Characters are the heart of any story. Intricate heists, tumultuous relationships, and bone-chilling mysteries mean nothing without a character who has a compelling reason to achieve their goals. But to make a character convincing, we need to understand who they are, and why they want what they want.
In this month’s Third-Thursday panel, WLT’s Program Director Sarah Renee Beach led a discussion with three talented authors to get to the bottom of how to write authentic, complete characters. Our authors were Sherri L. Smith of The Blossom and the Firefly, Alex Temblador of Writing an Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers, and Meg Vondriska of The Tale of Two Titties: A Writer’s Guide to Conquering the Most Sexist Tropes in Literary History.
The panelists began by discussing their interest in character-writing. Smith likes to learn about her characters as she writes them. She says, “Writing a good character is a bit like falling in love because you have to get to know them.” Additionally, she does tons of research to authentically represent characters from different backgrounds than her own. Vondriska, an avid reader, has long been frustrated by the way women are written in popular fiction. In The Tale of Two Titties, she seeks to teach writers how to build female characters as real people rather than just, well, “two titties.” Temblador, a mixed Latine author, has also watched characters with whom she shares identities be written incorrectly time and time again. To break the cycle, she has taught herself and others how to do proper research before writing identities not their own.
There are many different starting points one can take to create their characters. Temblador reaches into the character’s past to gather background details that make them who they are today. These include their address, wealth, race, gender, family situation, etc. She also does research on identities she’s not familiar with, such as by respectfully connecting with their communities to understand the unique joys and pitfalls they face. Vondriska suggests consuming media created by people of different identities and cultivating a very diverse bookshelf. The more ethnicities, gender identities, and other backgrounds, the better. While Temblador and Vondriska tend to plot their characters more ahead of time, Smith prefers to get to know her characters through her first drafts. Once she does this, it’s easier for her to identify what’s missing from her characters. From there, she does intense research like traveling to the places her characters reside and even reading journals from people who have shared their experiences.
Beyond learning about the background of their characters, the authors discussed how to develop them in the story. Smith and Vondriska emphasize focusing on what the characters want and need (whether the characters know these things or not). Temblador encourages writing out your biases and assumptions, because it can help you identify what is lacking in a character and fix it later on. Often, a little extra creativity is needed to fully understand a character. The authors suggested exercises like taking your characters to therapy, writing them at different ages throughout their lives, and envisioning them from other character’s perspectives.
Secondary characters can also need significant development. Smith cautions against making minor characters too interesting, because it can derail the story, while Vondriska has to take all of the “side quests” with them to find hidden gems. Temblador and Smith discussed how to write archetypal side characters without using harmful stereotypes that cheapen them.
To check whether your characters have come alive the way you want them to, the panelists suggest getting beta readers. These can be friends, professional acquaintances, and people from your writing community. Temblador cultivates different beta readers for different purposes. Some are from a specific identity she’s representing in her story while others have specific skill sets that she isn’t as strong in. At the end of the day, the most important thing to remember is to stay positive and open to feedback.
I know I’ll be applying these to my work-in-progress! Also, be sure to RSVP for November Third Thursday: ‘”The Big Debut: Post-Publication.”