Developing Supporting Charcters

How far do we want to develop supporting characters? The first thing to note here is whether this is going to be a continuing character. If your character is part of a series of stories/books, then they need to be fairly well developed. Readers will want to know at least some of their background (back story), what is important to them, and what makes them tick.

Decide what the relationship between your supporting character and the main character (protagonist) is, and how it should play out. Is there friction there? Is there a sense of trust? How do they intract, and why? This may be a supporting character, but it has its own role in the story - an important role. This will be especially true if this character is used to more the story forward, or if it is used to create conflict/tension.

Make sure that your character carries a name that is compatable with their actions. Both names and nicknames should remind the reader of who this character is, and the part that they play in the story.

Whatever your supporting characters say or do, they should make an impression. Think of Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade, or Batman and Robin. Think abut how the supporting characters add authenticity to the story, how they make it "real", how they make it come alive!

You should be keeping a bible for each story, and your bible should include pertinent information on minor/supporting characters as well as your main characters. You need this for continuity, and, quite frankly, just to keep evrything straight!

In my next blog, I will be talking in the voice of the protagonist from my WIP, and how she feels about the development of her story.

(c) June 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author. 

  

How To Get Characters To Interact

You have your plot worked out, and you have defined your characters. The next step is getting your characters to play nice and interact well with each other. The point here is to make sure that they interact in a realistic manner - one that flows, that does not seem forced. How do we do that?

 Look back to how you defined the character - what do they like, what do they dislike, what is important to them. How do they see themselves? Are they leaders or followers, are they educated or blue collar, ar they risk takers, or do they fade into the woodwork? Our characters have to be true to themselves. Readers that can identify with the characters will stay with the story, they will become part of it. And they will look for us to be putting new stories out there.

Characters must be multi-dimensional. A one-dimensional charcter will lose the reader quickly - they are boring, and they really don't have a story to tell - either their own, or the one they are creating with the characters they are interacting with. Each character must also be a  unique individual - a stereotypical portrayal wil also lose the reader, because they will know what the character is going to do before they do it.

The easiest way to get your characters to interact well is to take examples from your own life -  people that you have interacted with, or how you have observed people interacting with each other. Take into account things like body language, and what that says about the person. Build a back-story into your character so that your readers will understand why they are acting as they are. Adding traits that are even a little annoying to the other person creates both humor and tension in a story. Relationships are not static - they change slightly with the events in the story. This reflects the reality of life.

Include lots of details! Who your characters are, why they act as they do, what their fears are, and how the environment plays into the story are very important. Make sure that the dialoge reflects the character correctly. Then there is the internal dialoge - where your characters are basically talking to themselves. Here we see the characters thought process, and their fears and anxieties.   

Characters that interact well with each other, and are backed up by solid minor characters, will write your story for you!

In my next blog, I will be talking about how far we want to develop supporting characters.

(c) June 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission.

Developing A Character

Developing a character - whether it is a main character, or a supporting character, is a process. We want to make them real, and we want the relationships between them to be real. They can relate in all kinds of ways: they can be siblings, co-workers, boss and employee, rivals, partners (business partners, romantic partners, partners in crime), human and pet (I didn't use the term "owner" because it is very quetionable whether we own animals, or they own us!) ... the list goes on! How these relationships will flow depends on the relationship, the environment, and the storyline. Characters should be opinionated, willing to take risks, and clearly be a part of a group dynamic. The storyline can be moved by a bit of ambiguity in a character, as well as the power of long held grudges (business or personal).  

There should be a motive for everything that your characters say and do. Sometimes not revealing the motive until close to the end of the book will allow for some interesting side-trips and false clues - things that spice up your book! 

A book bible will certainly come in handy, because as writer's we need to understand our character's history (and keep it straight), so that our readers don't see one thing on one page, and another thing two chapters later! This holds true for a stand alone book, but even more so if you are writing a series.  Your characters need to show some attitude - and there has to be a reason for it. You need to give your readers a reason for liking your characters - and continuing to purchase your books!  

Things to watch out for when developing your characters: (1) Do not make them one dimensional - this is boring, and they won't seem real to the reader. (2) Imperfections in our characters is what makes them interesting - don't make your character Mr/Ms Perfect! (3) Don't allow your characters to fall into a stereotype - it just isn't interesting when the reader can tell way ahead of time what a character is going to say or do.  (4) Don't try and create the best version of yourself as one of your characters - for one thing, this doesn't exist, and for another thing, yhou may become way too vested in the character.

Characters should be developed in detail, and they should appear to be real people. As you are developing your characters, remember that they need to be realistically based on the history that you have given them. Make your secondary characters just as interesting as your primary characters, as they are either supporting the storyline, or moving it along.

In my next blog, I will be talking about how characters interact.

(c) June 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author. 

Creating A Character - Oh, My!

Whether I am creating a major character, or a minor character that moves the story along, I look at the storyline, and the setting, to see what type of character I want. Am I looking for a protagonist (the good guy), an antagonist the bad guy), a secondary character that will be recurring (as in a series), or a one time secondary character that is used to deliver information, or in some way move the story along. 

Then I think about the character's background - where do they live, what do they do for a living, what do they believe in. You want your character to be as specific s possible, so that they interact in a reasonable manner with other characters, an so that they serve a purpose in your story. They need to be fairly well defined - male or female, age, body type, eye and hair color, how they speak, how they dress, educational background. Are they calm by nature, do they have a temper, are they shy, are they aggressive? Your characters need to come across as vibrant and real - people that your readers can connect with!

We can also be very creative and make animals into characters. Rita Mae Brown does this very well in two of her series: "The Sneaky Pie Brown" and "Sister Jane". Her animals (cats, dogs, horses, birds, foxes etc) talk to each other and to the humans. It is all very real, and each animal is kept in character. We don't have to go that far - in most books we have humans talking to their pets, and the pets reacting. This can be a very strong component for any story. 

Once you have created your character, document the information in your book's bible, so that you can refer back to it as you write. Readers will note characters that don't always follow who they "should" be. And they will put that info in their review of your book!  

In my next blog, I will be discussing how to develope a character.

(c) June 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited with out written consent of the author.