One of the most important elements of every story is the character. Para sa 'kin ang mga tauhan talaga ang nagbibigay ng motion para sa buong vision ng isang writer.
Kahit sa mga general at marketed plotlines, makikita mo talaga ang individuality ng isang kwento sa mga tauhan nila. Every promising story has at least one compelling character.
Keyword natin ngayon compelling. Compelling characters are strong, believable, captures attention and sucks you into their world.
Siguro sa dinami-daming stories na nabasa niyo minsan ay nauumay na rin kayo sa mga overused plots with really shallow characters. O baka ako lang talaga nakakaramdam ng gano'n.
Anyway the reason for cringe-worthy characters are sometimes they are too perfect, sometimes villains are too bad, sometimes they're too stupid. Like oo nga at beauty ng isang creative work ang pagiging malaya gumawa ng perpektong babae na sobrang ganda, talino, mabait, at astig. Lahat din tayo nangangarap ng isang tall, dark and handsome billionaire with a panty-dropping-smile and zero psychological issues.
The only glitch is, they are too flat. Ang hirap maka-relate kasi hindi mo naman makita ang sarili mo sa kanila. Ang hirap mag-invest ng emosyon dahil napakababaw at pahapyaw din ng mga emosyon ng mga tauhan. Perfect characters have little to no room for growth. No character growth means a superficial conflict. Shallow conflict means a boring plot.
Ayan so napaka-importante talaga ng chatacters. Characters the verbal representation of a human being through action, speech, and description. Bilang manunulat ay obligasyon mong gumawa ng tauhan na ikakasaya, ikakagalit o mamahalin ng mga mambabasa mo. Kapag nagawa mo ito, alam mong compelling ang characters mo.
The secret for compelling characters are consistency and complexity. Hindi dapat pa iba-iba ng ugali at detalye ang mga tauhan unless kelangan siya sa circumstance (I will go in depth with traits and circumstance in other updates.)
Example ng isang inconsistent detail ay 'yong sinabi mo sa first chapter na isang party girl at hard drinker si Eba, pagdating sa tenth chapter kailangan panindigan niya 'yon. Kung established na sanay siya sa night life at hard drinks si Eba, hindi siya oorder ng beer or soda or cocktail sa umpisa ng gabi.
Kung hopeless romantic good girl si Lian, kailangan panindigan niya 'yon. Hindi niya itataboy lahat ng lalake nalumalapit sa kanya at magiging cold hearted bitch sa chapter 5.
For me I like to follow these steps that when I make my character profiles. I just thought this might help a bit.
There are three steps in disclosing your characters.
🔥Physical(stage 1)- lahat ng may kinalaman sa panlabas na anyo at general information.
●Facial features
●Age
●Height
●Ethnicity
●Body Built
●Name
●Occupation
*I know na hindi physical traits ang name at occupation pero nilagay ko talaga sila diyan dahil general information siya na pwedeng ipahayag sa iisang scene.
🔥Psychological (Stage 2) - lahat ng factors na mamakaka-apekto sa mental state ng character mo. In most (not all) books, this stage slowly unfolds through the course of the story as readers get to know the character and peeled several layers of his/her physical self.
●Family Background
●Religion
●Intelligence Level
●Relationship
●Fears
●Skills
●Weakness
●Hobbies and Habits
●Area of Environment
●Past Accomplishments and Failures
🔥Goals (stage 3)- ito naman lahat ng desire, short term and long term goals, morality at defining moment sa buhay ng character mo. Minsan na di-disclose ito from the conflict until the resolution.
Dito mo rin mapagdedesisyonan ang role, conflict at growth ng character mo. Characters are like living human beings. They aspire to attain something. That's what makes them realistic, relatable and memorable.
When you make your character profile, don't make him or her too perfect. Ayaw natin ng flat at static personas. Don't be afraid to shatter a few pieces and add a little edge. Kung mga villains naman 'wag nating gawing masyadong salbahe at gaga. Bigyan natin ng dahilan ang mga behaviors nila. Don't be afraid to add a few redeeming qualities.
Like sa Game of Thrones (favorite book at TV series ko po ito kaya bukambibig ko), kahit Fantasy ang buong series ramdam mo pa rin ang reality at relevance niya sa mundong ginagalawan natin. The author knows that people are not just two dimensional, black and white cut-outs. Hindi predictable kung sino talaga ang bida at kontrabida.
Kamumuhian at mamahalin mo ang mga tauhan. Your heart will bleed even for the bad guys. You will be disappointed even for the good guys. They are like people. They bear deep personas, make their mistakes, have a bright moment. Ito ang patunay na compelling sila. Kahit anong simple ng plot kung makikita mo ang realidad at mararamdaman mo ang saloobin ng bawat tauhan, kaya mong gawing nakaka-aliw at kaka-iba ang akda mo.
Sana po ay nakatulong ako. If you liked this, you can go ahead and tap the star! You can also tag some friends. Thanks!
Love,
DYOSA
BINABASA MO ANG
How, What, Why
Non-Fiction#64 in Nonfiction 09/07/2018 (by genre) #1 in writingtips 08/29/2018 (by tags) How, What, Why: A Guide for Online Writers Iilang mga tips, guide, at info para sa mga undiscovered writers na naglalayon pa na mas mapagbuti ang sining sa pagsusulat...
