Getting to know your characters Pt. 1

Thursday Thread Topic

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

Over the next couple of Thursday’s we’re going to do a deep dive in to character. So let’s go.

What do you remember about your favourite book? Mostly likely it’s the character.

One of my favourite books is Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. The main protagonist, Lou Clark, is for me a memorable character because she’s funny, quirky, and she has a heart of gold. She’s also carrying a wound from her past that has left her fearful, hesitant and blaming herself. She disguises these feelings by being overly cheerful and basically letting people push her around. She also feels a weight of responsibility for her family. She’s determined but vulnerable and her voice shines through in the writing making you feel like you truly know and understand her and want to her succeed. Lou is why the story is so memorable and why I fell in love with the story (even though the story itself is a beautiful, romantic, heart-wrenching story in its own right).

Or, take one of my favourite movies Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of the evil Hannibal Lecter is flawless, and Hannibal, in my opinion, is one of the best antagonists in fiction. Although we know how evil he is, the character pulls us into the story. We are intrigued, on the edge of our seat pulsing with anticipation and dread, but at the same time, unable to look away. Now, that, is a compelling character.

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Character is king.

Character is why we love stories. And, why we keep turning the page.

We want to know what happens in the story, but we want to know what happens because we are engaged by the characters and because we care about what happens to them.

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So how do we do that as writers? How do we write characters that will stick with the reader long after they have put the book down?

There is loads of advice out there on this topic, but I’m going to share with you a few tips to help you get to know your characters so well, you’ll start having conversations with them.

The first thing we’re going to talk about is your character’s backstory.

How well do you know your character’s past?

To create believable and realistic character’s that readers will want to invest in you need to get to the core of who your character is and where they came from.

Your character isn’t just someone who begins life in your story. Your character is a person who has lived a life prior to the point where your story starts.

If you think back through your own life, you have a thousand tales to tell and experiences to draw from. All of which have shaped who you are at this particular moment in your life. Your character is no different.

They have backstory. They have had good experiences, bad experiences. They have positive traits as well as flaws, just like the rest of us. No one person is truly good, and no one person is truly bad. Characters need to be nuanced. A combination of every experience that has happened in their life, moulding them into who they are and informing how they behave and react.

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Here are some questions to ask about your character

What was their childhood like?

Do they have siblings? A big family? Are they an only child? Orphan? Adopted?

Was their upbringing relatively ‘normal’?

Did they experience something turbulent during their childhood that has shaped their way of thinking? Coloured their future experiences and expectations?

What were their hopes and dreams as a younger person?

What obstacles have they had to overcome to this point?

What view do they have on the world and why? Where has this point of view come from?

What are some of their good character traits and why? For example: are they kind to animals because their grandmother looked after stray and injured animals? Are they the first one to offer help because they witnessed their mother doing the same?

What are some of their negative traits or flaws and why?

What wounds do they have that affects them on a day to day basis? What makes them hurt? Vulnerable? Shut off? Cold? Quick to anger? Stubborn? Feisty? Over-the-top cheerful? What are the reasons they are this way?

These are just a few things to think about, which will also spark some other questions to ask your characters and get you started.

How you ask your characters these questions is up to you. You could interview them, or put them in a situation-a scene-where they have to share this information. Or you could free-write a journal or diary entry as your character sharing their life story.

However you choose to learn this information about the character is up to you.

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How to use backstory

All of this information—your character’s backstory—doesn’t need to (and shouldn’t) go into your manuscript. This information is purely for you to shape your character and inform the choices, actions, and decisions they will make in the story.

You can, and should, absolutely sprinkle in titbits of backstory throughout but there is no need to detail their entire childhood. It will only slow the pace and bore the reader. Include what’s necessary, when it’s relevant. detailing their childhood from age 9 to 13 isn’t necessary and will bore the reader.

Remember, your character’s backstory will inform the choices they make and the way they respond to situations you put them in in your novel. That’s why you need to know all about them.

Next week, we’ll chat about your character’s wounds.

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