Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (4 page)

Level A:
Division of characters into general categories such as socioeconomic level, age, gender, and career

Imagine the quick introduction of a game show contestant, and you’ve got Level A. “An English professor from Omaha with three children” or “A retired dog trainer who loves to fish.” Discovering your character’s answers to Level A’s basic question of “Who are you?” is easy enough. Your character is a military man, a beautiful and wealthy woman, a homeless person, or an elderly gentleman. Any such category automatically brings to mind an array of potential mannerisms. In walking, for example, someone in the military may stride, while a beautiful and rich woman may strut or glide. A homeless person may listlessly amble, and an elderly gentleman might shuffle. Or in eating, the military man may clear his plate with a quick deliberateness while the rich woman revels in the ambiance of fine food and etiquette. This level of characterization is of course necessary, and it’s true that major divisions such as career and socioeconomic status begin to define a person. But you can already see how easily character stereotypes are created by stopping here:

An abused, abandoned romantic heroine = fearful, feels unworthy.

A detective who’s clawed his way out of the slums = chip on his shoulder.

An elderly man with unrealized dreams = bitter, sour-faced.

Let me add that the above aren’t bad in themselves. Your detective from the slums may indeed have a chip on his shoulder. The question is how to move him from mere stereotype to a unique person.

Level B: Moving toward specifics

At this level you can begin to imagine some distinctions within a main category as you further define your character and how he or she fits into the story. You most likely will already know the answers to basic questions in Level B. For example, is your military man a private, a major, a general? Or is he in a specialized unit such as the Navy SEALs? Is the homeless person new to the streets or someone who’s lived there a long time? In his working days, was the elderly man employed in a factory or was he a high-level executive?

Discovering these answers will lead you to numerous lines of specific questioning. Let’s say your story involving the military is about a young man who has just joined the Marines. Perhaps he is following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. How will his family history affect his attitude toward the rigorous demands of the Marine Corps? Obviously, this young man’s actions and outlook will not be based on the years of, say, a general’s military training. But what if his grandfather was a general? After growing up hearing his grandfather’s stories and learning at the old man’s knee, might your character think he knows more than other new recruits? Might he approach his peers with a bit of a cocky attitude? Or might he have placed his grandfather on such a pedestal that he feels he can never begin to measure up?

Or let’s say your character is that beautiful and wealthy woman. Is she newly rich or was she born into money? A character with newfound wealth may have a very different attitude toward money than a woman who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. If your story is about the homeless man, how long has he been homeless? A man who’s recently lost his job won’t view the streets with the familiarity of a person who’s been homeless for years.

Although at this level you can begin to see some of the deeper attitudes of your characters, the questioning up to this point really only begins to scratch the surface. Because of this, any mannerisms or traits attached at this point will be too generic. But it’s just so tempting to stop here. We figure we know the basic information about our characters, some of their perceptions of life, and we know the story or at least have a general idea of the story. Time to assign a few personality quirks and gestures and get on with the writing.

Not so fast. The fun begins at Level C.

Level #C: Personalizing of the character

At this level you will conclude Step 1 and move on to Steps 2 through 5. The character will become a unique person, with inner values and a resulting set of traits and mannerisms not duplicated in anyone else. If you use an interview list, this is the level at which to ask the deeper questions that move you toward the core of your character. Obviously the answers to the first questions on your list—name, age, position, etc.—will already have been answered in Levels A and B. Your Level C list might include items such as: Was your childhood happy? Unhappy? Why? What are some defining moments in your life? What do you think of when you hear the word “mother”? “Father”?

If you don’t use a set list of interview questions for your characters, that’s fine, too. You can still get to know your character by pursuing what you have learned in Levels A and B. This is akin to the give-and-take conversation in making a new acquaintance in real life. That person tells you something, and you respond with a question for more detail. You’re told more, and you respond with yet another question.

For example, let’s return to one of the characters mentioned above—the newly rich woman. Continuing the line of questioning you began in Level B, you might specifically ask: Would she view money as less important or more important than a woman who was born to it? Again, the trick is to play out each line of questioning until you hit bottom—that is, come to the natural end of that line. Say you continue questioning your newly rich woman about her money, finding out just how important it is to her. You find it is indeed very important. You probe further along these lines. Is the money more important than friends? Family? How differently would she feel about herself if she didn’t have money?

Turns out she would feel very differently indeed. In fact, her self-identity would be gone.

Wow. Now that’s getting somewhere. Is this really true? She’d be nobody without money?

Yup. Apparently she defines herself by her wealth.

There you go. You’ve just hit bottom—the “So what?”—with this line of questioning (Step 2). You’ve discovered one of the core truths of your character: “My self-worth is based not on who I am or what I’ve accomplished, but what I
have.
”

Stop a minute and think about this inner value. Can you already begin to imagine how this belief, this core truth of your character will drive her desires and actions? Before you go any further, think about the plot points you know so far in your novel. You may know many plot points or only a few—doesn’t matter. Whatever the case, test this inner value against those points. Will this particular core truth help further your plot? Will it complicate the conflict? (Which would be a good thing.) If not, if you don’t like this inner value you’ve constructed for your character, back up. Return to Level A or B and start the process again, discovering different answers for your character until you “hit bottom” on a core truth that will work better for your story.

