The Character Conundrum Part 2

For those of you who are aware, I recently blogged about the importance of character creation and some of the areas that need to be considered during the creative process. For those of you who have not had an opportunity to read this post, I created the following list of issues that I felt were important to creating interesting, memorable characters:

• Consistency of Behaviour

• Emotional Engagement

• Actions and Interactions

• Layers, Depth and Understanding

• Supportive Actions

• Fanservice and Stereotype Consideration

• Gender

• Development

I have already addressed four of these in the previous post (feel free to check it out), but there are still four areas that need to be discussed. What do I mean when I mention ‘fanservice’ and why has ‘gender’ been given a section of its own?

Let’s get started and find out.

Supportive Actions

This is a very similar concept to the ‘Consistency of Behaviour’ that I discussed earlier in this article, but contains enough differences within it to warrant a section of its own.

While ‘Consistency of behaviour’ relies solely on the experiences of the character, ‘Supportive Actions’ are more dependent on the world the character interacts with. It is about placing the character in a wider context and ensuring that their reactions make sense. A person from one culture may have difficulty understanding another and a member of the upper class will look upon members of a lower class differently to themselves.

This is probably most evident to those who are interested in sci-fi, where cultures and alien species are used on a regular basis to explore how we think and to question what we believe. To use a famous example, Spock is a Vulcan, an alien species who harbour deep emotions and great physical strength. However, the species has had a terrible, bloody past and have come to value the safety and reliability of logic. In contrast to this is Leonard (Bones) McCoy, a crotchety human doctor who understands the value of human compassion and the necessity of instinct. They have two very different backgrounds and can clash (or agree) because of them.

Now boys. Which one of you gave me the creepy reptile?

Age also plays a large part in contextualising a character due to a difference in emotional and mental understanding of a situation. Aang from Last Airbender is a fun-loving child, brought up by peaceful Air Nomads, who struggled to learn the four elements. He wanted to flee his responsibility because there was too much pressure for him at the age he was. In contrast is his reincarnation, Korra, an impatient, hot-tempered teenager who was brought up in isolation and managed to master three of the four elements very quickly, making her cocky and head-strong. While both have to grow up and accept their responsibilities, they do so at different stages in their lives with different results, even if they both desire the same thing.

People are products of their culture, even if they don’t always agree with what’s around them. You only have to look at Katniss Everdeen to see that.

Careful Clues:

Consider the wider world of your character and think about what that will mean for them. Think about where your characters have come from and what they know and always keep their backstory in mind. How might they handle an opinion different from their own?

Also keep the importance of age in mind. This will affect their physical ability and what jobs they can do. Don’t be afraid to play with expectations in terms of culture, age and species, but do not forget to consider why you may choose to go a certain route or what makes it possible.

Fanservice and Stereotype Consideration

Fanservice and stereotypes have a bad reputation and for good reason. For those who are unaware of the term, ‘fanservice’ is used to describe a scene that is used to excite or titillate a viewer or reader. It is usually sexual in nature, relying on skimpy, tight, or a complete lack of clothing and normally applies to female characters although male characters do experience this as well. Superheroes are prime examples of this trait with characters like Wonder Woman often being portrayed in impractical but skimpy outfits.

In contrast, a ‘stereotype’ is a widely held but overly simplified idea of a particular type of person or thing such as ‘All Blondes are Stupid’ (My apologies to all blondes). Most of us are aware of them and do find many of them to be completely nonsense.

So what exactly do I mean by ‘Fanservice or Stereotype Consideration’? Believe it or not, something that counts as ‘fanservice’ or a stereotype can actually serve a purpose, both for the character and the plot in general.

For example, Kate Beckett from Castle has had several moments that could be considered fanservice-y. However, she is an NYPD detective and uses these moments to establish a cover or throw off a suspect. In contrast, Carol Marcus’ infamous underwear scene in Star Trek Into Darkness had absolutely no narrative point other than to show a pretty woman in her underwear. On the male side of things, Thor’s shirtless scene had very little purpose other than to give the female characters something to drool over, while Mal’s naked scene in Firefly was a way to make him feel helpless and out of control of the situation.

