And just WHO is this? - character creating and crafting
There is no story without someone telling it. Whether those characters are real people or fake ones (we’re gonna focus more on the fake ones because this is a creative-fiction piece) having an outlet in which a reader can get a glimpse into a story is SO important.
Think of characters that really stand out to you from books, comics, even tv or movies, and think about what’s unique about them. Is it their “charming” personality, deep inner-turmoil, or ability to inspire groups of people? Is it their character design, tone of speech, or mannerisms?
When it comes to characters, you want there to be an aspect that jumps out to an audience and ties back to a key part of who they are. Batman isn’t Batman without his dark brooding-ness, Sherlock Holmes without his inquisitive nature, Captain America without his shield.
Now creating those aspects for a character can be such a challenge for that same reason. You want them to be memorable, you want your readers to know who you’re talking about with a name alone 200+ pages in instead of going “which one is that again?”
When I try to create a character for a story, I like to visualize them first. One of the characters in this current project for me started as a random idea–a porcelain clown mask in the style of a Victorian jester. The idea for the story is to have these main superhero-type characters wear masks, so I thought of what would be more memorable, what could I work with best.
From there the rest followed. Her powers? The ability of giving people uncontrollable laughter if they spoke with her. What was she like outside of the superhero-ness? Fun-loving and compassionate; she cares about others and wants to help any way she can. I connected that further to her wanting to go into pediatric medicine because at her core, she is a person who wants to bring a smile to someone’s face. Connecting back to her jester mask.
But it’s not always this cut-and-dry. Sometimes you can’t get all the aspects of a character to fit neatly and wrapped with a bow. Sometimes, you get bits and pieces, and have to push it further.
Another character in this same WIP (work in-progress) started with solely an ability. He has super-human accuracy, whether that comes with pin-point precision, expertise with a gun, or something else, I didn’t know. But I wanted a character that had that exact ability.
So from there I thought of things that required accuracy. Shooting a bow, a gun, or maybe fencing. You have to be precise with fencing, knowing where to strike at what angles to get a hit in. A bit of research on the history of fencing showed it was related a lot in the past to the high-class, and that was all it took. I decided the “code name” he’d have would be ‘Noble’, and the mask he’d wear? A bauta, a near-ancient Venetian mask that was worn to hide one’s identity–and history says–most likely worn by noblemen to mask their identity.
But at the end of the day, that’s all I have. No deeper personality, no “core” belief, just a mask, a name, and a connecting ability. Sometimes people will talk up character creation to “making it a whole living and breathing person”, but for me? It doesn’t always work that way, and frankly, the preconceived notion is why so many people can get writer’s block so early on. The pressure to have it all figured out is–frankly–bullshit. Every once and a while, the flow will happen and you WILL get a well-rounded character, but that’s a VERY tentative “sometimes”.
It’s something that can come later to a character once you–the author, the maker of this character–contemplate and think about them more. Personality will appear in bits and pieces as you just think on and imagine a character more. Just think on them, the story itself, and jot down EVERY idea that comes to mind. There’s no deadline, no need to make the “perfect character” and sometimes? Ideas come from the most mundane and off-handed conversation. Genuinely, just give yourself time.