By Jocelyn Green
Common mistakes can undermine a
novel. Thankfully, you can route them out before this happens to you. Here are
five pitfalls in crafting and portraying your characters—and how to avoid them.
Mistake: Giving historical characters 21st
century
dialogue, attitudes, and values.
Do your homework and research the
culture of the region and era. A colonial character whose cause is women’s
suffrage, for example, won’t ring true.
Bottom
line: Be true to your time period.
Mistake: Letting
characters be two-dimensional.
Even
villains should have something sympathetic about them, and heroes should be
imperfect.
“Without
personalizing, we face the pitfalls of clichéd characters such as the ‘old man’
or the ‘young woman.’ Our adaptation of personalizing focuses not on hair color
and body type, but on the discovery of a character’s inner values, which give
rise to unique traits and mannerisms that will become an integral part of the
story.” ~Brandilyn Collins in Gettinginto Character
Bottom line: Let them be full people,
with flaws and strengths, motivations, goals and internal conflicts.
Mistake: Skimping on the character’s conflict and motivation.
Without compelling motivation, a
character won’t strive toward a goal at all costs. Keep up the tension by
pitting one character’s motivation against another.
“Good conflict should push your
character further and further from their goals, yet strengthen their motivation
to push ahead.” ~Susan May Warren in From
the Inside Out
Bottom line: Do character work.
Mistake: Not using beats to convey character emotion and drama.
Rather than always
using tags with dialogue (“she said,” he asked,” etc.), use beats of action or
feeling to convey nonverbal cues.
For example, here
is a portion of Chapter 1 in my novel Widow of Gettysburg, using tags:
“I
am sorry for your loss, truly,” he said. “How long’s it been? Since your
husband died?”
“Since
the Battle of Bull Run,” said Liberty. “The first.”
“Almost
two years. You should be out of mourning soon.”
“If
I so choose,” she replied. “Some widows wear black for the rest of their
lives.”
“And
bury yourself with the dead? I can’t imagine that kind of life for you.”
“It’s
not your concern,” she said.
Now here is it
again, using beats instead:
“I
am sorry for your loss, truly.” His gaze probed her face, and she wondered if
she looked sorry for her loss, too. Or just guilty. “How long’s it been? Since
your husband died?”
She
swallowed. “Since the Battle of Bull Run. The first.”
“Almost
two years. You should be out of mourning soon.”
Liberty
stiffened. “If I so choose. Some widows wear black for the rest of their
lives.”
“And
bury yourself with the dead? I can’t imagine that kind of life for you.”
An
unwelcome tingle ran down her spine. “It’s not your concern.” She pounded the
dough again.
Bottom line: Use beats to further
personalize your characters.
Mistake 5: Letting your characters off
easy.
Crisis both
reveals what a character is truly made of, and transforms them. What is the
worst thing that could happen to your character? Now do that, and let the
character respond authentically.
Bottom line: Make life for your character
extremely difficult, and watch what happens.
Go deeper with
your characters with these five tips, and your plot is sure to improve.
Award-winning author Jocelyn Green inspires faith and
courage in her readers through both fiction and nonfiction. A former military
wife herself, she offers encouragement and hope to military wives worldwide
through her Faith Deployed ministry. Her novels, inspired by real heroines on
America’s home front, are marked by their historical integrity and gritty
inspiration. Her first novel, Wedded to War, is a double finalist in the
Christy Awards.
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