Sadly, for many superheroes, the skimpy fanservice-y outfits that many would consider impractical have actually become iconic and we have stopped seeing them as a way of sexualising the characters and more as part of their identity. Attempts to change these outfits are often met with anger and outcry, both from fans and marketing executives alike, making it impossible to seriously alter the look of pre-established superheroines (although many have tried).

This is the look of a woman who can and will make you regret the moment you ever learned to wolf-whistle.

But what about the stereotypes I mentioned earlier? Surely we should be ignoring them rather than addressing them?

Stereotypes exist and ignoring them will not make them go away because people will still hear about them. However, it is possible to use a stereotype to a character’s advantage. The best example I can give for this is the character of Rarity from My Little Pony. A lady-like fashionista who hates getting her hooves dirty, you would expect her to fall apart and be worse than Princess Peach if she was ever kidnapped. Well, she was and not only did this mare use the stereotype to her advantage, she also completely debunked the idea that ‘Lady’ meant ‘Helpless’.

It is only when we take careful consideration of these moments and emphasise the importance of ‘Narrative Purpose’ that we can start moving away from these negative associations.

Careful Clues:

This is something that you are more likely to come across while writing rather than during the character creation process but a lot of this will come from what you already know of the character.

It is important to always ask yourself ‘Why?’ as well as ‘Is this consistent with the character I know?’ A fanservice-y moment with a character who would not normally walk around in their underwear is not only jarring and confusing for the audience, but is also a bit disrespectful to the character themselves unless there is an underlying narrative purpose. And no, just to set up a sex scene does not count as narrative purpose. In addition, it is also necessary to consider the situation at hand and address the practicalities of such a move. After all, midriff-baring armour is a bit useless on the battlefield.

If a fanservice moment has a point and a practical purpose, keep it in. If it’s a character trait rather than a stereotype, keep it in. But if you cannot justify why a stereotype should feature in the narrative or why that fanservice moment is there in the first place, get rid of it.

Gender

To address the idea of a character’s gender is to leave yourself open to criticism and ridicule, but I maintain that it is something that has to be discussed. Gender plays a huge role in the psychology of a character and how they identify themselves. After all, a transgender is someone who does not identify themselves as the gender they were born with.

For a writer, the gender of a character can be very limiting, especially if the culture of the plot has very specific gender views or values. But alternatively, it can also be very liberating, allowing a writer to explore the social dynamics and expectations that come with specific genders. After all, our attitude towards an emotional woman is different to that of an emotional man because of culture expectations. In fact, some writers have deliberately changed the gender of their character for just this reason, either because of a sudden thought or, in the case of visual media, because of an actor change. Two prime examples would be the character of Toph from Last Airbender or Starbuck from the more recent Battlestar Galatica. Part of the reason why they resonated so much with audiences was to do with their genders and how they played with expectations, often shattering them in the process. Toph’s a small blind girl who is not particularly feminine (although she does enjoy a trip to the spa the one time she goes) and is able to move huge rocks without breaking a sweat, while Starbuck drinks, smokes cigars and gambles just as much as her male counterparts.

Yes. That IS a wrestling belt she's holding. And not because she's playing the part of 'lovely assistant'.

Gender is an important issue for a character because it will affect how others see them and how they see themselves. But at no point does that mean that they are limited in what they can do or who they can be when handled by a good writer.

Careful Clues:

Take another look at your character’s gender in relation to your plot.

Part of the reason why I have put this so late in the list is that I think it’s one of the last things you should examine when creating a character. Some characters will waltz into your imagination fully formed but others require careful thought and consideration.

I will not tell you to create a unisex character until this stage. In fact, I would encourage you to have a gender in mind when shaping their personality and history. But when you have a good idea of who they are, ask yourself what would happen if you applied the same personality traits to the opposite gender.

This may not result in anything but it might lead you to a pleasant surprise or sudden inspiration.

Character Development

The eighth and final item on the list is the one that requires the least amount of explanation and relies the most on what you intend to write.

Events shape people and by the time an audience reaches the end of the narrative, they expect to find a different character from the one they started with. After all, if Tiana from The Princess and the Frog was still working all hours of the day without a break or Jim Kirk refused to consider the consequences of acting recklessly, their stories would have been frustrating and boring.

Where do you think 'Happily-Ever-After's come from?

Development doesn’t have to involve a huge attitude change or personality alteration. After all, Hermione Granger is still the same intelligent know-it-all we met on the Hogwarts Express by the time the final battle occurs. But time and her experiences mellowed her, allowing her to become more flexible and to understand when bending the rules becomes necessary.

