>>> Item number 35218 from WRITERS LOG9408B --- (77 records) ----- <<<
Date:         Fri, 12 Aug 1994 18:35:01 JST
Reply-To:     WRITERS <WRITERS@NDSUVM1.BITNET>
Sender:       WRITERS <WRITERS@NDSUVM1.BITNET>
From:         Mike Barker <barker@AEGIS.OR.JP>
Subject:      TECH:  Characterization Problems?

A combined list of points to look at in your writing...

1.  Is the protagonist (or main character) really the person most deeply
concerned with the situation?  Are they the person with the most to
lose?

Solution:  If not, consider changing protagonists--or rearranging the
plot so that the protagonist you are using is the right person.
Note:  Depending on the story, there are times when a slightly
"off-center" protagonist provides the reader with a necessary bit of
"distance" from the conflict.

2.  Is the viewpoint character someone besides the protagonist?

Solution:  In most cases, the viewpoint character is the protagonist;
revise accordingly.
Note:  Again, there may be reasons to use a different viewpoint
character (consider all the "faithful sidekick" mysteries!).

3.  Are any of the characters unbelievable?

Solution:  First, figure out which problem you have.

Is the character too one-dimensional?  Add rounding.

Is the character too contradictory? Probably a lack of motivation,
although you should also make sure you have good reasons for their
inconsistency and provide some hints and clues to let the reader
understand, too.  Consider whether "breaking" the character into two or
more is needed.

Is the character boring?  Add spices--speech, actions, unusual habits,
jobs, etc.

Is the dialogue stilted or boring?  Make sure each person has their own
speech patterns and talks "like people".  Get your "author's voice" out
of their mouth and let them say what they need to, not what you want
them to say.

Are the actions unclear or unbelievable?  Motivate, foreshadow, and (as
in golf) follow through!  When your heroine climbs the wall to rescue
the boy trapped in the tower--the reader should already know that years
of mountain-climbing lie behind the skill.  And give us a few closeups
of that climb, just so we feel her aching muscles...

Are the characters unneeded?  If the story "works" without the
character, drop them.  I know, you spent a week getting that portrait of
the apple seller in the park just right--but if it doesn't work in this
story, you can use it somewhere else.

4.  Do the characters grow and change during the story?

Solution:  It is possible that a static character is important to the
story.  However, most of the time your characters should grow, should
change in response to the conflict and plot of the story.  If they don't
seem to, you probably haven't thought through and shown the reader the
effects of the plot on the people.  Take a little time and show us the
giddy relief in the boyfriend when the protagonist is cleared, and the
decision by the protagonist to dedicate her life to ecological
warfare--on the side of the insects.

5.  Are the characters distinct?

Solution:  Make sure each of the characters is a "real person" to you,
first.  If some are "flat", make darn sure they don't play a major
role.  Double check that names, reactions, habits, and so forth are
sufficiently distinct--and that a reader won't have too much trouble
figuring out who is who.  Also, consider the size of the cast--often the
confusion is caused by having too many small parts and no real focus.

----------------------------------