paraphrased and doctored from Dictionary.Com:
au·thor [aw-ther]
noun
1. a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist; the maker of anything; creator; originator.
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Hello, I'm ~jay, here for another editorial on using characterization to catalyze your writing.
Last month, I talked about different applications for character detail. This time, I thought I would address some specific methods for enhancing character detail. It is important to understand why we do something as well as what to do. 
There are two classifications of characterization: direct or explicit characterization-- the author, a narrator, or the character gives a specific impression, explanation, or other exposition of the character's nature; and then there's indirect or implicit characterization-- the reader infers from the information given what sort of character might be presented here.
We all know how to describe things here-- or at least we should!-- so I'm going to keep my reference to direct characterization minimal. The best use of direct characterization, in my perspective (which is of course biased), is in misdirecting the reader's expectations. If information is presented to me by the character about himself, I almost never take it at face value. If anything, I often read into it as self-delusion. The person in the driver's seat can't possibly see everything going on in the back seat, am I right? (Hey, knock it off back there, I'm driving!) Now, not every character is nor should they be unreliable narrators, but I like to think, especially in first-person perspectives, the view is most definitely askew. (I think this is why I like to write in first person so much. A character's perceptions can really color the view.) Base statements about the character coming from a narrator or third party are seen less popular in more contemporary work in the interest of brevity-- that idea where when we stop to describe something, we have also stopped the story action. Descriptions delivered by observation can be useful ways to drop in information about appearance and physical or visible traits that might not otherwise express themselves, but these types of interjections should be limited to only the most relevant and necessary information, lest we bore the reader.
Indirect characterization-- now there's a wormhole, in and of itself. This type of characterization is, as mentioned in last month's feedback, very much based in that whole "show, don't tell" mantra which is drilled in and expected to be commonplace. So how do we do that, then, without also being exposed to pitfalls such as the dreaded "info-dump?" -- a moment where a character uses dialogue to impart information in high volumes with no regard for moving the story along. It is obvious to the reader, and annoying in most cases.
I like dialogue as a story medium a lot-- in fact, I've definitely addressed that in some other editorials. I will often frame a scene with the pertinent dialogue written first and then add relevant movement, tags where needed to clarify the speaker, and move forward from there. I find that peppering the dialogue with the details while I am writing it is the most common way for me to get bogged down and lost while I'm writing dialogue. If I write only the dialogue first it tends to move: swift, tight, and direct. I can affect the pacing later, but at the outset, I want the dialogue to have lifelike beats. The way our characters talk is really important to how we show them as characters, so I think this is an important thing to study. If dialogue is something that gives you fits, it might be that it simply needs more speed. Tighten the back-and-forth, and then start to fill in the details.
Details and descriptions regarding characters (direct OR indirect) need not bog the story down, provided they're presented in a way that's more active than matter-of-fact. Details work well to pad out descriptions of action. This is an area in which I struggle a lot as a writer, so I am calling attention to it here-- I can't be the only one! It is easier said than done to make details both functional to the movement of the story as well as relevant to the reader's understanding. I feel like the easiest path here is sometimes to write as much description as one thinks might be needed, and then edit, edit, edit when the story is complete, saving only the details that turned out to be relevant to the narrative at hand. It's not always the most obvious parts which have the most value, which is why, in this case, I think more is more.
The kinds of details which define our characters are not simply their appearances-- it's their actions, their emotions, the way they approach conflict and the way they regard the other characters they encounter. There's a certain amount of characterization which, in small doses, can be taken as literary shorthand. It's important that we make mention here of cliches. Obviously, there is some truth to a cliche, but more often, that cliche is worn out and tired because it's too broad and vague. When we give our characters reason to deviate from expectations, we create more interest for our readers.
I can't really understate the value of flaws here. Very few real people are perfect, and most of us are pretty far from it. It's refreshing to meet characters who make mistakes and have doubts and troubles that are convincing and realistic. It should not be hard to find some real and convincing mistakes, doubts, or troubles for your character; you should really not have to look far to find something you or someone you know have experienced, and find a way to present it anew. Experience is a valuable reference here; second to that is empathy. Putting yourself in a character's shoes and understanding their feelings gives a writer a more compelling view of things.
It's hard to give too many specifics here, if only because I don't want to pigeonhole any specific character type. There are dozens of ways to make every character you write into a unique individual with a life, a history, and a future. The details are what you're coming up with, you Author, you!
Until next time,
Take care and Write on!
~j
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This month's picks...
Even more resources on character, and some good examples of characterization through direct and indirect illustrations:
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 pullmanspb presents us with a poser of sorts:
Often, when I offer feedback to newbies I find myself almost begging that the writer check spelling before submitting. My reaction, to paraphrase myself, is: With misspellings, it takes away from the power of the writing. It distracts me.
As a 61-year old, am I behind the times? Am I swimming upstream against a very powerful current? Am I a dinosaur who should go away, or drop my frustrations?
I welcome your comments and reactions.
Steven
I for one think that excessive spelling errors which can be caught by even the rudimentary spell-check built into one's Internet browser software can be mentioned as such-- "errors which should be easily screened with spell-check"-- and I will not line-by-line edit them out. I don't have time to do that stuff for free, when the author could have done it. I do often mention it, and I do take it into consideration when I administer my rating. I might be gentler with someone I know is a teenager, but we can't always be so sure it's a teenager on the other end, either, and sometimes stating that assumption is actually worse than giving a low rating 
Readers: What do you think?
