Brief introduction to characters
Neophyte, Timmy, hello. Welcome back. Today we have a special topic, one that’s special because it lies between several things. Mostly because I want to clarify several points before we move on. Mostly because characters are the very cornerstone of the entire craft, and I thought that dedicating an entire class to why would be, well, convenient so as not to have any confusion…
What do you say, Timmy? No, today is Monday, not Sunday; that’s why we’re in class. Yes… thank you for telling me. I’m sure the day you spent with your nan was lovely. Anyway, back to characters.
So, Brief introduction to characters. They have to represent a part of us as readers. That is the chief reason as to why reader groups are divided by age: toddlers, children, preteens, teens, young adults, adults, and the elderly. An individual is a different person at each stage; you can’t write for one and expect that it will appeal to the others. Even these categories are not ironclad. There are differences and variations within them. As there are outliers in any given age group, but and exception a rule doesn´t make nor a rule does it break.
Where am I going with all of this? Who you are writing for will determine what you write. So it is for the style and level of prose, and for who the characters are. Aside from the ever-classic “save world, get the damsel, and live happily ever after,” many read for catharsis, to see someone who is kind of like them live and triumph, or try and fail because those stories exist too, and they are important. Here, I don’t mean the external conflict, no sir. Let’s imagine this: humanity is at war with laser-spewing dinosaurs from Mars. Given what is available for reading, it’s not far-fetched in fiction, but in reality, that is a near impossibility… Timmy, where did you get the dinosaur miniatures to play with? The archaeology class? Do we even have an archaeology department? Oh dear… Give them to me; I will be right back.
That could have gone wrong… Timmy, get down from the ceiling; you are not a flying dinosaur… You know what? I don’t care if you listen from up there, just don’t act like a bird. Back to the class.
That external plot alone, the war, is fine spectacle but has no substance, which means that it won’t be memorable. What makes a story memorable is the internal conflicts the characters go through. Neophyte, I hope you have caught the two things I am trying to drive towards… No, Timmy, we are not going on a road trip. Yes, physical appearance and internal conflicts.
Who you are writing for will determine how the characters look and what they struggle with. Why do you ask, Neophyte? Because the internal conflicts people have when they are preteens are not the same as they have when they are adults. And even when they are adults, the same internal conflicts at 30 aren’t the same as those when they are 45. This also varies across cultures, but that is a topic for another day.
No, Timmy, you can’t leave yet; that is not what I meant. That is why characters are so important, so foundational, to the craft. They have to be written in a way that their internal conflicts are appealing, relatable, to the readers they are intended for. Not just that, but their appearance, their way of being, the very way information is filtered through them.
What do I mean by this? Well, Neophyte, let’s picture a scene that opens in a bar. What does your character see? And how do they see it?
If that person is a youngster, perhaps they notice the pretty colors, the smoke, other easily identifiable distractions. Perhaps that young individual is there against their will and is afraid, or maybe they are there with a trusty adult for some valid reason.
That would contrast with a young adult. If that character is male, then his gaze probably goes to any pretty woman present, or to what the bar has to offer, perhaps he catches the smell of tobacco in the air.
Or an adult, who ignores everything except for what might be a threat, before sitting by the bar and asking for a gin tonic. … Timmy, where did you get the barman costume? The department of Opera? … You know what, I’m not even mad; keep it, you look dashing in it. I will deal with the fallout. Now, while Timmy preens, let’s continue.
The point being that the very same scene, the very same environment, the very same everything will be filtered to the audience in three very different ways depending on the character. Moreover, things will also change depending on the emotional state of the character, what they are worried about at that precise moment. Are they fearful? Are they anxious? Are they calculating the odds? Sometimes, the difference between a good description and purple prose is understanding the difference in the state that characters are in at any given time. And yes, I have mentioned it before and I need to address it now, thanks Neophyte.
Again, this is but a brief introduction to characters. But it behooves me to mention this now. External plots are all fine and dandy; they can be flashy, dazzling, alluring, but if there are no internal battles to hook the readers, then you have nothing. Maybe characters are locked in a love triangle? A history of past trauma informing toxic behaviors and fueling a present conflict? The sky is the limit, and there is nothing stopping you from telling dark stories in children’s books as in adult; the only limit is your skill as a writer, and believe me when I tell you that it takes much more skill to write for children than for adults. But I am getting off-topic.
In many ways, internal conflicts are lies we tell ourselves, and over the course of the story, depending on the characters, how they change is how that internal conflict will evolve. Those very human expressions of our condition are what make characters transcend the barriers of generations and time, that make them memorable in ways we do not fully understand. Characters that represent humanity at their core and soar above themselves or fall so low they share a spot with the fallen one, far away from God’s light.
Here is where I should mention that not every character can have that level of development; there is only so much a reader can take in or give their attention to. That is why we have different kinds of characters, round characters, flat characters, etc. Don’t worry, don’t rush, not yet; we will see each character in time. For now, a reality that you should accept is that not every character will have the same level of development. Traditionally speaking, the most developed characters will be the protagonist and the villain, for their relation determines the story. But it doesn’t have to necessarily be that way.
Development is often misused as a word, mostly because we can end up tricking ourselves into believing that all characters start at the same level; this isn’t the case. Not every human is at the same level at any given point, so it is in reality, so it should be in a story. Some people are at the end of their journey and about to start another one; others are at a middle point. The secret here is to have journeys that can resonate with that of the protagonist, that are opposite to it, or that go along with it. Or that may be on completely different lanes.
Nor can you give the same space for growth to all your characters; that is why when you start, it’s best to just dedicate to a few where only one is the protagonist. If you don’t have the experience and the hand to manage it, you run the risk of, among other things, confusing the audience about who is the real protagonist. Fun when you try to experiment into turning a story into a strange game of Clue, not so fun when you try to write a normal story… I will play detective with you later, Timmy, not now.
I hope that this brief introduction to characters has been helpful; yes, it is incomplete, but because it is but a brief introduction, there is so much more to tell… Okay, Timmy, tell me about your Sunday with your nan now.
