tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post821694833078270346..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Characters and CharacterisationKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-19836358932806965082014-03-08T10:29:19.084+00:002014-03-08T10:29:19.084+00:00Great post, Bill. Thank you.Great post, Bill. Thank you.Sandra Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761260568729338471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16486735261451063462014-03-07T20:39:10.309+00:002014-03-07T20:39:10.309+00:00Well done, Bill. I can't agree about your putt...Well done, Bill. I can't agree about your putting the card before the whores. And even if you did, so what? Even whores are allowed to play poker. This piece is right up there with your first-rate post on rhythm: summaries of principles and strategies for pros. Now I'll return to my card game.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-25167953774572787792014-03-07T19:00:46.777+00:002014-03-07T19:00:46.777+00:00Interesting post,Bill, with lots of helpful remind...Interesting post,Bill, with lots of helpful reminders.myraduffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08697152063675260518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-3913977881687964452014-03-07T17:48:11.328+00:002014-03-07T17:48:11.328+00:00Just to elaborate: it's a bit like acting. Sec...Just to elaborate: it's a bit like acting. Second-rate actors <i>pretend</i> to be a character; the very best ones reach inside themselves to find that portion of themselves which <i>is</i> that character.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-75069814136511587182014-03-07T17:40:59.664+00:002014-03-07T17:40:59.664+00:00I'm still going to disagree, Bill, though most...I'm still going to disagree, Bill, though most cordially. There are no shorthand tricks to authenticity. They always show.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-78188234898358139362014-03-07T17:15:16.432+00:002014-03-07T17:15:16.432+00:00Thanks all. I guess I should have made it clear th...Thanks all. I guess I should have made it clear that this isn't a 'How to create a believable character' blog - just a look at some of the shorthand tricks available to get started. The important thing is that question 'Why?' Why doesn't she have any photos around the house? Why does he wear such horrible shirts? Why does he always need to have something to chew on? They may be mere tics, but they spring from something inside the person and discovering or revealing that is what gives her/him density. It's when, in Dan's words, they 'run away' that they become so much more than the tic, the idiosyncrasy, and maybe even their creator.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-4955711388096019432014-03-07T16:25:05.324+00:002014-03-07T16:25:05.324+00:00thought provoking post Bill. Characters are so imp...thought provoking post Bill. Characters are so important, even more so perhaps in a series of books, and letting them grow and change and age is important too. Of course the risk with the kind of details you describe is that they can rely on outmoded stereotypes, which does happen with some writers, and I find that off-putting. Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-62641116815992123402014-03-07T12:54:22.638+00:002014-03-07T12:54:22.638+00:00Bill, I feel that you're putting the proverbia...Bill, I feel that you're putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Mannerisms and habits follow on from understanding a character in some depth; otherwise, you risk 'putting together' a jigsaw puzzle sort of figure. Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-28306828593934020782014-03-07T12:32:04.285+00:002014-03-07T12:32:04.285+00:00Great piece. Balancing those last two is a bugger,...Great piece. Balancing those last two is a bugger, isn't it? Give characters their head and before you know where you are they've run away and you've done far more than "hint" Dan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-71279663245614789052014-03-07T12:16:35.236+00:002014-03-07T12:16:35.236+00:00I had someone remark in a review that I never desc...I had someone remark in a review that I never described my character: his height, color of eyes, nothing. Yet the reader knew him to be slight and, in his eyes, 'beautiful'.<br />I nearly wept at that, because the reader had focused on what drives all my stories: characters.DragonLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06381441468998574063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-52278789639177122602014-03-07T12:11:43.725+00:002014-03-07T12:11:43.725+00:00I think a character feels real when you can sense ...I think a character feels real when you can sense they have their own story, whether or not the main story addresses it in depth. That story is the depth behind them which gives them that vital third dimension. Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-4471594952191791982014-03-07T09:49:15.550+00:002014-03-07T09:49:15.550+00:00Love this post - all of it true, all of it helpful...Love this post - all of it true, all of it helpful. I too focus more on character than anything else and once you're 'on your way' with a character, once you've got his or her voice, it all begins to fit together and you pretty much know what will happen. (Which fits in with Debbie's post about plotting by the seat of your pants - me too!) I overheard a conversation only this week that went 'Oh - they're the new people. He's ever so good looking.' Those who had met him all agreed that he was indeed an extremely handsome man. (I haven't seen this paragon yet.) Then somebody said 'He's a cage fighter you know.' It was like a small explosive, detonated in the middle of the group of (mostly) women! All I could think of was that it sounded like the start of a story. Actually, I had already used something similar in Ice Dancing, but I thought I was making it up. There is so much material, everywhere, every day but most of it is linked to the amazing variety of character out there. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.com