The other
day, a writer friend of mine told me her publisher
recommended she read a certain book to get the flavor of
what they liked to publish. Eager to know, my author
friend rushed to find the book and devour it... only to
feel slightly disappointed - and confused.
She
wondered what it was about this book the publisher liked.
The story wasn't great. The writing was average. Some of
the pacing seemed awkward. Then it hit her. It was the
ATTITUDE of the protagonist that gave the book its
appeal. The hero was feisty, quick to anger, even
spiteful and yet somehow lovable.
It's no
secret that I believe the key to good story telling is
'character'. It should come before everything else -
before plotting, before story, even before putting pen to
paper. If your characters aren't real to you, their
stories will never work.
And whilst
I've spent much time elsewhere talking about the
importance of creating believable characters, I don't
think I've given over as much time on their 'attitudes'
as perhaps I could have done.
So let's do
some exploring, shall we?
Think of
some classic fictional characters. What's the first thing
that comes to mind? Their physical appearance? Rarely.
It's usually their demeanor, isn't it? Their unique way
of interacting with the world - yes, their attitude
towards what they do.
James
Paterson's Alex Cross is a great character because he's
all heart. He loves his family and truly values
friendship - and takes his psychopath's activities very
personally!
Patricia
Cornwall's Kaye Scarpetta doesn't respond well to being
patronized or underestimated. She's also way too
protective of her niece. Notice too that she gets much
more critical of her partner's habits as the series
progresses.
The Da
Vinci Code's Robert Langham is intrigued by mystery and
secret symbols. Interestingly, despite being a simple
college professor he seems to possess almost superhuman
powers of endurance. In Angels and Demons, for instance,
he actually falls out of a plane without a parachute over
Rome... and survives with barely a scratch!
I think
Harry Potter's appeal has much to do his ordinariness. He
never believes he's capable of what he has to face.
Everybody and his dog knows he's supposedly destined for
greatness but he doesn't ever seem quite ready for it.
The next
time you're inventing (major and minor) characters, don't
just imagine their physical attributes, try to give them
depth by wondering what they would be passionate about
or, conversely, have little interest in. What would annoy
them - or thrill them?
Give them
short term and lifelong agendas, things they are
committed to achieving or seeing come to pass. These are
the things that will help with your plotting. Once you
know what one of your characters would definitely NOT do,
your stories will begin to take on a life of their own.
Remember,
never impose a story on a character. The best stories
come out of the main character's conflicting agendas.
For
example, it's not enough to have some anonymous killer
trailed by any old ordinary detective. The killer must be
fully realized - there must be very good reasons (if only
in his own mind) why he does what he does. Similarly, for
good fiction, the detective should be motivated by much
more than just 'doing his job' to make a story like this
compelling.
Once we
know the killer hates women and perhaps himself, and that
the detective is terrified of losing his wife to him,
then we begin to care about the outcome.
I think one
of the reasons Hollywood movies work so well is that the
big stars come with a ready made attitude. We all know
what to expect from actors like Jack Nicholson, Robert
DeNiro and Julia Roberts. No matter what characters they
play, we sense their attitudes, their strength and depth,
even though we know they're only acting!
So, the
message is that during character development, try to
imagine being inside the heads of your characters. Don't
just give them attributes, histories and agendas, go the
extra mile and give 'em attitude!
