Character Development: Making Characters Real

As I sit in a bookstore coffee shop I carefully observe the hustle and bustle around me. From the middle-aged woman speaking just a little too loudly about her pending divorce to the young man who sits alone and can't seem to maintain eye contact with anyone in the room – I watch them all.

No, I'm not a serial killer or enemy of the state. I'm a writer researching characters.

One of the most effective ways to ensure your characters 'act' like real people is to always think of them as real people. Why do they feel/think/act the way they do? Would your sister/brother/best friend talk like that?

Keep in mind that characters typically change over the course of a story. They learn life lessons and new perspectives that cause them to grow and change. These characters are referred to as 'dynamic' characters.

Static characters, on the other hand, remain the same throughout the events of the story. They don't share in the changes of heart and mind that move other characters.

Of course, you could have characters who are moved by some events but not others, giving your story a mix of static and dynamic. Whatever qualities you chose to give each character, make sure it is consistent for the character. Consider their background. Culture and gender play great roles in making us who we are. So does financial status.

I find it helps to imagine my characters as new friends. I'm curious to learn about their past, their hopes and dreams, and their present reality. I make character profiles for each one - major player or not - to determine how each will move the story forward. That is the point to developing great characters; that they might bring personal experience and bias to each scene and intrigue the reader further.

When you remember the greatest stories ever read, it's the characters who come to mind. They were likable or vile, funny or dry, impressionable or 'set in their ways.' The characters involved are what make the events of a story important. Flat and uninteresting characters are an injustice to your story. Remember to always keep 'em real.

Manuscript Rejections from an Editor's Viewpoint

As an editor and a writer, I get the opportunity to experience rejection from two very different, very distinct viewpoints.

On the one hand, I pour myself into my stories, working for hours and days on end emptying myself into the worlds I create. Reading and re-writing sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. Surrendering myself to the long and tedious project of writing novels. Putting in the sweat, tears, and even blood (if paper cuts count!), only to send the completed work out and see it rejected.

I admit I have crumbled under letters that briefly stated, “This work does not meet our criteria.” The words are a simple rejection, or form letter, yet they had such far-reaching consequences. It left me feeling like my work wasn't even good enough to warrant a second glance.

To date, as an editor, I have had to send out a dozen rejection letters. This was painfully done. Perhaps because I am so new to the process, I couldn't help but wonder what damage rejection would do to these writers. After all, rejection letters are still sometimes enough to make me want to quit, forget I ever knew how to write and never look at pen or paper again.

I will always remember the first two submissions I had to refuse. Not so much because the submissions themselves stand out, but because of the time I spent considering these books and the emotional turmoil I went through knowing that my opinion, my words of rejection (no matter how carefully I crafted them) could forever impact a hopeful writer. But I rejected them for a reason.

One submission was underdeveloped. The plot was sketchy and the story never really came together. The other submission wasn't bad at all. The children's story was cheerful and sensitively handled a difficult subject, death. I liked the piece, but I wasn't looking for a full-color illustrated book. It simply didn't fit the publisher's needs.

From these experiences I have come to understand a little about what takes place when a writer submits their work, unsolicited, to an editor. There is a formal process that a submission goes through not just when being reviewed, but when being created, too. It is important to remember that your submission is the first impression an editor has, not only of your book, but of you as an author. In order to succeed in your submission efforts, it is necessary to abide by a few standard “codes of conduct.”

First, manuscripts/illustrations that come without a formal query seem like a social misstep. The query letter, an overview of the proposed story and the author's credentials, is as necessary as saying hello to a new acquaintance. As an editor, I typically don't know the author who is submitting their work, and when the introduction begins as such, “I'm submitting three stories, and sixteen illustrations. You don't know me, but I hope you'll publish my work,” I feel like an important step has been skipped. A query letter is of the utmost professional importance when submitting your work.

Also, it seems that many writers who approach me this way don't realize that there are submission guidelines listed on the website that outline what I expect to be included in the submission and how I would like to receive it. These guidelines make the submission process a little easier for me, but more than that, they help me to determine who can follow directions, and who can't. Or who won't. It's not pleasant to work with authors who won't work with me, and therefore, I'm likely to lean toward rejecting any submissions that ignore the guidelines.

If you can research and follow submission guidelines and take the time to polish your submission by including a well-written query letter and any other requested materials, you are already a step ahead of many other writers. Unfortunately, not following guidelines is not the only reason I turn down submissions. Sometimes the story just isn't marketable as it. It could be the writing, it could be the plot, it could be the subject matter.

