Stop Copying Me! (Characterization)

I am constantly battling with my characters. Whispering, praying, and hoping that they won’t tell my deepest, darkest secrets. They glare at me from the page, dressed in black font and an inflated sense of grammatical perfection. I fear them immensely because they are bits and pieces of a broken me.

Egypt Hummings—a protagonist in my current manuscript—wants to be a writer. She has recollections of reading with her mother (my mother) and working in a bookstore (my teenage dream job). My characters become that conforming friend: A clone that moves and speaks as I do. The friend who you begin to avoid for fear she might consume your entire identity.

The problem is you can’t avoid her. To complete your project you must confront the characters who bear your shattered resemblance.

Eventually, I had to treat my protagonists/antagonists as if they were my children. I had to rear them so that they would grow a voice of their own and bloom unique traits.

Here’s how to do it:

1) Dialogue/Actions: Listen to the conversations of others. Even though you might have your novel plotted from start to finish, no sort of extra research can hurt. Immerse yourself in a surrounding similar to your setting and listen to how the people around you converse. Incorporate sayings that wouldn’t be exclusive to you or any discourse you frequently hear. Also take note of their actions. What do they do differently from your typical reaction?

2) Traits: Just as in the theatre, your characters clothing and appearance says a lot about their persona. Try not to stereotype when formulating the depiction of your protagonist. Step out of the box. You can use the same directions above for this development, or you can also research this.

3) Voice: The banter between two characters should also exemplify a personality. No two characters should sound exactly alike. Wording and grammatical tricks are handy here. Want to give your character a st-u-tt-t-t-er? Go ahead. Elooongaaaated words? Be my guest.

4) Other characters reactions towards them: I usually use situations with my friends to determine the outcome of character action. You can do this, or write the complete opposite of what you’d do in that situation.

I am no longer afraid of my protagonists. I confront my character sketches without fear or procrastination. The world is your oyster, make that KEY character your pearl.

-Rivaflowz

Smocker Deuce