Developing characters in short stories

         The topics in the short story series include Getting Started; That First Paragraph; Characters in SS; Point of View; Dialogue; Setting and Context; The Plot; Conflict and Tension; Climax; and Resolution. Some may be combined, but all areas will be covered.
         This issue's topic is developing characters in a short story. We discussed starting a short story and what it is and isn't. Now we begin with one of the main components: characters.

Make Characters Live Quickly

         Due to the shorter length of short stories, only a few characters, usually two to four, can be used, and they have to be developed quickly. That's not to say a writer is to write a paragraph about each character. The development should be "shown" not "told." Also characters need to be round, three-dimensional, not flat one dimensional. Of course any main character or characters will have more depth, but all should be believable.

         The first requirement for rounded characters is for you, the author, to know them inside and out, completely. A "good" character is alive in the mind of the writer and on the pages of a story.

         I keep a note card on each character. I write things such as physical descriptions, likes and dislikes, speech patterns, education, job/employment, spouse or special person if any, family members, attitude toward life and death, etc. All the information may not be used, in fact most isn't, but knowing all possible information about a characters helps me to understand and "know" the character. I know what makes him or her tick, motivation, behavior, and reactions.

         Tina Morgan, in "Developing Realistic Characters," states one way to develop believable characters is to do a character interview. Once you have the basics of the character, then write questions for the character and answer them as the character. Make his reactions to the questions and answers real according the "person" you've made him.

         Weaving facts about characters into the story makes the process more interesting. An author doesn't want to do an information dump - pile a paragraph or two of details at once - but give glimpses of the character naturally through dialog and actions. Details about the character needs to more the plot forward or give hints about the character's personality that are required for readers to understand.

         In short stories, character development may not be as in depth, but the characters still need to seem real, believable.

         How does one learn to develop characters? Read stories with well developed, believable characters. Practice writing about characters over and over until the writing is well written, the character's actions motivated, and he/she is believable.

         One of my award winning and published stories is "Island Storm" . I'm not perfect and not the best writer to develop characters, but I've been told by many that the characters are believable.

Writings from W.Com

Entries from "Invalid Item" 

Invalid Item  [] # by A Guest Visitor

Freefall  [E] #1243806 a rough draft of a short piece in which a scary ride frees much more than screaming by MD Maurice

Invalid Item  [] # by A Guest Visitor

Familiar Stranger  [13+] #1439875 Ever stop and think about those you often see, but never really know? by RadioShea

Invalid Item  [] # by A Guest Visitor

Words from Readers

         Two readers sent feedback after last month's issue about starting a short story. I appreciate all comments.

enviro - no longer a member
         I read your newsletter almost every time I get it. And some of your advice and tips have really helped my improve with my writing. Just wanted to say thanks.
-ENviro

         I'm glad I've been able to help. Thank you for letting me know.

faithjourney
         Thanks for the great newsletter on starting short stories. You're right; inspiration is everywhere. I just wrote a rough draft of a story idea I got from a combination of a newspaper article and a nightmare I had! I'm looking forward to next month's newsletter on character development in short stories - this is an area where I need work and all the help I can get!

         Character development is a job for almost all writers. I think I need all the help I can get, too.

Thank you for joining me for this issue. I'll be back next month.

Viv