Between the Covers - writing tips & tricks

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy

Character development is important to a story. You want good characters with depth, characters that your readers can identify with and feel for. Whether what they're feeling is love or hate, you want them to feel something for the characters. It's usually better to create a smaller cast of characters that have been well-developed rather than have a boatload of shallow, lifeless characters simply for the sake of having them there. If the characters have no influence on the story then you don't need them. 

There is no excuse for lazy character development.

I read a book where the protagonist worked with a set of twins and had been working with them for several years, yet she decided they looked too much alike to tell apart so she referred to them as twin one and twin two because she had also forgotten their names. This is how the author introduced the characters, with the main character saying she basically hadn't bothered to get to know her coworkers. Later in the book, a situation arises where she now needs to know their names so she asks them, they tell her, and now suddenly she remembers which twin is which and knows their names. 

This is an example of lazy character development. If you know any twins then you know they have separate and distinct personalities, just as anyone does. I have yet to meet a set of twins who have the same personality. Either there are small physical differences that set them apart, or they act very differently, or a little of both. Think Zack and Cody from the Disney show The Suite Life. They are complete opposites. 

If the author was insistent on using the twin one and twin two names, they could have reserved it for when the protagonist was upset with them or maybe teasing them. There were other things she could have done to separate the two instead of making them flat, lifeless characters. They could have had distinctly different personalities. One might have had a tattoo or different hair color. Piercings. A love/hate for a particular food, TV show, celebrity. Any of these things could put a small amount of separation between the two so the protagonist (and the readers) could tell them apart. Instead, she made them boring carbon copies of one another and the reader has nothing to connect with or care about. They should have been more well-developed, especially considering how closely tied they were to the protagonist.

Your characters need reasons for the things they do and for who they are. They need real reasons for how they react to situations. If the protagonist couldn't remember their names after three years of working with those twins, it's unrealistic to think she'd suddenly remember it after they have one conversation when she needs to ask their names. 

Someone's mother isn't going to randomly decide for no reason to sell their child and give them up unless, of course, they're completely psychotic. Even then, a mentally ill person will have a reason for their behavior, it might be a totally off-the-wall reason, but to them it's realistic. 

A person doesn't suddenly decide to go on a killing spree. Again, even a mentally ill person will have a reason for their behavior. If you've watched enough cop shows you understand that often a big emotional upheaval will set a mentally ill person off. Losing a loved one, or a job, anything that can instigate a large, sudden change to their routine can set them off. 

Remember that your characters need reasons for their behavior. They need to, for lack of a better description, not act out of character. You need to make certain they remain true to the personality you created for them. Event through growth and change, the core of who they are often remains the same.

In order for your characters to become real, they need several things-

✒ They need a personality they need characteristics that make it easy to identify them. Whether it's a flaw, a habit, or a little quirk, they need those things to be normal human beings with a personality.

✒ A description readers need to know what your characters look like to form an image of them in their mind

✒ A backstory if you don't know their history, how will your readers? If you want readers to feel for your character they need to know about their lives. Your characters need a life filled with experiences, both good and bad.

✒ A reason for being (and not 'they were born to fulfill a prophecy') They need a reason for the way they have developed. That event (or events) in their life that made them who they are (realistic events). Are they a distant loner, the friend who strives to care for everyone, a cruel sadistic tyrant? It is events in your life that make you who you are and develop your habits and personality. Remember that characters need that as well.

✒ A life yes, a life. They need to do more than sit around drinking beer or watching Real Housewives on TV. They need a job, friends, family, social activity, maybe a pet. Things people have in the real world.

How exciting would Harry Potter be if we didn't know his backstory? If you never knew where his scar came from? If no one told you that it was Voldermort who killed his parents? There would be nothing to connect the dots, nothing to make you feel anything for Harry. If the story began with him arriving at Hogwarts you'd never know how his aunt and uncle treated him. You'd have no idea about the event that shaped his life and made him who he is. Harry never sees himself as a hero because he's been told all his life that he's nothing and he doesn't matter. He wasn't even important enough for them to give him his own room. If you didn't learn his backstory, see the tragedy that shaped him then there's nothing to tell you why he is who he is. 

If your characters aren't as real as they can be then there's no reason to read about them. Think long and hard about them, their lives, their personalities and develop them fully. Because if you don't, short of dark magic, they aren't going to come to life to tell you about themselves. If they aren't important enough for you to give them life, then they probably don't belong in your story.