Character Writing: A Learning Process
It was 2020 when I had enough nothing to think about to contemplate pursuing writing again. I hadn’t considered writing a book since about 3rd grade and it had been a proposed series of fantasy novels featuring dinosaurs and bizarre fantasy animal abominations. A mashed up knockoff of land before time, Narnia, and some forgotten penguin movie. Considering doing it again so many years later felt strange, but fitting at the same time. Like a lost fresh pair of shoes, still comfortable and usable despite their now old age. I knew that creating stories was something I could excel at if I worked on it long enough. I’m far from being exceptional by all means, but have learned a thing or two in my few years of doing it. After writing two bum manuscripts and several short stories, I concluded that one of the most daunting and rewarding processes of writing is creating characters.
While many other writers will staunchly disagree, I find most character-based movies and literature are more psychologically and philosophically compelling. Fictional media solely based on the inner workings of the characters and little plot I valued less when I was younger. Though I still find books like this daunting to read, I’ve gained more appreciation of them with age. As a plus, I also like to write them.
As ashamed as I am to admit it, writing long pieces showcasing the lives and personalities of characters is much more eye opening than I intended it to be. Letting fictional entities run loose on the notebook paper is both cathartic and rather terrifying whether they come out in long form notes or fully fledged chapters. Some of the most bizarre and often depraved behavior from these bastards comes out of nowhere. It’s a real rude awakening when you realize a lot of these entities are based on real people you’ve seen. And it’s an even ruder awakening when you realize the remaining ones are an extension of yourself. This is a conundrum many writers face. It’s also one I’m not sure whether to be nervous about.
Writing the closest thing to a living, breathing being is no easy feat. Sometimes I enjoy reading biographies over fictional characters inspired by the figures written in them, as they feel more nuanced and authentic. Authenticity is the hardest part of writing a character. For me anyway. It’s very difficult to tow the line between genuine and stereotype and a lot of authors fail at it with at least one character or another. My biggest weakness is feeling like you are not worthy to write a certain character, as you are so far removed from their lives. You feel too naïve, boring, and sheltered to even comprehend their world. Sometimes I find myself peeved when other authors don’t feel the same way. Writing something or someone far removed from yourself is both an honor and a big responsibility. It goes beyond pure research, analyzing yourself and the character, seeing how you are both so different but similar in many ways. Maybe people don’t do this anymore because they can’t see beyond the labels. Or maybe this deep process is just too painful and personal in the first place.
I’m hesitant to say that my relationships with my characters is some sort of therapeutic process. I prefer the term “deep character study”. Who the “character” is that’s being studied is up for the outside party to decide. Sometimes I grasp for straws. Trying to understand where these entities came from and why they hang around for so long in my headspace. My popular theory is that they play some role that I can only describe as literature math problems. They start out simple and undefined until their quirks, actions, relationships, and personalities multiply infinitely in a thick, interconnected web of energies with the other characters. It’s an exercise of some sort, juggling and testing the relationships between imaginary beings to create an ideal set of events that accelerates and snowballs.
I don’t know any of my stories that didn’t end in some bizarre disaster. Perhaps I enjoy seeing train wrecks like the millions of people who flock to cringe videos on the internet, but on my own terms. Maybe the key is that I want to find meaning in the toxic obsession with failure that permeates our society. Whatever the reason, it’s my instinctive path for writing. With so many copies of the same plotlines and character tropes rehashed in new books today, I find the act of showing modern people on the page to be underutilized. It’s disappointing to see so much wasted potential, when some of the most interesting and disgraceful people to exist are living with us right now. As unpopular as the take may be, I find it time to go beyond the typical archetypes readers are comfortable and tired of seeing. With such an interconnected world today, there’s so many people transgressing beyond the cultures and lifestyles they were once contained in. TV is becoming a dinosaur and nerd culture is mainstream. It’s much harder to label someone as religious, liberal, conservative, and many other things. And those labels are becoming more niche and splintered. I’ve yet to read a work of fiction that shows this essence of our modern times and shows it well.
In these times, things are much more exposed. It’s easy to know the fine details of people’s lives and even easier (and ego fulfilling) to post their own details online. It’s shockingly simple to find any type of person online, including those you didn’t think could exist. There’s no excuse for a writer to stick to a character type being used since some popular novel in the 80s when the resources to inspire more original characters that most accurately present our time period are at our fingertips.
For my reasons stated, writing characters is an intimidating task. Despite my criticisms of modern writing, creating original and interesting characters is not a feat I’m immune to in its difficulty. As a beginner writer, I have a long way to go like anyone that’s a novice in the field. I hope to keep learning as I continue my journey and find like-minded writers and readers. Character writing is an arduous task that gives you a sense of accomplishment after it’s done, like completing a day of construction work. It’s what keeps me working and is the reason I write.
