Pumping Up: Character

This week, we are going to begin focusing on the heart of the novel: the character. In order for the reader to fall in love with the novel, the characters must be believable. Without fully developed characters, the novel will fall flat. Here is an exercise to aid you in the creation of a character.

Character Exercise One
Objective: To create character

Part 1: Physical Features
You are sitting at your desk when you spy a lump of protoplasm between the empty candy wrapper and the half-filled coffee cup. The lump, as ugly as it may be, is your protagonist. It’s there waiting for you to breathe life into it. It wants to become a person, with hopes, desires, dreams. You are its creator, its god, so to speak.

Is this lump male or female? Tall, exceptionally tall, middling, short, petite, dwarfish? Stout, obese, muscular? Gaunt, thin, svelte, willowy, lean, raw-boned, slender? Somewhere in the middle? How old is the lump? What race or ethnic heritage?

The lump is not beginning to take form right in front of you. Let’s say you’ve created a middle-aged Caucasian man with a fairly athletic physique, perhaps with slight love-handles and the beginnings of a receding hairline. Keep going, he’s only partly baked. Keep molding and shaping him until he’s standing on your desk, looking up at you in astonishment. What color are his eyes, his hair? Are his features soft or angular, rugged or patrician, or something in between? Is he a handsome gent, or would he be handsome if only his nose hadn’t been broke in a brawl during his college days? Any other unusual characteristics? Was he a daredevil as a child? If so, perhaps he has a scar from his wilder escapades.

Part 2: Clothing
Once your protagonist is physically complete, you must clothe him (even if he is to spend an entire novel in the nude.) What would this person wear? Dress him. Is he mild-mannered and conservative? A businessman by nature? How about a nice blue suit? It he’s aggressive and conservative, give him a power tie and an unusual ring. If he’s a conservative on vacation, you’ll need to think about a polo shirt and Dockers. Perhaps he’s in the military; then a suitable uniform is in order. Or is he the artistic type, the black turtleneck sort, the kind of fellow who’d wear an art director’s tie? Perhaps he’s rather radical, a rabble-rouse, an activist. Would he wear a sportscoat and torn jeans? Black leather accessories? A Grateful Dead T-shirt? Jeans and a flannel shirt? This last choice might also do you a rugged, outdoorsy type, a cowboy or an environmentalist.

Make sure you’ve given your creation socks, shoes, underwear…even jewelry and a watch.

Does your new buddy need a hat? If so, what sort of hat? A Stetson, fedora, Irish walking cap, baseball cap, hard hat or helmet?

See him now fully dressed, looking good and feeling comfortable. As he’s standing there busily checking out his new duds, ask yourself why he would choose to wear those particular clothes. Make sure your choice suits his personality and his professional status.

Part 3: Surroundings
Your lump is completely dressed. Now what do you do with him? You can’t leave him standing on the desk between the candy wrapper and the coffee cup. He’s looking at you, and his eyes seem to ask, Where do I belong?

Where a character lives or what he surrounds himself with will tell you a lot about his personality. Place your new character in the bedroom in his home. Is he a very neat, by-the-numbers kind of guy? Or is he a pleasant semi-slob who leaves wet towels in the middle of the floor? Does he have a few crazy, wild-looking ties tucked away in his closet?

Next, take him into the bathroom. Does he leave the lid up on the toilet so his dog can get a cool drink? Now, move to the living room. Does he collect fine art or beer cans? Is there a chess set in the corner of the room?

Take your character through every room in his house. Be sure to envision as many of his possessions as you can and allow the character to inhabit the space you have created for him.

Part 4: Background History
Now that your character has taken on a physical form and is feeling comfortable, it’s time to have a conversation with him about his family, the town he grew up in, the schools he attended. What were his parents like? Are they still living? How does he feel about them? Is he proud of them? Is he having problems with his father? If so, what are they? How many brothers and sisters did he have? Are they a close family? Has one of the siblings drifted away from the family? What religion was he brought up in? Does he still practice it? What kind of job did his father have? Did his mother work?

Whatever question pops into your mind, ask it and he’ll answer you. Once you have gathered all the information you require, you may decide to alter your character’s physical features, choice of clothing and/or surroundings. That is the best thing about creating: You have the right to change or alter whatever you dream up.

Part 5: Psychological Profile
At this point, you should be very intimate with your character. It’s time to ask him some more personal and probing questions. These questions are extremely important to the understanding of your creation: What are his desires? What are his motivations? If you understand those two things, you will know your character very well. You’ll understand why your character made the choices that he has made. You’ll know why he opts to collect beer cans instead of fine art. You may discover that he wouldn’t collect either one. Therefore, you must change his surroundings once more. You’ll know why he keeps his loud, crazy ties hidden in the closet. You’ll know why he chose to have a dog around in the first place.

If you do not know your character’s motives and desires, you really don’t know him at all.

Part Two

For more helpful tips and exercises, visit www.sterlinghouse-bookstore.com and check out:
Writing Aerobics I by C. Sterling and M. Davidson

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