 Short Stories: March 25, 2009 Issue [#2968] |
  Short Stories
This week: Character is King Edited by: KimChi  
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"A writer should create living people; people, not characters. A character is a caricature."
~Ernest Hemingway
"The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible."
~Mark Twain
Hello, I'm Kimchi. The purpose of my newsletters is to learn something new and try to explain it.  This month I learned that while in nonfiction "content is king", in fiction, character reigns.
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Character is King
Character: the set of qualities that make somebody or something distinctive, especially somebody's qualities of mind and feeling.
Synonyms: nature, quality, temperament, personality, disposition, moral fiber. (Encarta Dictionary)
Some characters are so life-like they stay with you long after the book has been shelved. I know Kathy Bates (who played Annie Wilkes in "Misery") is a fine actress and probably a model citizen, but if she rang my doorbell my instinct would be to run and hide from a nightmare in the flesh. She's exactly how I pictured that character years ago when I used to sneak horror books under the covers. Annie Wilkes is real. (So real she showed up last year to review.  )
While I've yet to try the horror genre, I've dabbled in the dark arts of organized crime and premeditated murder. Throwing my inner evil on the page has exposed parts of my psyche as well as flaws in my writing. The most horrifying realization was that I don't know my own characters.
When a kind reviewer pointed out I'd recycled the name Donna, I had to scour my brain to find even one. Eventually I pulled out three: a Good Sister, a Redneck Shrew, and a Jealous Wife. I'd forgotten them because I used those poor women to develop my plot. They're cardboard stand-ins; none of them are real. I didn't even care enough to give them a unique name.
If we don't know and love (or hate) our own characters, neither will the reader. We want our creations to spur admiration, jealousy, fear, or just gratitude at being alive.
Three-dimensional characters inspire us. They jump off the page and follow us around. To show those dimensions we must go beyond their physical appearance, to their personality, and even further, into their psychological makeup.
Appearance
Think of someone in real life whom you'd consider a "character". What's the first phrase that pops into your head? I bet it isn't "blue eyes". While most short stories need physical description, word counts can limit the depth of the picture. The writer must choose the most important features to show, lest the description read like a shopping list.
In art as in life, appearance is not the most important part of who we are. After all, whether I scrounge around for a shirt without stains or spend hours matching my shoes to my earrings, you only see what I allow you to see. It's surface.
How much description and which details? As always, it depends on the story, but I'm firmly in the less-is-more camp. If the character's eye color denotes a supernatural quality. If height or weight relate to inner issues. If dress displays social status, greed, humility, etc. And, of course, if we're seeing these details through another character's eyes. (Remember, any idea that doesn't work double duty needs to go. Be ruthless.)
For a character to be real to me, I want to know what is behind those baby blues. She must have quirks and flaws like the rest of us.
Personality
Luckily, personality is easy to show in a short story. Body language, mannerisms, and dialogue convey emotion and personality, but it's still surface. While we sometimes slip up in conversation and show parts of ourselves we wish to keep hidden, for the most part we hold to socially accepted norms. In other words, we're acting.
Is your character gregarious or shy? Serious or funny?. I could say my character is arrogant, but that takes all the fun out of reading. "Arrogance" might be shown through the cumulative effect of a raised eyebrow here and a smirk there, or it may be a major plot point to bring our hero to his knees.
Donna the Redneck has plenty of personality. She wears tight skirts (appearance), swears a lot (speech) and props her feet up on the dashboard (mannerisms). She's a cartoon, but that's okay; she's drawn that way. If she were a major character, I'd need to show what makes that girl tick. To do that I'd need to get inside her head.
Psychology
Readers want to know why people behave the way they do, but inserting background details into a story can be tricky. It's tempting to throw in a paragraph of backstory to bring the reader up to speed.
When you meet someone, do they tell you their entire life story? Probably not; it's considered rude. Developing trust in a new friend takes time. In the same way, allow the reader to get to know the character gradually.