But while plot can help to develop characters, characters and our knowledge of them can also help to shape plot. Writers have spoken in the past about how their plans have been altered by how their characters have reacted. Tamora Pierce, during the course of writing her debut series, has spoken of how she intended to make her protagonist choose a certain route, before finding herself struggling with the final third of the book. It was only when she listened to the character that she realised her mistake and allowed the character to choose something else, leaving her with a different outcome than originally planned but one that she was much happier with.

Character development is one of the easiest things to define, but is incredibly hard to execute and is the reason why we will always remember our favourites.

Careful Clues:

Listen to your characters.

George R.R Martin said it best when he described writers as ‘Architects’ or ‘Gardeners’. Some writers know exactly where their narrative is going to go and never deviate from it, while others have an idea but are willing to see what happens as they go. But whichever one you are, always remember to keep your mind open to what your characters might be telling you. Even the best laid plans can go awry if you are not willing to be flexible for unforeseen circumstances.

And there you have it. Eight things to think about during character creation. Please let me know if you would like me to elaborate on any of these points in another post.

You may find some of these will be easier to achieve than others and you may not even find the answers in the order I’ve given you above. But that’s fine. Everyone has their own way of writing. I’m not going to tell you the right or wrong way to do it. It’s a very personal journey and all anyone can do is provide tips and suggestions. It is ultimately your decision as to what you choose to do. But I hope you will take these points into consideration when you start writing.

Good luck to all of you.

The Character Conundrum

Well we are now into November, a time when the Christmas references become acceptable, the coats, scarves and gloves are dug out of their hiding places and many writers are turning their attention and time to Nanowrimo.

For those of you who have seen this reference but aren’t really sure of what it means, Nanowrimo stands for ‘November Novel Writing Month’, a project that encourages writers to set themselves a challenge of writing 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. Writers sign on take part and can contribute to forums, talk to other writers and write the novel they have always wanted to write. All they have to do to win is hit the word count.

That is not to say that every writer will come up with something fantastic immediately (indeed, writers whose Nanowrimo efforts were actually published have emphasised the importance of editing but I’ve mentioned this before) and many writers have declared it to be a waste of time. But for many, this sense of structure and obligation is exactly what is needed to motivate them to actually put pen to paper and write that story that has been floating in their heads for years and to give life to characters that have been stuck in half-formed existence.

Characters are a difficult thing to create and it is generally believed that female writers find it difficult to write male characters and that a male writer simply cannot write a good female character. I personally think that this is nonsense (Joss Whedon and JK Rowling spring to mind). After all, the best characters are those we remember and shouldn’t be judged solely on their gender.

So what would I consider to be a good character?

I have some pretty strong views on what counts as a good character regardless of gender, but I do acknowledge that there are some points which apply more to female characters than male ones and vice-versa. After some consideration, I have come up with a list of issues that I think need to be addressed when creating any sort of character:

• Consistency of Behaviour

• Emotional Engagement

• Actions and Interactions

• Layers, Depth and Understanding

• Supportive Actions

• Fanservice and Stereotype Consideration

• Gender

• Development

Many of these points are no doubt familiar to you as they are often floated around when discussing characters, no matter if you are looking at the situation from the perspective of a creator or a consumer. But I have no doubt that there are also one or two points that may not make much sense.

Since there are so many areas to cover, I will be addressing the first four topics on this list here before addressing the remaining four in a separate post. In order to make this as comprehensive as possible, I will be addressing each area separately, using examples that I think best illustrate my point, before providing some suggestions which might help in your own writing. This is by no means an exhaustive list and I have no doubt that some will not agree with everything I have to say so please feel free to let me know if you think I have missed something.

So, shall we begin?

Consistency of Behaviour

This might seem like a strange place to start, but I personally think it is one of the most important stages in character creation before even considering plot or narrative.

Consistency of behaviour is behaviour that is consistent with the character. This seems obvious but is very difficult to achieve in practice as behaviour can be motivated by personal beliefs, past experiences or personality. After all, an impulsive character like Korra from Legend of Korra reacts differently to one who takes time to plan and prepare, like Tenzin.

No Korra, you cannot have a tattoo yet.