Or, if you discover an inner truth that doesn’t fit well with the plot you know so far—what would happen if you kept that inner value? Where could it lead? How might it change your story? Would it improve the plot? Give you an idea you hadn’t thought of?

As you can see, the process of creating a novel is circular, not linear. You don’t build characters, then build a plot, or build a plot, then build the characters. The two go together. Better knowledge of your character and the natural choices she would make in any given situation further plot points further discovery of character more plot points. It doesn’t really matter where in that circle you start—with a character or with a basic plot.

In fact, you might even start Personalizing from the plot itself. As I was creating my suspense novel
Exposure
I began with only one thought: a camera that takes its own pictures. From there I envisioned the opening scene: a young woman comes home after dark and finds a camera on her kitchen table. Where did it come from?
Flash.
The camera takes a picture of her.

Starting with that plot point, I asked myself, “What kind of person would be most affected, most scared in these circumstances?” Answer: one who has many phobias, including a strong paranoia of being watched. With that known fact about the character I could start the Personalizing process.

Okay. When you discover an inner value that works, go on to Step 3. Let’s continue with the above example of the rich woman. Now that you know your character bases her self-worth on her money, how will this inner value translate into outward attitudes? In other words, what trait will naturally result? Dig deeper into your character until this trait is revealed. You may discover she is proud, perhaps even given to bragging, about her wealth. Or perhaps you’ll find she’s tightfisted, for if she ever lost her money, what would she be? The key here is not to leave this step until you understand how the inner value will directly affect your character’s outward personality.

Once you’ve discovered the trait (or traits) linked to your character’s inner value, proceed to Step 4. Continue with the same line of questioning to see if you can hit bottom a second time. If you do, you’ll discover one or more specific mannerisms tied to the inner value. For example, you might ask your character—with her self-worth based on money, what exactly has she spent her money on? Probe this a bit. Let’s say you decide she’s bought herself a large diamond ring that she absolutely adores. She wears it all the time. This information has singled out her hands. What else do you know about her hands? Is she proud of them? Are her fingers long and beautifully tapered or stubby and wrinkled? Perhaps your character doesn’t think her hands are all that attractive, even though her nails are groomed and polished. This fact bothers her, and if it weren’t for the ring, which is a sign of the wealth by which she defines herself, she wouldn’t choose to draw attention to her hands.

Now you can ask her which of these two desires will supersede the other—her desire to avoid drawing attention to her hands or her desire to show off the ring? Answer: show off the ring.

Great! You’ve hit the second bottom for this line of questioning. At this point, you can go to Step 5. After all your probing, your knowledge of this character can now translate into specifics of how she will use her hands. She may talk with them, spread her fingers in graceful poses, rest them on the table at dinner rather than in her lap. Or she may have the mannerism of tapping a nail against her cheek as she’s pondering something, or on a table when she’s frustrated. Why? Because she wants to show off the ring.

After awhile of doing this, your character may not even be conscious of why she uses her hands so much. It simply becomes habit to her. But the habit started somewhere. And for a reason. Following the Personalizing process, you’ve discovered the inner reason. Instead of just slapping on the mannerism of “talks with her hands” you’ve discovered one piece of
who she is at her core
. This truth will lead your character in her decision-making throughout your novel—sometimes in her minor decisions, and sometimes in major ones.

Let’s look at a second example of the Personalizing process, going back to the young Marine we left in Level B. Say through discovery in Level C you find that this young man feels he can never measure up to his father’s and grandfather’s expectations. You then might ask: in his eyes, what would “measuring up” look like? Answer: upholding the honor and integrity expected of a Marine,
and
attaining the rank of general. In other words, nothing short of what his grandfather accomplished. Well, that’s a mighty lofty definition. How did he form it? What part came from his father? What part came from his grandfather? Where is his mother in all of this? You might surprise yourself as you form your character’s answers.

Let’s say through all of this questioning you discover your character has a difficult relationship with both father and grandfather because they’re constantly pushing him to achieve. The grandfather has always been dissatisfied with the performance of his own son. As a result the grandfather has now placed some high expectations regarding honor and integrity upon your character’s shoulders. Further, your character’s father seeks his own redemption in the old man’s eyes through his son’s accomplishments. The father is the one who has decided that the young man must become a general.

Now you are at the bottom of this line of questioning (Step 1). Based on his definition of “measuring up,” you can pose the “So what?” question. Ask the character which is more important, the showing of integrity or becoming a general? What if telling the truth about a certain situation meant he would be passed over for a promotion? Which would he choose? Let’s say the character answers: “If I knew I wouldn’t be discovered, I’d lie rather than lose the chance for promotion, because if I can reach the rank of general, I’ll prove myself both to my father and my grandfather.”