Defining Qualities

Today’s exercise that I’m working on from the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maasshas to deal with choosing defining qualities. What makes your characters who they are and not someone else? While you may take the easy route ( I seem to do so often enough! ) and choose an archetype that represents all that’s heroic about my characters, it may not be enough. You don’t want cardboard cutouts of people populating your stories. You need to find ways to show the reader the other sides of their character.

How can you show the human side of the arrogant and unfeeling rake or villain? How can you show the strength of the shy and demure heroine? Hmm… I seem to be dredging up a lot of opposites here, but what better way to create dimensionality and plant the seeds of inner conflict according to Maass?

I’m sure we can all name an absolute defining characteristic for all our favorite characters from books and movies. The question is, can you name more than one and how they also demonstrate its opposite during the course of the plot? Can you name three? Four? More?

What’s the point? Why bother? The more life and realistic contradictions you can put into your characters especially your main characters, the more realistic, human, and sympathetic they can become. You can’t just rely on plot points to provide opportunities for these extra qualities to emerge, though it will happen if you keep an eye out for them, but use these additional sides of your character, perhaps in unexpected places. Say your hero hates cats, but the heroine’s green-eyed ball of fluff is caught in a tree. You might have painted him as rude and insensitive rake, but what does it say about him if he rescues the poor stranded kitty?

Tons, depending on how you show it.

And really, that’s the point, make each character a distinct individual that can’t just be interchanged for another piece of cardboard in your story. Honestly, aren’t the characters the real reason why some books stay on your keeper shelf and others don’t?