 And now: Feedback from last month's newsletter: "Characterization In Action" about ways characterization can be used -- orthodox and not so orthodox:
Jimbo  writes:
 ...And in November, it helps meet that 50,000 word goal a little easier. 
To paraphrase from Napoleon Dynamite, "Heck yes, it does!" Having strong characters is important especially in the middle of a long sprint like this one. LOL!
phillywriter71 writes:
Hi Jay, awesome newsletter first off. To answer your question I find describing my characters' behaviors and physique really helps bring out characterization. I am big on showing not telling especially when it comes to my characters or at least I try to lol.
I know what you mean! I like to think that most of my characters are pretty bold with their approaches to conflict and to other characters' conflicting interests.
Dr. Dnomyar writes:
I would have to say that Rzman is my best charachter although he could use to be less absentminded.
well, absentminded-ness isn't all bad in characters. For example, one of my favorite absent-minded professor type characters is Dr. Walter Bishop (brilliantly performed by John Noble) on the television show Fringe. Now there's a complex character! Full of self-deception and copious amounts of ... hmm, candy and mind altering substances.  but oh, even when he has done something horrible it really wrenches your gut to think poorly of him. In any case, very few characters are perfect and their imperfections make them intriguing!
BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  submits
 " Zena's Interview" 18+: An interview with my wolfess ex-thief turned law officer. Dialogue form. Contest Entry
I have a bunch of characters, but I'd have to say that my Zena is the best- a Thief-turned-Law Enforcement Officer- can't get any more turned around than that, except in the opposite way.
you mean a law enforcement officer turned thief? Or do you mean Reciffo Tnemecrofne Wal denrut Feiht?  (I kid, I kid.)
chameleon666 writes:
Personally, I think my best character so far is Serena Leo, a character who appears in my (hopefully) soon-to-be-published NaNo novel. I think it's because I really connected and understood her better than any of the other characters. And I do think you're right. Characterization plays a big role in stories.
and in ways we don't always expect!
NickiD89  submits
with the following comment:
Great NL, ~j! I was very pleased with the characterization I incorporated for Ricky Grant, main character and POV in "The Sound of Consequences" . Ricky has been deaf since birth, so his body signals and facial expressions not only "speak" for him, but they reflect his unique conflicts as well as his emotional state. I had a lot of fun exploring him, through his characterizations.
Exactly the type of applications I wanted to see, Nicki! This style of character development gives the reader a more complete picture.
Jed Jones - banned novel submits
with the following comment:
Standard advice is - build a fat police file on each of your major characters, complete with mug shots, covering every last detail down to the colour of their underwear, before you even think about writing them into your story. I found myself doing the opposite.
All I had was a basic idea for each character, and the only certainty that, to carry my story, all my female characters needed to be strong. They screamed at me to let them loose on the page, and each other, and I feared to argue with them.
As they wrote themselves, amazing things happened. Testy situations, and friction between them, revealed their hidden depths, flaws, and new, distinctive strengths. They even gave me story ideas I'd never have thought of otherwise.
The downside of this organic approach is, you can lose control. Your beautiful plot turns to mush, or spaghetti. But, this is the best cure for writer's block I've discovered yet. When you're stuck, consult your characters.
Yeah, I have had a character really run me around like this before! I had originally written her to be a wealthy, spoiled girl with lots of training and a Bond-villain-esque level of Motivation To Be Evil... and then I realized, "wow, she really doesn't work that way at all." When I deconstructed her through the story that SHE wanted to tell, it turns out her personal story was totally different-- and now she's a sociopath struggling with what amounts to lifelong reactive attachment disorder... and she's a lot more convincing and compelling when she wants to be the antagonist. [And, I might add, only when she wants to be...when she isn't too busy running the show!] What have I gotten myself into??)
rjlester writes:
I got the drift of where to apply it, but not how to develop my 'Characterization Skills'.
Please describe this process in more detail.
Hi RJ! I figured that it would be easiest and most approachable to divide this content into "applications where characterization is important" and then to delve into greater depth with specific places to approach characterization in this and future issues. Hope this helps get you started, at least!
thebiga writes:
In answer to your prompt, Jay, I think the character of a person can be deduced as much from the way they see other people in the story as by what we write about them. I've got a bit of a fault finder on the go at the time of writing this. So by association or virtue of relativity there is a sharing of traits. One identifies something which its owner is unaware of. Is that existential? I like the notion that everyone is one's self in dreams, magnetising any surface trait conciously or otherwise. Adrian.
Well, perception is definitely a part of characterization, especially in any kind of first-hand account!
atwhatcost writes:
People, even when they aren't human, tend to make habit from reactions. Two examples from the novel I've just finished the rough draft on:
When uncomfortable from attention, my protagonist tends to rub the back of his neck. When he gets his face smashed into something too long (like someone hugging him or someone falling on top of him when they fell into a dumpster) he mumbles, until the offender asks, "What?" That's how he gets their attention to stop the unwanted action. He's subtle, but he gets his point across with habit of reaction.
Well, I guess that's one way to go about it. Have to be careful not to be so subtle that things are easily missed.
Remember, I try to print all relevant feedback each month, so please feel free to send your questions and comments. |
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