Developing your characters

Developing your characters is not easy, is it? But it need not be a nightmare. Let us see how we can turn it into a pleasurable undertaking...

Just like actors make the movie, characters make the story. The best actors make excellent movies. It follows therefore that well developed characters will make not only good stories but excellent ones, hence the reason why you must master the art of developing your characters.

Unlike the arduous world of movie making, your job as a writer is an easier one. Getting human actors to do exactly what you want them to do is not always easy. That is where you have the added advantage. You can make your characters do exactly what you want them to do, exactly how you want them to do it. It's that simple.

Lets us get underway with developing your characters.

Firstly, let us consider your aims as the writer. How do you want your readers to respond to your characters? Do you want them to love them? To hate them? To sympathize with them? To laugh at their misfortune?

That, to a large extent, depends on the kind of story you are writing i.e. the purpose of your story. So after you have decided your genre and you know the purpose of your story, you will know exactly what kind of feelings your readers should have for your character(s).

So when it comes to developing your characters, bear these points in mind:

Enable your readers to visualize the characters by giving them enough and only relevant information. Too much information will bore your readers and actually make it hard for them to visualize them!
Your readers should identify with the characters i.e feel what they feel, see what they see etc.
Enable your readers to see each character as a unique individual. Use unique names to differentiate them.
The descriptions should not be done all at once but should come out as the narrative progresses. The characters should reveal who or what they are as the action unfolds.

Before you can actually get to developing your characters in your story, it is important to get to know them yourself. Making a profile of each character can help out. Here are some of the things you can include in your profile:

Name
Appearance
Occupation
Likes and dislikes
Marital status
Disposition

Of course the list is almost inexhaustible. Bottom line? Know your characters very well. If you do, you will be in a better position to describe them. However, this does not mean you have to put each and every description you have into the narrative. Just use the information that is relevant to the plot.

The extent to which you go when developing your characters will depend largely on the point of view from which you are telling the story. Let us therefore consider each point of view one at a time:

Developing your characters for first Person Point of view

As you well know, one of the characters narrates the story. This means that all the descriptions of the characters are done through her.

Since the protagonist is usually the narrator, it is quite easy for a reader to see how she sees the other characters. This being the case, the character might unwittingly give very little information on her own descriptions, therefore making it a little hard for the reader to actually visualize her. However, it is easy to grasp her perception of the world around her.

So how can you get people to visualize your character? Have her describe herself! Here is an example:

I was only five feet tall, so I was shocked when he demanded: “Mary, rub the board!” The only writing on the chalk board was all near the top edge. The lowest part of the board was four feet from the floor, and the top edge was eight feet high. There was just no way my puny short arms were going to reach them.

“Sir?” I gasped in disbelief, goggling at him. I always goggled when I was shocked.

“I said rub the board,” he repeated, louder this time.

The words in bold in the above passage are actually descriptions by the narrator of herself, helping us to actually visualize her. See that it can be done? Cool!

You can even get other characters to describe your main character:

I also remember the time when she described my appearance in the presence of Judy.

“You look like a girl,” she stated with a grin, in a slow deliberate manner.

“Pardon?” I asked in shock, wondering how she could have the audacity to insult me.

“I mean you are more than handsome—you’re beautiful, girls are beautiful.”

“Oh, I see,” I felt flattered, “like Joseph in the Bible?”

“Yeah, just like him; I haven’t come across a boy as beautiful." --Hedged-In by LJ Kundananji

Other characters in the story can be perfectly described by the narrator:

For the first time, the lady looked up and reached out for the note. I almost gasped. She was not really a lady, but a girl—about my age, but perhaps slightly younger. She was very pretty. She had round gorgeous eyes and a pert nose. Her complexion was very light—as if she was Coloured. She did not have so much as one blemish on her face. --Lost Dream by LJ Kundananji

So in summary, when developing characters for first person point of view, if you want the reader to visualize the protagonist, or the main character, have either the character describe herself, or have other characters describe her. If you want to describe the other characters, do it through the eyes of your main character.
Developing your characters for the second point of view
The second point of view is not very common in stories and you probably may not be so acquainted with it. If that is the case, review this information: Points of View of a short story and then return right here to continue developing your characters.

Since the reader is one of the characters, obviously the protagonist, provide him with enough details so that he can actually visualize himself in his new ‘body’ and his new environment:

Strapping, dark and handsome, you don’t even know why Charlie, as frail and insignificant as he is, thinks he can compete with you.

“Nancy,” you say as you stretch out your muscular arm towards her, “would you mind going for a walk?”

“Not at all, Malcolm!” she chirps, “it will be my pleasure!” She grasps your hand and you gingerly pull her to her feet. All this while, Charlie is looking daggers at you.

“Have a nice day, Charlie,” you say as you and Nancy walk out of the door, hand in hand…
Developing your characters for Third person point of view
There are two ways you can go about developing your characters from this point of view:
- You can base your descriptions on one main character’s perception through whom you filter the narrative. Notice for instance how the author reveals what kind of person Emmy is through Lewis’ perception:
  He knew she had a propensity to being whimsical; and at times she would shift from utter gregariousness to sheer uncouthness in a whim. But ironically, that is what he loved about her—her unpredictable nature. It sort of gave her an aura of beauty; a mysterious, enchanting aura of beauty. --Cant Live without You by LJ Kundananji.
- You, as the all-knowing and all-seeing author, describe the characters. This point of view gives you the added advantage of prodding beyond the surface, and revealing traits that might otherwise be hidden.
  If you give your reader enough details they will be able to understand the action of the characters. This is especially important when you want to create irony in order to enhance the plot. A little word of caution though: don’t overload your readers with descriptions! Let the characters reveal who they are as they speak and act.
  
  For instance, in Girl Power, LJ simply describes very briefly what kind of person Bessie is by using two words:
  
  There were five girls crowded in the little room. Four of them were seated on the two beds, two on each one. Bessie, who was not only gregarious, but garrulous as well, was standing in the centre, talking nearly on the top of her voice.
  
  And as the story progresses, we see how arrogant and sarcastic Bessie is by her subsequent actions, and the writer doesn’t even have to mention that she is so:
  
  Here:
  
  “Watch it chi Eliza!” Bessie shouted with a vicious glare. “That is my bed you are messing up. You don’t want me to throw a joke about you, do you?”
  
  Here:
  
  “How is she even going to manage to attract a husband with all that stupidity!” she threw back her head and laughed long and hard. “She is so dull, so slow and so boring that the guy she’d go out with would be fast asleep before she even finishes her sentence.”
  
  Here:
  
  “Who can blame Mary for wearing such clothes?” Bessie said shooting up to her feet as if the seat had suddenly become hot. “She is probably trying to hide her bad figure!”
  
  Here:
  
  “I mean, how many have got such a gorgeous body like mine?” she run both her hands down her hips and cat-walked across the room conceitedly, proudly shaking her large bottom.
  
  And here:
  
  “Men are terribly weak,” Bessie continued as she cat-walked back to her chair, “They just can’t resist my enchanting beauty! I mean, when they see my gorgeous body—shaped like a coke bottle, they can do nothing but whatever I want. Don’t know what arsenals you girls got, or else you’ll end up as pathetic as Mary! ”

All in all, from my experience, you don’t need to be fretful about developing your characters at all. Just visualize them well enough, see how they act and write it down. Don’t labour away unnecessarily on character sketches, just tell the story and guess what, you will develop your characters naturally and effortlessly!

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