Many writers discover who their characters are as they write, figuring out personality and pasts as they go. Our past shapes who we are and how we react to certain circumstances. So, Wonder Woman reacts differently than Batman does because her personality has been shaped by different circumstances. They may agree at points, but that agreement comes from a different understanding and independent thought process.

That is not to say that someone will never act out of character for comedic or dramatic purposes, but a writer needs to establish where the boundaries lie before they can start pushing them.

Careful Clues:

Simply, get to know your character. Think of them as a new acquaintance and spend time getting to know them. Learn their likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. These will help you to shape and understand who they are. You may find that elements of them change the longer you spend with them and that some elements of their personality don’t work within the plot when you come to write it. But give yourself a solid foundation upon which to build and develop.

Brendan O’Connell provides a good suggestion from Syd Field’s Screenplay which is just as effective for budding novelists as it is for potential screenwriters:

‘…a scriptwriter should compose a ‘back story’ for the main character in their movie. Just twenty pages that cover his life before we meet him. The scriptwriter may never actually use any of this, but it really makes a difference when the character meets an obstacle in the film-knowing his back story gives an idea of how HE would get around it.’ 

Emotional Engagement

Emotional engagement can easily be summarised into one question: Why should we be interested in this person?

There is a common misconception that this means that a character has to be likeable or relatable in order for an audience to engage with them. I think that this concept is nonsense. After all, it is possible to find a character despicable and still be interested in what happens to them during the course of the narrative, like Azula (one of the villains from Last Airbender). Nor do you have to agree with everything they say or do to be invested in them.

Why do you think THIS guy is so popular?

Our interest in characters is motivated by what we know about them, or indeed what we don’t know. It comes from their backstory, how they react to others, how others react to them or even how they behave. It’s one of the main reasons why the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones upset so many fans; they had become invested in the characters and cared about what happened to them.

However, interest is not merely motivated by hard facts about a character. We can know very little about them and still feel invested in their lives. It’s one of the main reasons why some minor characters are given a larger role later in a series. Phil Coulson from the Marvel universe is one prime example of a character that we know very few solid facts about and yet has a very solid fanbase due to of his interactions with others.

Sadly, this is also one of the major pitfalls in creating a female character. In comic books in particular, a woman must first become a victim before she can develop as a character. This is often to invoke sympathy and to create an emotional imprint on the audience, such as the Red Wasp from the Marvel universe. This occurs across both genders (indeed Batman is probably the poster boy for this concept) and can be handled very well depending on the writer, but it can also be considered a manipulative shortcut. A writer should never rely on one emotion in order to make a character interesting. After all, it may have been the tragic backstory that got River Tam onto the Serenity. But that wasn’t what made her memorable.

At the end of the day, if an audience cannot remember a character, then they will simply not care about what happens to them.

Careful Clues:

Care about your characters. Think back to your school days and those who taught you. Many of you will have fond memories of certain subjects simply because of the teachers. The best lessons were often those taught by people who were excited about the subject. Their passion motivated your interest and the creation of characters comes from the same place.

If you are interested in the characters you create, it will help you to understand who they are. And if you understand who they are, then you can help others get to know them too. And always ask yourself why you think something is important to the character.

The worst characters are not the ones people hate. They are the ones that no one is interested in.

Actions and Interactions

This is where most of the emotional engagement comes from and relies on two different areas that must be addressed in turn; what a character does and how they connect with others.

Actions are simply what a character does during the context of your plot and how they will face certain events. As we get to know characters, we learn what they will and will not do based on their abilities and past experience. I’ve mentioned this earlier, so I will try not to repeat myself too much.

What is more often ignored is the importance of character interaction. How we feel about characters often comes from how they connect with others or what they say about them and can often provide insight into what drives the character in the first place. It is one of the key things that can make a character interesting to an audience. This is best seen in the characters of Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell or Marvel’s Phil Coulson. Hard-core fans may know details about them, but for most of us, we have very little information to go on. Tinker Bell doesn’t even talk (unless you take the latest films into account)! We have an idea about how they will face certain situations, but it is the way they interact with others that provides the most interest. How they treat those they respect against those they don’t really know is what makes them interesting and, more importantly, makes them people.