As a writer myself, I have learned that rejection slips rarely come with any advice on how to improve the work. Editor's suggestions, while they are just that – suggestions, are worth their weight in gold. Should you happen to receive any advice on bettering your writing, take it and learn from it. However, should you find yourself rejected with no advice to help you along, consider finding help elsewhere.

Now, keep in mind, if you submitted a fiction piece to a publisher who only publishes nonfiction, there may not be anything wrong with your writing at all. Failing to place your story before a publisher who handles your kind of work will draw a rejection for sure.

That being said, joining a writer's group in your area could be a wise move. Collaborating with people who are dedicated to the craft can include a number of benefits. Other writers will be more familiar with what works and what doesn't. You may have an opportunity to read your story aloud to the group, or submit pieces of the work for closer inspection by individuals. They will be familiar with grammar and punctuation problems, and they will check your piece for clarity and cohesion.

Once you have revised your manuscript and researched publishers who are looking for works such as yours, try submitting again. Remember, follow their submission guidelines and be professional. Respond promptly to any questions or a request for the full manuscript. Doing this will allow the editor to see that you are dedicated to your craft, and that publishing your novel is an important project to you. Remind yourself that no one wants to get excited about a book that doesn't even motivate its creator. So get excited in a professional sort of way, and don't let those rejection slips pull you down.

Writing a Fiction Novel

I remember back in grade school my teacher telling our class we were going to eat an elephant. I was very perplexed that she seemed so serious about it and began asking us how we would go about eating an elephant. After all, elephants are huge, and I could barely finish a sandwich and chips in one sitting. How were we going to eat this elephant she was talking about?

Of course, you know the answer: One bite at a time! Writing a fictional novel is much the same way. Beginning writers (and I suspect some of us experienced writers, too) may balk at the idea of tackling such a project. Yet writing is such a creative outlet that gives us an opportunity to express ideas and emotions that we are willing to 'eat the elephant' anyway.

I have heard new writers say, from time to time, that they just don't know where to begin in writing a novel, so I've put together a quick guide to creating a fictional story. I will cover more information on this topic in later posts, but this where I usually start.

1. Choose and research your topic. Fictional writing lends itself to a myriad of topics. When preparing to write your story, gather as much information as you can about subjects you are passionate about. Reflect on your reading tastes to help in determining what type of book you might write and what age group you will write for.

2. Outline your plot on a piece of paper. The plot consists of the major events that will take place during your story. Organizing these events will give your story direction. Note the physical time and place of your story on the outline. Writing out the plot, along with the theme or meaning behind the novel, will give you something to refer back to later and help keep your story on track.

3. Characters can make or break a novel. Weak or uninteresting characters, or characters that don't behave and speak like real people, can easily be avoided with careful planning. Think about what drives the individuals in your story. What are their origins? What did they experience during their childhood? What are their likes and dislikes? What conflicts and struggles do they face? Getting to know your characters will help you to identify with them and help you to know how they should react and speak. Profile them and pin their profiles up on a pegboard alongside your outline so you can easily refer back to your notes. (Note: Many times in place of the pegboard, I organize my notes and story drafts into a zipper binder. I also find it helpful to collect pictures of real people who look similar to my characters. It helps me to not lose sight of the fact that my characters are 'real people' in my story, and that they must behave like real people at all times.)

4. Decide if you will write your novel from one character's point of view, or from an all-knowing author point of view. Each style has benefits and drawbacks. For instance, writing from a character's point of view (known as writing in first person) gives you the opportunity to show your character's thoughts and emotions from their own unique perspective. However, be aware that with this style of writing you cannot reveal anything that the main character doesn't know or see. You can switch to a sub-character's point of view in the course of the story to show the reader things they could not otherwise know, but be careful. This can become confusing to the reader if not done well.

Alternately, you can show the story line from an author's point of view, or third person. This gives you the freedom to show how the story relates to many characters at once, and allows the reader to see things happening that the main character doesn't necessarily know about.

No matter which view point you choose, be sure to stick with it through your story.

5. Begin writing the first draft of your story. Refer back to your plot and character profiles, and begin writing out the scenes that will move the novel. Try to devote a little time to writing each day, even if it is only fifteen minutes. Set reasonable goals to keep you motivated. I personally try not to look back over what I've written until I'm done with the first draft. Penning the first draft is a difficult step, one that you should tackle without the distraction of editing and constant re-reading.

As I said, this is usually how I begin writing a novel. Knowing that everyone writes and organizes thoughts differently, I would encourage beginning writers to use this guide as they discover their own unique way of developing plot, characters and point of view.