Who Are These People?
Developing characters who resonate.
I have been devouring books lately. Frankly, there is a big part of me that needs the escape from certain realities. But I’ve also managed to stumble into stories that scratched an itch that I didn’t know I had, and when that happens I can’t stop!
Here are a few I’ve loved recently:
The Wedding People, by Alison Espach
When Women Were Dragons, by Kelly Barnhill
To & Fro, by Leah Hager Cohen
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
Each of these books contains a character who has stayed with me. Which leads me to wonder: who is one of your favorite fictional characters?
(I’ll give you a minute to think.)
Got one? Great. Now I’d like you to take a minute and think of three ways you would describe the character.
And…go! (I’ll wait.)
One of mine is Olive Kitteridge, of the aptly titled books Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. Olive is complex and layered. She’s abrupt and a little grumpy. She’s stern but also patient, and genuinely cares for those around her though she struggles to show it.
If you have a favorite character (or two, or five), it means that the writer who created them understood how to create a compelling character.
The writer knows WAY more about the character than the reader can ever know. What makes it onto the page is only the tip of the iceberg.
By having all of this information, the writer can make intentional decisions about revealing big and little details about the character, whether it’s
their personality
their physical appearance
their backstory
their emotional response to circumstances
One of the ways that you can increase the chances that a reader will connect with your story is by developing characters that are complex, nuanced, detailed, and clear in your mind.
But it’s only the first step.
Speaking of which…
On the first Saturday of every month, I teach a short First Draft Craft webinar for paid subscribers to this newsletter. A replay will be available, and those who attend live have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A!
Since we’re talking about characters today: on February 1 we’ll be talking about character descriptions, and on March 1 we’ll discuss main character arc! I hope you’ll join me! Click here to learn more.
The Groundwork for Your Story:
Message: what you want to say, and why
👉 Character Arc: how they are going to change internally
Turning Points: key plot points that affect this change
Once a writer has a three-dimensional, layered character, it’s time to put them through their paces. They can’t simply experience the events in the story; the writer has to
Imagine spending time with a story where the main character isn’t at all impacted by the events of the story. Where, at the end of the story, they are exactly the same as they were in the beginning?
What if the original Star Wars movie ended with Luke Skywalker still dreaming of a life beyond what he had on the desert farm?.
Or what if Jo in Little Women never felt emboldened enough to step outside of social conventions?
Ugh. No thank you.
What makes a story compelling and emotionally resonant to a reader is the change that the main character goes through over the course of the story.
This change is their arc.
Here are a few questions to get you started with your character arc:
What does your main character want, believe and fear at the beginning?
How did they get here, to the start of the story?
What’s at stake for them if they don’t get what they want?
What obstacles will be in their way to getting what they want?
How are they going to have changed by the end of the story?
Even stories with the most exciting and page-turning events need to have a main character that is changed by those events in some way. This is how readers connect with your story and remember it long after they put it down.
I just finished Tom Lake last night, so I’m excited to pick up a new title later today and see what the author does with their main character!
What are you reading? Click the speech bubble and let me know!
Our stories have the potential to change hearts and minds. The primary way to accomplish this is by giving our characters room to grow and evolve on the page.
Your story, your characters…they matter.
Warmly,
Stephanie
P.S. I’ll be here when you’re ready.
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