This is one of the key things that seems to suffer in attempts to create ‘strong female’ characters because writers can choose to focus too much on what someone is doing rather than making an effort to make a character engaging. It is possible to make a character strong, kick-ass and active but still be completely boring. For me, Black Widow is a prime example of this possibility. All of her personality traits and redeeming qualities come from her job. She is rarely seen interacting with anyone and becomes isolated from the rest of the group. She is defined solely by her official title and it is only in the last third, when she is reunited with Hawkeye, that we start to get the impression that she is more than a named background character.

So help me Russo if you don't give this woman character development, I may cry!

In contrast to this is Buffy Summers, who also comes under Joss Whedon’s direction. Buffy might be as kick-ass as Black Widow, but she also connects with people. She goes to school, she has friends and a family. She is a person who happens to be able to take down supernatural beings.

I know many fans will disagree with me but I believe that you cannot solely rely on someone’s actions to create the necessary emotional engagement for audiences. It doesn’t happen in real life and it certainly doesn’t in fiction.

Careful Clues:

Go beyond the boundaries of your story and figure out who your character is. Start with the backstory and figure out the hobbies they have when they have time to spare or the friends that they have made outside of the workplace. Are they a parent? Do they have pets? Perhaps they volunteer in their spare time.

This will also be a big deal when actually addressing the main narrative. An interaction can come from anywhere. It can be a random encounter on the street or a long standing friendship. Two similar people might rub each other the wrong way but total opposites may get on like a house on fire. Ask yourself what connects or indeed repels these characters and how that initial impression has been maintained. Is one manipulating the other? Did someone do or say something to catch the other’s attention?

Some of this will be figured out as you go but just remember to lay the foundation before you try to build on it. This is about creating a sense of scale and establishing a life for the characters beyond the beginning of the story.

Layers, Depth and Understanding

Another obvious one, but it is one which many writers seem to struggle with especially within the realms of children’s media.

It is very easy to characterise people using certain terminology; the Jerk, the Nice Guy, the Bookworm, the Risk Taker. In reality, people are more complex than this and are very difficult to define when all aspects of their character are taken into account. The reason that these labels exist has less to do with the character they apply to, and everything to do with the person doing the labelling.

Children’s media is very susceptible to this because we believe that children see things very simply. The nice person is the good guy, a horrible person is the bad guy and friends like the same thing. For female characters in children’s media, these simplistic labels and understanding of friendship can lead to very simplistic stories and groups with very little variation.

For characters in a group dynamic, variety can be found but there is often a single shared desire or interest which fuels the friendship. The Babysitter’s Club were a group of girls with an interest in babysitting while the Bratz were individuals with a shared love of fashion. But without that single interest, there is rarely anything motivating the friendship. There is no depth to the characters or to the relationships they have created.

However, writers are getting better at creating variety and depth to characters. The latest incarnation of My Little Pony has used many of the pre-existing labels for a group of girls but the writers have made an effort to mix and match. The Athletic Tomboy also has a love of reading and doesn’t mind getting dressed up while the Lady-like Fashionista is able to hold her own in a fight and will get covered in mud if the situation calls for it. A strong character can have moments of weakness and a weak character can still be strong.

Take a guess at which one's which. I dare you!

Layers and depth are also two of the biggest things that suffer under adaptations as writers choose to emphasise one characteristic over another. Wonder Woman’s ability to kick-ass and take names was emphasised over her compassion and background in the infamous Wonder Woman pilot.

People are not flat one-dimensional beings and the face that is shown to one person might not be the face that they show to someone else.

Careful Clues:

This is all about building on the backstory of your character and figuring out who they are in the present rather than who they were in the past.

Also take into consideration the things that they will never reveal to another person. What is your character’s biggest secret? It doesn’t need to be big or dramatic. Does your hero secretly have a fondness for fluffy slippers? Does the boss have a hidden chocolate drawer in the office? Does the bad guy simply want to know what it’s like to be good? Perhaps the tough woman of the gym actually likes wearing feminine dresses on her days off or the annoying womaniser is secretly asexual.

Some of these things you will never directly address in your writing, but you might find something that surprises you and helps to make your character feel more like a person than a cardboard cut-out.

Time for a break!

I hope you have found this comprehensive so far and that you have been given some food for thought. I will be posting the remainder of this list in the near future so please let me know if you find the current format helpful.

My best wishes to all those taking part in Nanowrimo.