Michala Woodruff

A story is about a character changing through events, not changing events that pulls a character along. Think of it like this: you would still have character if you lived in 1812. Good character arcs can be dropped into any setting and still have character. Events do not lead the story; characters do. In the next few moments, I’m going to share how I craft my characters.

What do they look like?

At first, I had to really practice at describing my character’s appearance. Adjectives. Gotta love em!

Once their hair, eyes, build, scars, tones, and such are settled, the image of this person–who I might not quite know yet–is painted in my mind. You’ve probably heard that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. This picture is what I want to describe to my readers, but this picture also tells me something about the character.

For instance, if a character is short, maybe he gets made fun of. Or if a character has dense eyes, she may be concerned.

Diving into the Past

In the story, never give background dumps (unless it is in a tense situation and adds suspense, even then I find it best to wait until the middle-end). Here’s why: readers like to figure out the mystery of a character’s past.

A character’s past should always match up with who he/she is today. For example, a character with a dark past could be always serious or . . . maybe he/she is always jolly, trying to make up for the horrific childhood. In Captain She 1: Her Revolution [WIP], Katie Rodgers’ past influences not only who she is but her desires and fears.

Desire

Ever want something so bad that you’d climb mountains, swim swamps, dig caves, cross oceans, and even be willing to chew on a dirty sock flavored jelly bean? Maybe you wanted something new. Or maybe you wanted something back to the way it was. Nevertheless, the desire moved you. Desires move the story forward.

Desire>Distance>Denial>Devastation>Desire Obtained (Answering End)

A character has a desire. Say, she wants to find her father. Now, the inciting incident is what throws the character off daily life, forces a desire to be revealed, and begins to series of events/people who distance the character from that desire.

Great story material: Tension. Suspense. Conflict.

Just when things can’t get any worst . . . they get worst. Denial is the crisis of the story. The end is closing-in.

How can “worst” get even more worst? Devastation comes into play near the end of the story. It is the last terrible, dreadful, painful, devasting thing that happens to the main character.

Finally, the character gets the answer to the desire. Desire is obtained. Or the desire is partly obtained. Or maybe the character chooses not to want it. Or the desire is better than they imagined. Or maybe the character does not get the desire at all but learns something.

The Lie

Every satisfying, rounded character believes something in the beginning of the book and ends up believing something else at the end.

Fear>Lie>Act

Based on something from the past, the character has a fear. Everyone has fears so use this to make the character relatable and vulnerable. Here are some fears:

• Loss of loved ones
• Rejection
• Failure
• Worthelessness
• The unknown
• Being wrong
• Chaos
• Change
• Abandonment
• Confined spaces
• Heartbreak
• War
• The Dark

Based on something from the past and in connection with the fear, the character believes a lie. For instance, Tomas Hamilton in Captain She 1: Her Revolution [WIP] believes he owes people something due to his ruff childhood.

Sometimes the lie is to guard the character from the fear. On the other hand, sometimes the lie causes the fear. Both the lie and fear work together to influence the character to take action (even if it means hiding).

On this note, I want to bring in the character’s flaws/vulnerability. The character’s backstory and deepest secrets and fears all justifiy (if I can use that word) the character’s actions and reactions. They are the “why” to how the character holds himself.

Characters must be round and relatable. No one is perfect. So, give the character a flaw such as . . .

• quick temper
• stubborn
• fear (of change, of revealing the past, etc.)
• suspicious mind
• unresolved family issue

Also, season the character with a quirk or two.

• fear of germs
• OCD
• habits of ___ (this could be humorous)
• works with Opera music playing
• always flexes the jaw before singing

Interviews

To create and write a character, the author needs to get into character. Throughout my writing sprints/brainstorming sessions, I often pray and, well, ask “What would ____ do?”

Not to be weird, but it does really help to have a conversation in your head with that character.

When interviewing a character, continue to ask “So what?” and “Why?”

In her book Getting into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn from Actors, Brandilyn Collins explains the multiple levels of a character. First, you must peel off the general catergories (age, job, etc.). Next, we learn the character’s specifics (views, manners, etc.). On the third level, we personalize the character (past, core truths, etc.). Sometimes we find a core truth that fails to move the story forward. We could either restart the process or see where the inner value will lead. (Summary of pages 19-23).

The Message

Every story has a message. When I write, I aim to encourage/teach Biblical values. For instance, in Captain She 1: Her Revolution [WIP], my goal is to encourage people that we are enough because God is enough and we can trust in Him. I also added forgiveness, the meaning of freedom, and so on.

When I consider the message of a story, I tie it to the main character. This can be the hardest part for me because sometimes I work backwards.

Hero Must-Haves

• Skill (let them use it)
• Unique (not boring; they make the book so let them shine)
• Proactive (plans fail but a hero does not)
• Opinions (they know what they believe and why)
• Quirks (set them apart from other characters)
• Convictions (if they don’t know who they are, they won’t know what to do)
• Relatable (feelings, hunger, etc.)

Hope this has been helpful and interesting. If you have any questions or other insights into character building, I’d love to hear it!