Once I have a character and a
basic idea of personality, appearance, and role in the story, I set to the very
fun task of figuring out their story.
A lot of it evolves as I write. I’ll be writing a scene, for instance, and they’ll
say something that strikes me as, “Now, why do they think that? Why do they
believe that? Why are they acting like that?”
“Why?” is a great question for a
writer. So is “How?” (As in, “How would someone who has been through _____ react?
How would that alter their behavior, their mindset?”) People have reasons for
doing what they do, being how they are, and I believe characters should too.
Everyone has been through something that changed them; everyone has wounds and
beliefs and fears that led to certain behaviors. Characters, again, should be
the same. Oftentimes, parents or peers wound a person, so I figure that stuff
out too. Don’t just make your characters a certain way for the sake of them
being like that – give them a reason! Even if they don’t understand it themselves,
you as the writer need to understand.
Masrekah (Mas) is a good example
of all of this. He was simply a backstory guy who pursued Rab and ended up
giving her a complex about men. I had the very basic information about him
(appearance, age, bits of personality), and I wrote the scene (which takes
place three years before the story starts). As I went through and tweaked it –
actually, I think it was when I transferred it from third person to first – I
added one specific exchange between them.
Quick recap: Mas wants to marry Rab, and she has refused unless he takes her
sister with them. He’s not liking that deal…
“I’m
just afraid for my sister,” I said. “Do you – don’t you have siblings that you
love?”
He
blinked. “No.”
My
heart sank. “You don’t love them, or you don’t have any?”
Again,
he remained as unyielding and impenetrable as stone. “They’re all dead.”
I
opened my mouth, then hesitated. There was only coldness in his eyes, but for
some reason, my chest ached all the same. “I’m sorry,” I said again. “And your
parents?”
He
didn’t move, not even to blink now. Ice radiated from him, and a shiver
prickled through me.
“They’re all dead.” That was
unexpected. It made me feel bad for him. And suddenly, OH MY GOSH, that rude, violent, jerkface of a guy became incredibly
interesting to me. My mind exploded. “He has a family, but they’re all dead.
Why are they dead? What happened to them? When did they die? Why doesn’t he
like to talk about it? Why is he so cold about it? Did he see it? Did he have
something to do with it? Does it hurt him to think about? How old was he when
this happened? jalksdfjaeirgjaierjg!!!!”
From that one line, Mas stuck a
knife in my heart. I figured out his backstory, and I couldn’t forget about
him. I liked the iciness in him, so when the idea came to have him in the
actual story, I intensified that attitude. The more I’ve written him (if you
don’t know, he has become an extremely main character), the more he has
developed. I decided it would be awesome if he became a good guy, but in order for
him to turn good, something big and traumatic had to happen. So I figured out
what it was and worked out the timeline. The struggle of being a good, changed
guy forced to keep up the charade of badness has added even more to his
character and personality. People have told me that Mas is their favorite
character so far, and it is because of the depth of his personality and the
redemption in him (even though he doesn’t see it yet).
Another thing I’m trying to do
more of is give everyone their little quirks, often displayed in dialogue scenes.
Sorek especially has a few certain things he says numerous times, and he laughs
or snickers when he is uncomfortable or in pain (which is usually an inappropriate
time to laugh). Someone pointed out that Mas has more of a dry sense of humor,
while Sorek is snarky, so I’m playing up on both of those. Mas is also, on the
whole, more refined and polite than Sorek in how he speaks. Rab is always on
the defensive and often speaks with a biting undertone. Because of abuse, Ari
has learned never to give non-verbal responses to direct questions. She also
stutters, especially when nervous or afraid.
Another thing I do is figure out
how characters feel toward other characters and believe others feel toward
them. Mas (rightly) believes that Rab hates him, so he is instinctively colder toward
her because he is steeling himself for her rejection and rage. Yet everything
in his personality softens when it comes to Ari, for he views her as innocent
and sweet. Not only is this visible in scenes between him and Ari, but other
characters notice it too, and each of them have different ideas about what it
means. Rab is more sarcastic toward Sorek than she is with anyone else. Sorek
flirts with Rab alllllll the time, mostly subconsciously. Rab and Ari are sweet
toward each other, but when it comes to their mom, Rab is fierce, and Ari is
defeated. I also utilize “love languages,” which are different ways that people
give and like to receive love. (Physical touch, quality time, words of
affirmation, acts of service, giving gifts.)
No comments:
Post a Comment