Earlier in the week I mentioned the Men With Pens post that reminded me I have to make characters that my readers will care about, and the Men With Pens gang mentioned there would be more character tips to come. True to their word, the latest post is about making your character flawed, and it’s another timely reminder as I prepare to sit down with my opening chapter this weekend.
The ideas I don’t want to forget from that post are mostly about leaving room for the characters to grow. That is to say, I know already how they are at the end of the novel, but I have to make sure they start from a different point and change throughout. In fact, I’d really only thought about that for the most main character, but it will also be important for the other two main characters. I’ll have to really think about how their characters will change in the course of the story.
The post also discusses the flaws that a character has; two of my characters have clear flaws, but the third is perhaps a bit too flawless … actually no, as I think about it, I realise what her flaw is. So that’s pretty much taken care of. But my novel is really very character based, so I’ll have to be careful about how I manage all of this. How exciting – I have to make time to get to some serious writing (or rewriting) soon.
You mention, “I already know how my characters are at the end of the novel,” in the same sentence as desiring leaving room for character growth.
I think that if you’ve planned the emotional state of a character that far ahead, your story may actually sound arranged, like a marriage that didn’t really fit naturally.
Why not plan your plot only – because that’s an unemotional aspect of a novel – but throw away the notion that you know how your character will end up?
Had I done that with my own character, Harry and I would not have had a novel at all. The twist that my own character threw into the story turned everything around, and he developed in ways that I could never have foreseen. He’s far more interesting and real because I didn’t control him.
Hm. Why does Blogger not allow me to post my correct identification and only allows a Blogger account? Not cool, that.
James
Men with Pens
James, thank you!! That’s fantastic advice. Makes a lot of sense. I will have to let the characters decide how they end up. Thanks a million for the ideas