Plotting Your Story, Part 2: Character

Plotting Your Story, Part 2: Character
by Jacquie Rogers

It’s All About the Characters!

This is the second class in a four-part workshop. Last Monday, in Plotting Your Story: Part 1, we discussed Theme. Today’s class is on Character.

Authors seem to love to debate which is better, a plot-driven story or a character-driven story. Currently, the tide is with those who espouse character-driven stories. I’ve never understood either side of this issue because characters create plot and the plot creates multi-dimensional characters. How can you extricate character from plot, or plot from character? To me, a well-written story makes this impossible.

Last week, I hope you were able to get a good handle on what your story is about (Dwight Swain’s Theme), and now it’s time to flesh out your characters. Obviously, since you have this terrific situation in mind, you already have a good idea about at least one main character. I like to dig into my characters’ pasts and psyches before I begin the first chapter because then it’s easier to become that character when I’m writing.

At one of the first writers’ meetings I attended, a very well-known and successful author (one of my all-time favorites) said she didn’t know her characters until along about the third or fourth chapter. I was utterly mystified because I couldn’t possibly write three chapters–any three chapters–without knowing how my characters would react in every conceivable situation, since that reaction and decision sets up the next scene. This just goes to show that we all take different paths to writing our stories, and our choice of tools is equally as diverse.

A lot of the information on character, including the forms I’ll discuss in a minute, are from the following awesome authors: Megan Chance, Gerri Russell (who studied Dwight Swain), Lisa Hendrix, and Karen Harbaugh. To be honest, I collect tools wherever I can so there are many more influences, but for the forms mentioned, those authors were my main sources.

So picture this character in your mind–let’s say your hero. Do you know who he resembles? Does a picture of a model or actor help? If you like pictures, models in western magazines seem a little more realistic to me than some of the skinny models who look half-starved–just a personal preference. Let’s describe him physically. Get the Character chart–Physical Traits from my website.

All the traits on the right side of the form are what you’d normally expect, so go ahead and fill in the blanks. What I’d like to talk about here are the traits on the lower left of the page. Voice quality plays a huge role in the novella I’m currently writing. Is your hero’s voice harsh, raspy, baritone? How do people react to his voice? Posture is important. I once worked in a water delivery business, and the owner said he picked his delivery men by their posture, because he could always who would be self-motivated by the way an applicant stood and walked.

***NOTE: For paranormal heroes, other traits are important as well; e.g., a shifter’s appearance both as animal and as man.

On to Character chart–Psychological Traits. Here we explore how he feels about himself and what his world looks like from the inside out, his strengths and vulnerabilities. We don’t have the space here to discuss much, but please delve deep, two or three layers down, and don’t use the obvious, superficial answers. Readers read for feelings, and here’s where you find them.

Next is Character chart–Sociological Traits. The questions here have to be adapted for your story’s setting. This form is for a contemporary, but doesn’t include fantasy or paranormal, so adapt it to whatever you need.

***NOTE: An incredibly comprehensive form for paranormal worldbuilding that is also helpful in character development is Patricia Wrede’s Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions.

Now you know your character’s world and are getting to know how your character works. At this point sometimes it’s good to explore other events that made the character who he is when he enters your story world. A good way is to list all the major events plus smaller events that happened, because each one of these is internalized and shapes the character in some way. Let’s say your character is 28 when the story starts. On a blank piece of notebook paper, write 0 through 28 on the left side. Beside each age, write an event that occurred that year. It could be a world event or a family event; e.g., sibling’s birth, starting grammar school, wrestling victory (or defeat)–anything. We start with zero because it can be very interesting to discover how his birth affected the family and changed the dynamics.

To uncover your character’s voice, sometimes it helps to close your eyes, be him, and write his autobiography.

One of the best books on writing I have ever read and I use it for every single character I write, is Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation and Conflict. I can’t even imagine a writer not reading this book–if you haven’t please do! The GMC Chart is straight from her book and will do more than anything else to put your character on track and keep him there.

These are a few of my favorite methods to build a character. There are many other tools that I haven’t mentioned. One of the best is Discovering Story Magic, a method developed by Laura Baker and Robin Perini. Margie Lawson has a terrific class called Empowering Characters’ Emotions. Laurie Schnebly Campbell has a powerful workshop called The Psychology of Creating Characters.

In my pursuit of tools, I’d love to hear how you build your characters. How much do you need to know? How much is too much? Do you have a favorite tool you use with every characters? Let’s have it!

Happy Magical Monday!

Jacquie

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Tags: character, plotting, romance, worldbuilding, Writing Craft