For Writers
By Writers
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For Writers
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By Writers
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by
Remember Mr. Pickwick? Or Jane Eyre? Memorable characters indeed. The reason they're so memorable is that their creators have described the characters in very fine detail. Classic writers, such as Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë would often write page after page describing their characters, right down to the last, seemingly insignificant details – their histories, actions, reactions, mannerisms and thoughts.
But modern writers can't do that. A writer who today takes more than a paragraph or two to initially describe a character would fail, because modern readers haven't the time or the patience to wade through a welter of description before getting to some action. Blame it on short attention span or the fast-action television genre – whatever. That's simply the way it is today.
It's important to think out your main characters in detail though, even if it isn't all going to be used in the text. Successful authors go to great lengths to get the main characters as real as possible in their minds' eye before even putting pen to paper. It's a good idea to do something similar with the main characters of your novel too. Think about and note down the details pertaining to their size and stature; colouring; habits, likes and dislikes, the clothes they wear – all the many and varied characteristics about a person that make us all unique as individuals. Dig deeper – what school did they go to? Do they have siblings? How were they brought up? Real people have a history; to make your characters believable, think about their history too, as it can have a bearing on the way they act now. You may never use the resulting notes in your novel, but what you will have is a very good understanding of your characters, and your readers will be able to identify with them in some way. If your characters are not thought through in enough detail, they'll resemble cardboard cutouts.
Here are some examples of how modern authors have used different tools to convey character.
' Maureen had a tidy little waist, and Audrey had rolls of flesh above and below hers: that is the kind of thing you get to know if you share a room. Maureen had never shared a room before. It puzzled her that for all her bodily imperfections Audrey could wander around it naked and easy. Not only did it puzzle her, she didn't like it.'
From A Hard Time to be a Father, (Come on Everyone!)
By Fay Weldon, Flamingo 1998.
In this example, the author delineates the character of Maureen by using her thoughts to show disapproval – of the situation and of her flatmate, Audrey. It also gives us a glimpse of Maureen's upbringing; she could be an only child, as she's never shared a room before; her distaste for Audrey's nakedness may be the result of never having shown her own naked body in front of others. The author knows her character and how she will react in a situation.
'I fumbled in my desk drawer, swallowed a few aspirin and relapsed back into dreamland… I sucked in my tummy, tried to look taller than my five foot six inches (OK, so it was a bit short to be a model, but Kate Moss was only five seven, so why not?) and batted my tawny green (oh, all right, puddle grey) eyes.'
From Sophie's Scandal by Virginia Blackburn. Corgi, 1998.
The character, Sophie, resorts to daydreaming at every opportunity, as her working days are so boring. She tries to be honest with herself though, hence the parts in brackets. Sophie's character is revealed by the use of humorous physical description and the way she makes fun of herself.
'A steward approached, his uniform crisp and starched, gold braid on each epaulette. Out of the corner of his eye, Strether noticed that the movement was tracked by an on-shore camera. He felt an urge to wave, to announce his arrival.'
From The Ambassador by Edwina Currie.
Little, Brown and Co. 1999.
In this example, the author uses action, or at least the thought of it, to delineate character. Strether is unsure of himself and wary of his reception as the US presidents' new ambassador. He is going to make his mark in politics. The action he feels like performing is giving the reader a little bit of his personality, how he would like to react, given a different, less formal situation.
Dialogue has three functions. It should move the story forwards, give information or contribute to characterisation. The story comes partly from the mouths of your characters and they can tell part of it in their own words - confessing, commanding, declaring, etc. - these move the story forwards. Beware of overdoing this though, as letting a character tell their life history in dialogue can be boring! Characters can also give information - about themselves, about other characters, about the time of day or the weather - all everyday stuff, but necessary. To get a person's character across using dialogue is a must. Your character's words will show what sort of people they are and how they react to others. A lack of speech will render your prose dull and lifeless. Alternatively, too much dialogue can have much the same effect. Achieving a balance between the two is the way forward.
Be aware that, although written dialogue resembles real speech, it isn't. Real people repeat themselves, forget what they were saying and rabbit on about nothing in particular. They also pepper sentences with 'and..', 'er..', 'but..', etc., while they think what they're going to say next. Whilst the writer has to give an impression of real speech, it's actually an edited version of what a real person would say. For example, look at the sentence below:
"Well, John – I'm just off down to the shops. You'll be all right for a while, won't you? I'm calling at the grocers because we've run out of oranges, and I need some shampoo from the supermarket. I'll see you later, perhaps in about an hour or so and you can tell me all about what Mavis said when she 'phoned, then we'll have tea and watch the telly together."
