Let’s get back to the serious business of writing.
I wrote a series of articles for Quill on creative writing a few years back. I’ve posted the first instalment on Creative Writing: How Do I Start?
Here’s the second instalment and it deals with writing about character.
For me, creating and building a character can be one of the most difficult parts of creative writing, but it can also be the most rewarding. So, if you haven’t read the article, here goes:
CREATIVE WRITING: CHARACTER BUILDING STUFF
Last time we met, I said that we begin writing when we have an idea. A idea might just be a man leaving a cardboard box in a coffee shop and quickly leaving.
Let’s now look at this man carefully and show him to the reader. Let’s call him Jason Lam. Jason’s a thin man with pimples. With his metal framed glasses and long hair dyed blonde, he saunters around in his trendy T-shirts, tight jeans and his favourite blue slippers. Jason is twenty-four, drives a Yamaha motor bike and lives with his mother in a shop house in Cheras. His father died in a car accident when Jason was twelve. Jason works in an electrical shop fixing and mending electric appliances.
Now we have some idea of who Jason is. But we can discover more about him by looking inside his mind and in his heart. Although Jason appears to be a confident person externally, he is actually insecure. Jason is worried about his mother because she has a heart condition and he’s afraid that one day he’s going to come home and find her dead. She needs an operation but Jason has no money. Jason’s passion is writing computer games on his old computer. One day, he’d like to have his own business selling his games but, deep inside, he knows it’s going to be too difficult. Still, it’s his dream.
Now we’re beginning to know Jason as a person. Depending on the extent of your work, you can keep developing his character. Has he got any brothers or sisters? What does he do when he’s not at work or writing games on his computer? What does he like? His dislikes? What habits has he got? Does he pick his teeth? Does he smoke? If so, what brand? Has he got a girlfriend?
Now it would be great if we could let Jason’s character lead us into the story. For instance we know that his mother is ill and his desperate to get money for her operation. Suppose he’s trying to extort the towkay who owns the coffee shop. Maybe Jason took a smoke bomb to the coffee shop to scare the towkay and unless the towkay pays up, the next time it’s going to a real one!
Beware though! Characters should be well rounded, three-dimensional. When beginning creative writing it’s easy to fall into the trap of creating flat characters because these are the characters we’re familar with. Flat characters are usually stereotypes like the forgetful professor, the anorexic model, the prostitute with a heart of gold, the shifty-eyes thief. Flat characters are predictable. Avoid them!
Characters should be complex and giving them conflicting traits only shows that they’re ‘real’. They should be people rather than caricatures. Good characters breath life into the story and your readers should recognise their own selves in the characters you create.
With good characters your story can evolve, taking it in directions you never thought about when you first developed your ideas. This is part of the fun of writing!
June 7, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Thanks for this lesson. I’m beginning to see the light
When my friend and I were thinking up of stories to write, we did not venture far from the usual Dynasty-Dallas kind of characters. They are predictable, aren’t there? Back to the drawing board. 😀
June 8, 2007 at 2:36 am
J.T – Glad the article is of help. But you don’t need to go back to the drawing board. Just change your characters a bit. Put in something unexpected, something outside our usual perception.
June 8, 2007 at 7:46 am
I have never thought of writing from that point of view. Thanks for the tip.
June 10, 2007 at 11:14 pm
cirnelle – no problem! Try just writing about a character and you’ll find that the character can lead you into a story.
June 12, 2007 at 1:33 am
I never know that you’re a writer.. lol..
Make me wanna shout “Malaysia Boleh!”… kekekz…
cos you’re good in writting.
And thanks for sharing this idea. I need to improve and find my own character in writing..THanks you very much and happy blogging!
;D
June 12, 2007 at 2:52 am
TH, thanks for sharing the article. Can you write something on ‘endings’? I have a problem with it.
June 12, 2007 at 6:19 am
curryegg – sometimes I don’t think I’m a writer either! Your character can be loosely based on someone you know. So write on and happy blogging too! 🙂
lydia – ‘endings’ should not be too big a problem. All the hard work’s already been done. Sometimes no ending’s needed. Leave it to the reader to imagine. Depends on the genre, of course. You might want to tie up the loose ends. Pause for a bit of reflection. Have a bit of a denouement. The ending needs to fit with the writing. Big piece of work needs a big ending. Smaller piece, smaller ending.
June 12, 2007 at 10:27 am
Some writers prefer to start with the ending. I kinda like to let the story lead wherever it wants to go; let it surprise me as it were. 😉
June 12, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Ah, TH, you reminded me of a character-building tip I once read about: Write good traits into your so-called villains and flaws or blind spots as big as an elephant into your ‘nice’ characters.
June 12, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Kenny – let the story lead you. Those are the most interesting tales. It’s almost magic, as if the characters take over. So the ending should happen without too much fuss.
Argus – excellent tip! We should all take note of it. It’ll lead to better characters, hence better writing, hence better story. Aren’t we humans all just like that? No one’s perfect. No one’s that bad either.
June 13, 2007 at 5:25 am
Hi TH,
WOW! Tips and pointers from the pro. Yeah! The stereotypes..ha ha! I like reading about inner thoughts when it comes to the characters. It is the best way to get to know them. Writing…naaah!n I know I don’t have the patience to write any story. I am happier to read lah..he he. Nevertheless, this is a good read, perhaps for my cv. I must portray myself as interesting!
June 13, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Hi Tunku Halim,
I read your letter to StarMag, and bought your book 44 Cemetery Road from MPH about a week ago…It was hijacked by a horror-fan-friend 2 days after I bought it, and still awaiting its return…Thought I’d give the horror genre a try…Hehe…
Anyway, thanks for the tips of creative writing…
But, ya noe, creative writing, to me, is barring the soul…Your characters breathe life through your words and the way you develop them…
And in many ways, your characters are a reflection of you…
It’d be many many many years before I can even dream of writing that way =)
Thanks for sharing though!
June 13, 2007 at 9:51 pm
ruby – I’m sure you’re already a very interesting person. Reading is certainly a lot more fun than writing. The latter can be very hard work! As for the stereotypes, they’re all around us, but we just need to dig a little bit deeper to see the true characters.
Daphne – hey thanks for getting 44 Cemetery Rd. I hope your copy’s returned soon so that horror can get its claws into you! I agree, the characters you write can certainly come from a part of you. But you change it, amplify it, so that the character becomes someone else. Also characters can be based on people you know. But you still do use bits of yourself. Cheers!
June 16, 2007 at 6:22 am
Just wanted to alert you to the childish reaction of the reviewer of your book. At least you had the guts to give your reaction in public and with your real name. I can’t say the same for this cowardly reviewer taking potshots anonymously from his blog.
http://eyeris.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-to-review-book-without-getting.html
June 16, 2007 at 8:01 am
Anon – thanks for letting me know. But I don’t think I’ll visit Monsieur Cheang’s blog. It’ll only result in more negativity. 🙂
June 17, 2007 at 9:45 am
Yup, lots of hateful comments directed towards you. You would probably do best to steer clear of it.
June 17, 2007 at 9:02 pm
John – Happiness is a state of mind. We drink of what’s good and, if we can help it, avoid the bitter tasting ones. 🙂
February 16, 2013 at 1:34 pm
It is good and true way of create a story around persons you see and describe them as you wish. Very good idea. Thank you.
Katary