Some of our character’s traits are easy to discover. Physical description, food preference, a career choice, favorite color or food, wants, goals, and other basic attributes that can be revealed in a non-threatening manner.
Life experiences that had painful physical, mental, or emotional outcomes are often hidden beneath a character’s facade. Sometimes those events are shoved to a dark corner of the mind, and many times they are not topics for discussion.
The writer can’t address issues if she doesn’t know what they are.
How does a writer force a character to be transparent? Once we understand the character psychologically, we can better predict the response to uncomfortable situations. The character will show us the answers to hard questions before telling us.
The following steps will help a writer discover deep-rooted traits resulting from wounds.
- Establish the character’s personality. Many excellent solutions are available for personality testing, but my preference is the Jung Typology Test based on Cari Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ personality type theories. Through a list of 64 questions, temperament is established. The score indicates one of 16 personality types as well as the extent of introvert or extrovert. A perk for writers is the indicator for careers, communication strategies, learning styles, relationships, leadership abilities and style, and real and fictitious people who have the same personality.
- Develop the character’s backstory. That’s where you’ll find the motivation for what propels the character into action in chapter one, line one of story. Through the great teacher called life, the character learned how to handle emotions, faith, values, opinions, priorities, and a view of the world. The outcomes can be positive or negative.
- Place the character in difficult scenarios, physical, mental, and emotional based on worst fears as discovered in the personality testing and backstory.
With the above established, the writer has a foundation for what hard questions plague the character. But the work continues.
- Write scenes that force the character to face those fears, grueling emotional happenings with deep psychological meaning.
- Create unpredictable outcomes based on what is known about the character.
- Create high stakes with serious consequences that fit the character’s temperament and goals.
- Allow for character change, either an increase or decrease in growth.
Watch the character squirm. What are the word choices? What responses enter the character’s thoughts? Examine body language.
Hard questions for the character demand even harder work for the writer. Are you ready to enrich your story with emotional impact?
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DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Firewall, the first book in her Houston: FBI series, was listed by Library Journal as one of the best Christian Fiction books of 2014.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Suspense Sister, and International Thriller Writers. She is co-director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson. She teaches writing workshops around the country.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook: www.facebook.com/diannmills, Twitter: https://twitter.com/diannmills or any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
The Conversation
Hey, DiAnn! This post came at the right time. I’ve been slightly stymied by my heroine in my current WIP. I’m a huge proponent (I’ve even taught it) about writing the backstory to find your character’s past. I thought I had her lie figured out, but as I wrote the story, her reactions to things went strangely different. After I read your post, it sparked an idea. This character had a wonderful childhood. But as I went back through her backstory, I finally heard her whisper. I found her fear and her lie – completely different from what I originally had. The best part is she’d been telling me through her actions and thoughts what lie she believed. It came out loud and clear in her personality. So … all this to say thanks!!
Ane, I’m thrilled the article helped. Thanks for letting me know.
You always give us great information. Although I’ve heard it over and over, my brain learns by repetition. I’m from the South, so I listen “slow.” Haha. Thank you for this refreshing information about our characters. Sometimes I find myself in such a hurry to get on with the story and fail to do the proper background on my characters. I pay immensely and have to back up and rethink who my hero and heroine really are. The point here is…do your character sketch and know your characters…just like you’ve said.
Loretta, thank you so much for your kind words. I always want to help, and I’m so glad wen others find value.