I was just reading the title story from Stephen King's Everything's Eventual. He's a master at teasing the reader with snippets of background information. What happened to Skipper? What new job? I had to know! 
In the end, I not only found answers to my questions, I realized how Dink's mind works. I was rooting for him to fight his way out of a desperate situation.
But-I have absolutely no idea what he looks like. Part of that is the first person point of view (admittedly the easiest way to get inside a character's head). More importantly: His looks don't matter. What matters is Dink's reaction when King writes him into a corner. Does his moral compass point north or south? (I'm not tellin'.)
Major plot points are the easiest place to display the true nature of a character. When police sirens are wailing behind you, when your child is lying in a hospital bed, when there's a gut-wrenching choice between doing the easy thing and doing the right thing, that's where character appears.
Plot is intimately tied to character. Amazing characters have amazing experiences. While short stories must be based in reality, they also need to take us beyond our everyday existence. We read to jump into someone else's life, to be scared out of our wits, to travel the world. To feel. To feel, we need to care about the character.
Getting to Know Your Characters
Conventional wisdom says to make your characters conquer their greatest fear to obtain their greatest desire. If your characters are like cardboard Donna (flat, flimsy, and full of pulp) ask them what they'd give their right arm for, what makes their stomach clench in fear. An interview, diary entry, résumé, even a grocery list give clues to our character's inner landscape. A full character profile might be overkill for a short story, but hypothetical questions get your characters talking. All you have to do is listen.
This newsletter barely scratches the surface of characterization. Please see the editor's picks below "On the Subject" for great overviews and tips. I have a lot to read and a lot to learn before I go deeper.
My first step is to take my own advice, so I invited Donna the Good Sister to tea, and she's early. Her fat little nose is smooshed against my clean window. Although appearances can be deceiving, she looks a lot like Annie Wilkes. 
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 Stories of Character
These stories display the art of combining body language, dialogue, and inner landscape to show character. Do you agree or disagree? Drop the authors a line and let them know.
Excerpt: "Did you know the Black Death wiped out a third of the population when it swept through Europe from 1347 to 1350? Some towns actually lost half of their citizens! Can you imagine? You know, if the sun were hollow, a million Earths could be stuffed inside. A million! Can you picture that?"
"No, Charlie, I can't picture that," Ryan, the bartender, dryly responded.
Excerpt: Giuseppe, the head waiter, had already opened the door, beckoning us inside with the theatrical heartiness inherent to his profession. He aspired to look like an opera singer on the rise and failed.
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Excerpt: Zigzagging his way back to the mirror, Barney put the white hat on his head, as bereft of hair as his body of clothes. All of his reflections looked at him reproachfully. S'not right, doesn't look right. Then he tilted it to the old rakish angle and the hazy Barneys looked happier. S'better!
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Excerpt: I called him 'The General' as a mental nickname. He stood at about 5'7", although his demeanor made him look nearly six inches taller. I guess I thought him a retired military man due to this ability to hold good posture and his general air of quiet authority. He always carried a neat and freshly folded edition of the morning paper under his arm and would take the brim of his flat cap between his thumb and forefinger in a deferential nod if a woman passed him by.
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Excerpt: You smile and spread your hands out. "There's no point in trying to find a perfect revenge for one little thing." You glance at the plate of brownies and finger the cellophane. "Revenge is like appetite, Jessica. You can't be really satisfied by it unless it fills you."
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Excerpt: Each year he displayed just one new painting to an enthusiastic world. Soon he would exhibit the last one, and talk publicly about the need for silence when an artist has nothing new to say.
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Excerpt: The hunched figure shuffled to the fire, stoked the flames, and settled in the rocking chair reflected in the firelight. She wore a thick shawl, her face obscured in shadows.
"I tell you, boy. Then you leave," she said, shifting to look the boy in the eye. "You leave, and no come back." A bony finger rose off her lap to point at him.
