The Right To Write

Abstract Characters: Part 2

A couple people have requested a section on characters. Characters are the very core to the plot line, so I plan to create a series of parts devoted to characters.

I am going to dedicate this entire section to making your character stand out in the crowd. How to initially draw your reader to the main character.

This particular section is dedicated to TeenWanderer. Please check out his book, Nobels, which is bursting with potential.

Main Character. Emphasis on that word. Your protagonist is your main character. He's the special snowflake. He's the one chosen to save the day. No one else. Remember that he, and only he, has to stand out of the crowd. This creates a bigger connection between the reader and the main character because no one else is like him.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mean everyone else has to be a cyborg clone of everyone else. Everyone is different and special in their own way. But as a writer, you need to know your main character the most. By focusing on developing your main character, and less on the secondary characters, you are leading him into the readers' hearts.

Put the protagonist into a contrasting crowd. This is how to create an initial interest in the character. Maybe start the book off in a place the protagonist doesn't belong, as to set him off against the surrounding characters. This will spark the "he's different" thought in the reader's minds immediately.

Put a generally demure child in a rough environment. Place a humorous protagonist in the midst of a group of bland, dry individuals. Anything that will put a black dot on a white sheet of paper. This will only set off an impression, but make sure you keep it.

Internally Conflicted Characters. I could label every human being internally insecure. Make sure your character is too. Your character may be confident outwardly, but inside, he needs to perpetually fight himself for decision his personality would suit the most. I feel that most writers forget that their character would at least acknowedge that there's a yes next to a no. Writers need to see that their characters might not always say, or mean, "yes" straight off the bat. Because those are decisions we all at least consider in life.

Just to note, I'm not taking about trivial decisions such as "Benny do you want breakfast?" Of course Benny wants breakfast, I mean, unless he doesn't... that's besides the point. I'm talking actual difficult decisions we naturally have in life, that would naturally be ten times harder for the character.

As I have previously mentioned in one of my sections, dilemmas and difficult choices require the reader's insight on the character's life. They need to understand the values of the characters in order to see the difficulty of the decision.

Quirks. Ironically, it may be the smallest things that make your character unforgettable. Do you ever execute a certain action or say a little phrase, and you can almost hear your friends chugging down the thought "Yup, that's ol' Gabrielle." Because those habits are what make us us. They should do the same for your character; we all need readers to smile in recognition of your character's little quirks. We all have somewhat unimportant pleasures and annoyances. It just adds to the complexity of our human nature. Give your protagonist abstract habits. Maybe he collects receipts for no reason, cuts his apples into paper thin slices just to calm himself, or picks and eats his nose's contents. Forget that last one. Habits are habits.

Flaws. A lot of writers go wrong here. As I have mentioned in the  last section, they think flawless characters are special enough to star in their novels. Just remember that character's flaws and imperfections are absolutely vital to completing and differentiating a character. You need your characters to make mistakes, you need them to think the wrong way. Because that's what humans do.

Relatability. This is the core value of connections between the reader and the protagonist. Humans have the general mindset that they are alone on every thought, even though they are clearly not, which is why relatable characters are such a contenting source to humans. Inject scenes and emotions which we have all felt.

Fear, vulnerability, failure. We tend to lament over, and thus relate more to negative traits, but it doesn't mean we can't relate to pleasure and acts of kindness. It is important that you put scenes in which our untamed emotions take control of us.

Readers also highly relate to one of my previous points, flaws. No one on earth is perfect, so no one can relate to a perfect protagonist, and thus your intentions backfire. And all you have left is an irked reader.

Relatability will be a recurring theme as this project progresses.