Three Ways to Shape Your Characters For An Effective Story
BY DARLENE P. CAMPOS
Characters are probably the most interesting part of any story. It’s true that you need a strong plot in order to tell a good story, but you also need relatable characters to move your plot forward. Here are three strategies I use, which may or may not work for your own style of writing, so feel free to adjust them to meet your needs:
1. Start with a name
This sounds obvious. Of course, a character needs a name. However, a character’s name is an identity. If you’re having trouble picking a name, think of some traits your character has and then use a baby name book or website to find a name which fits their qualities. For example, in Heaven Isn’t Me, I knew there would be a line somewhere in the novel in which my character would say, “Heaven isn’t me,” giving the title away to the reader. Since I knew my main character wouldn’t feel heavenly, I thought it would be wise to give her a heavenly name to show the irony. After research in a thesaurus, I found the word “Elysian.”
Search for your character’s perfect name. Once you’ve got the name down, the rest of creation gets easier.
2. Dialogue
Your character must speak like a real person. They don’t even need to speak with correct grammar if that speech form doesn’t fit them. Have your character use slang, words from foreign languages, and curse words—whatever they would say if they were a real person.
If writing dialogue isn’t your strongest skill, don’t worry. An easy way to fix this is by going out to public places where lots of people gather to talk to one another. Visit a coffee shop, museum, restaurant, etc. and just sit and listen. Eavesdropping isn’t a praised action, but for writing dialogue, eavesdropping is magical. Listen to how people form their sentences. Listen for slang. Are their words formal or informal? Do they have an accent? Do they twitch their lips? Do they take breaths before they speak?
Eavesdrop a few times and then write your own dialogue. You’ll become a dialogue expert very soon.
3. Personality
Besides a strong name and genuine dialogue, your character has to feel like a real, living being to the reader. If the character feels even the slightest bit fake, stereotypical, or one-dimensional, your reader will notice and stop reading the story. The reader is smart—don’t underestimate this!
Think of situations your character might come across, whether you write these scenes or not. How would they react in a medical emergency? A romantic breakup? After losing a loved one? After winning the lottery? If they won the lottery, how would they spend their riches?
If you can’t answer questions like these, your character needs a better personality. One way to shape your character’s personality is to use the personalities of people you know. My characters are a mix of my own personality and the personalities of people I am close to like my friends and relatives (sorry, Mom, your quirks come up A LOT).
If you’re familiar with the show Seinfeld, head writer Larry David based Kramer’s character off his neighbor by the same name.
The real Kramer was nosy, wore flashy clothes, came up with strange ideas and inventions and spoke just like the character on the show. If you’re getting stuck on a personality for your character, observe the people close to you for ideas. I hope these strategies are helpful for you. Now go make a character!
Darlene P. Campos earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. She also graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in English-Creative Writing and a minor in medicine and Social Studies. She is from Guayaquil, Ecuador, but currently lives in Houston, TX with her husband David and an adorable pet rabbit named Jake. Her website is www.darlenepcampos.com. You can support her work here.