Boring, isn't it? That's what real speech sounds like. But in a novel, it would perhaps read like this:
"John? I'm going out for a while - will you be ok? I'll be back in an hour, then we'll talk about that phone call this morning."
We don't need to know that the speaker is going shopping for oranges and shampoo, or that he/she is going to have tea or watch the television. These things people do anyway. In a novel, someone doesn't just go out just shopping, it's too ordinary. In the second version, the speaker is concerned that John will be able to look after himself and assures of return, then moves the story forward by planting a hook – the telephone call. What is going to happen while the speaker is out and what the telephone call is about, the reader must keep turning the pages to find out. Let's look at some examples from published authors. The first is part of a transatlantic telephone call in which the main character, Ria, calls to discuss further details about a holiday home-swap.
' …So you're making all your plans?'
'Yes, yes I am indeed.' Ria's voice sounded very down.
'Nothing's changed, has it?'
'I'm so sorry.'
'Thank you. I wanted to tell someone.'
'I can understand that.'
From Tara Road by Maeve Binchy. Orion Books Ltd, 1998.
In this example, it's obvious that these two women have never met, but that the barriers to friendship are coming down. Ria is feeling very old, confused and saddened by her husband's conduct; confiding to someone she's never met is easier than talking to her friends. Note that there are few 'she said' attributes to the above. However, simply putting 'he/she said' every so often is better than going completely over the top on attributive verbs, such as he expostulated , she snapped , he adjoined , etc. Going for too long without giving an indication of who's speaking can also be very frustrating for the reader, but one effective device is the use of observation, or action. In the above example, the writer uses observation and action: 'Ria's voice sounded very down/ eyes filled with tears.'
Here's a further example. The main character, Imogen, has returned from a business meeting to her friend, Sadie, who has been managing both her own and Imogen's craft shops at the same time. Sadie says:
'The season's warming up. You should have seen me dashing to and fro like one demented . Would you mind if I left you to look at those scarves, Madam, while I attend to the lady in the other shop? Trot, trot, trot. Sorry to keep you waiting, madam. Oh dear, a twenty-pound note. I'm afraid we're short of change. If you'll excuse me a minute, I'll get some from the other shop. Figaro here! Figaro there! Figaro come! Figaro go! I'll bet I've lost a stone while you were hobnobbing with the gentry.'
'Sadie, you're a dream. And I love you.' Hugging her.
From The Witching Time by Jean Stubbs.
Victor Gollancz, 1998.
Sadie is characterised as an harassed but charming woman who has put herself out for her friend, Imogen. From this almost one-sided conversation, the reader can visualise what has taken place in Imogen's absence and Sadie turns it into a comedy performance. Though there are no actions, the dialogue, which has plenty of reported action, is enough to visualise the scene and get a flavour of the character.
Practice your characterisation and dialogue. It's worth taking the time to get it right. Take the above examples and re-write them, purely as an exercise, by visualising a very different character in the same situation. For example, two men sharing a bedsit; a managing director daydreaming; an escaped prisoner getting off a plane; two old friends discussing infidelity; a miserable, humourless person minding a shop. The exercise will help you to discover that there are thousands of facets to individual characters and each will make a difference as to how a character will react in any situation.
Many writers have trouble with the following points, but the rules really are very simple. If in doubt, simply look for an example in a published novel and follow suit.
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Stilted Speech
Your characters should not speak in textbook English. Replace
should not, could not,
and
do not
, etc., with
shouldn't, couldn't
and
don't
. The only exception is when a character would use the stilted form for
emphasis, for example,
'Please
do
not
do that,' the head teacher ordered.
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Single or Double Speech Marks It doesn't really matter – some publishers prefer singe quotation marks ('nnn'), while others prefer double speech marks ("nnn"). Don't use a mixture of the two, but be consistent throughout the text with either one or the other. |
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Indentation Usually this means starting five spaces in from the margin, either at the beginning of a new paragraph, or when a new character speaks. If the same person is continuing to talk, say after a pause, or an action, don't start a new line. Do indent when a different character starts to speak, even if this is preceded by an action belonging to that character. As a rule of thumb, keep actions and speech from the same character together. |
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Punctuation Question and exclamation marks, commas, full stops, etc, within dialogue are included in that dialogue before the end quotation or speech marks. A question or quotation mark does not also need a full stop outside the end marks. For example, "Did she know what to do?" "She was very good," he said, " but I think she needs more practice!" |
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Dialect
Give a
flavour
of your characters' dialect or accent by using the occasional word, but don't
write their speech entirely in dialect all of the time as it soon becomes very
tedious for the reader to follow.
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