One of the most often asked questions of writers by fans, or by writers themselves, is what makes a good character. This worn-tired subject has been written about in tomes on every shelf. I hope to give a different view to a possible answer.
If you want to know what makes a good character, then ask them.
Yes, indeed, this is a strange statement, but a true one. No one knows what makes a character tick like the character himself. And by all this I mean, you can fashion a fabulously one dimensional cardboard cut-out character by dreaming him or her up, or, you can do as I have learned to do and interview them. The interview process brings out a lot of traits that will benefit you when you sit down to write. How else are you going to know that your character has a peanut allergy?
The character interview
It always helps to have someone else help you to do this interesting exchange. I have one of my critique partners do it. We begin with a casual lunch or coffee and the questions begin immediately.
“So, Miss So-and-So, what would you like, coffee or tea?”
“Do you put cream in that?”
“Why do you prefer tuna over chicken salad?”
“Did you kill your husband?”
And so on until my friend knows more about this character than I ever imagined I could tell her, and at the same time, I learn a boatload that will keep this character alive and kicking for a whole book. Believe me, when faced with quirky questions from your readers, you need to know what your character takes on her hamburger!
Another way to get to the good stuff
If role-acting is not for you, try writing your chapter from different points of view. For example, if you write it from the cop’s perspective, you will get a pretty procedural outcome. If you write it from the wife of the murdered man, you will get a pretty emotional outcome, and if you write it from the perspective of the villain, well, you may get things you never knew before about a character that would normally stay hidden behind the Great and Wonderful Oz’s curtain.
Character tics
What is it that makes normal living people stand out to you? Is it that mole on their left cheek in the shape of Minnesota, or is it the way they always furtively look around and chew on their nails as if they have something to hide? Whatever it is, tic or trait, be sure and examine it and put it into your list of character make-up items as these colorful parts of the “paper people” you are crafting for your story will be the same things that readers will keep coming back to find in every book.
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