Submitted Items
These authors would give their right arm for feedback on their work. 
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Excerpt: The only reason she wants me to play with her is," she snapped, "you need four people to play ludo and they've got only three. They just want me to fill the gap, like always. And, amma, she's not my sister." She raised her voice so that Riya could hear every single word she was saying.
Excerpt: "Cold night tonight."
One man grunted quietly in response, the other just closed his eyes. All three were tired, waiting for Death to finally arrive and take them somewhere where hunger never gnawed at their stomachs and their skin never felt raw from the sting of harsh winter winds.
Excerpt: Michael turned awkwardly to face his wife. The pity in her eyes frightened him. Never in thirty-six years together had she looked at him like that. Never in those thirty-six years had he ever felt like crying, but now he did.
On the Subject
Some of the best writings on WDC about characterization.
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Contests and Activities
Fun and games to awaken your muse.
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This month's question: How do you get to know your characters? Please send in your tips on characterization.
Feedback on dialogue:
pooja_sr
Good one, Kimchi. Could you write one in detail about exploring emotions? Well, posting one that you might find interesting to read. :)Keep news-lettering. You give me food for thought. :)
I will think on the subject and prepare a newsletter sometime this year. Thanks so much for the feedback and brain munchies.
Lauriemariepea
hi, kimchi--
great newsletter on dialogue! i just don't see this stuff often enough. i appreciate your cautions--one trick i haven't yet tried is reading dialogue aloud. will have to try that.
Thanks! I like to read the entire story aloud for flow. You can hear the tongue twisters and unnatural punctuation.
Stephanie
One way I keep my dialogs realistic is to just avoid editing them too much. I figure if I start editing too much, then I lose the "as it's happening" reaction of my characters.
Great tip for those of us who don't know when to stop editing.
April Sunday
Playing with all the pointers here can result in unique stories. Plus, a great take on do and don't. Yet, authors shall always follow first instincts ... to fit THEIR stories. Uh, probably. Aint thet ahh-raaight? And show me who won't argue with their final edits. This newsletter offers a great criteria.
Yuuup. I'm firmly convinced instinct is the sixth sense. The author is the only one who has the whole story streaming into their head and knows how it must be told. Thanks for your comments.
PartyBee 
Two thumbs up on a great newsletter about dialogue writing!
Thank you.
Ladyoz
Fabulous newsletter!
Appreciate the feedback!
Just an Ordinary Boo! 
I needed this NL and its explanations, its tips, as much as every child learning to ride a bike needs a guiding hand on the handle bars and support to the seat.
I think I can wobble off on my own now and sometime in the future I'll e saying, "Look, Ma, no hands!"
Thank you for the help, for some this might come easy; I have to go and force open my character's mouth and make encouraging noises to their tonsils before words come stumbling out.
You're far too modest but it is refreshing to see. Thanks for your kind words. 
Acme
Kimchi, reading your newsletters always leaves me nodding with knowledge and understanding... why can't your voice live in my head and edit as I write?
I don't know, what's the going rate for head-sitting? Anyway, you shouldn't be editing in your head. Spill every fleeting idea on world domination onto the page, and edit later.
nightwindows
While I agree that it's important to minimize dialogue tags, it's also important to not forget them entirely! There's nothing worse, personally, than an entire page (or longer!) of back and forth dialog that has no tags. I end up spending way too much time trying to decipher who said what!
Thanks for the helpful newsletter and tips!
Good point. It's easy to get lost without dialogue tags. Thanks for the reminder.
Satuawany
Aw, great advice on dialogue, Kimchi! I especially love your "don'ts" list. And I wish I'd had this newsletter before I learned all this stuff the hard way. (Now, if I could only consistently put it into practice...)
Thanks, Chy!. Like you, I find dialogue through trial and error. The site's newsletters and reviews help immensely; we never stop learning how to write better.
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