What Makes a Character Work by Allison Symes

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

I am firmly on the side of character in the character -v- plot debate. A well drawn character drives the plot. I care about what happens to the characters. If I don’t care, I am unlikely to read on. What makes me care?  I have to understand who they are, why they are acting as they are, and what they hope to achieve. I don’t necessarily have to agree with them. 

 

Best villain of all time:  the Sheriff of Nottingham as played by the late great Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I almost wanted him to win! His “…and cancel Christmas” line always makes me smile though he rightly delivered it “straight”. 

 

It’s a good rule of thumb to know characters don’t find their situations funny. It is for readers to decide if a situation is funny. Bear in mind the characters are caught up in the action of your story so won’t have time to do anything other than what they must to resolve their situation.

For flash fiction, with its word count of 1000 words maximum, I nearly always introduce my character and their situation in the first line or so. I want to hit the ground running. I must show my character’s attitudes via their thoughts, dialogue, and actions. I need to be able to see why they are doing something.

I often outline a character and work out their major trait. From that many attitudes and actions are revealed. I can then put my characters in interesting situations. For example, if my character is honest, why is that? Faith? Upbringing? Or were they fed up to the back teeth of family members and others lying to them? There’s a story outline right there. 

But I could pressurise my character here. What if I put them in a situation where they have to lie to save someone or stick to their honesty and not save that person? What would my character do?

This is where outlining what your character is like will give you some ideas as to the stories they would work best in. 

Another example I often use in my workshops is pomposity. The character never thinks they are pompous. Those around them know they are. A lot of humour comes from that. (Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army is an excellent character study here).

Think about what drives your character. What matters to them? What do they fear? What do they love?

A character who seems real to a reader is a character they will want to read about. We must have the “got to find out what happens” moment. The characters drive that. 

If you’ve got your character facing dilemmas, people will want to read on to find out what your character does. We have to know the resolution. So make your character understandable and then drop them in the proverbial mire. Will they sink or swim? Readers will want to find out.