Home: Writing for Comic Books: Chapter Three - Character Development: "The Characters Took Control of the Story"

Chapter Three
Character Development

"THE CHARACTERS TOOK CONTROL OF THE STORY"

Every now and again you will hear a writer talk about a story where his or her characters took on a life of their own and dictated the way the story would play itself out. In the past when I heard statements like that, I would consider it a sign of sloppy writing, believing the writer lost control of the plot and wandered off on tangents. While I am still very much a structuralist, I have mellowed in my feelings on the matter up to a point. I've written material where I had something I needed the characters to do, but discovered it couldn't work without betraying the character and had to reconceive what I was doing. I still find the general attitude to be dangerous, especially when writing for comics where there are usually very rigid limitations on space, but there is a valid consideration here to be made. Characters should be so vivid in the minds of the writer and the audience that we can sense when the characters are acting in a way that doesn't make sense. (Remember the "idiot plot?")

A writer must know his or her characters so well that it will be obvious when he or she is trying to make the characters to do something that is contrary to their nature. Any time you force a character to do something that defies everything that has been revealed about the character to that point, you are doing a disservice to the character, the audience, and yourself. There is one time where the characters taking control can truly be a good thing--when itforces the writer to rethink his or her plot to make sure it makes sense. Plot and structure are important, make no mistake, but your characters should not be sacrificed in order to force a plot to work.

As with everything else in life, the writer must strive for a balance between plot and character. If you come to a point in your story where the plot requires someone to act out of character, then you have to make a decision: do you change the plot or do you alter the character? Something will have to give, or else you will drain your story of its reality.

For the writer to reach the level where his or her character can take on a life of their own takes time, practice, and careful planning...

WHAT MAKES INTERESTING CHARACTERS?

When we read a story or watch a movie, if we don't like the characters or relate to them in some way, we quickly lose interest. Without interesting and compelling characters, all the fight scenes and special effects in the world won't save your story from being uninvolving. Shock and awe are appealing in the short term, but what makes people come back to your stories again and again are the characters.

So, what does make for interesting characters? Believability and complexity. You want to make all of your characters--even the robots and aliens--recognizably human, with qualities to which the humans reading your story can relate.

Let's face it, we humans are an inherently contradictory bunch. We may say we love our fellow man, but there are exceptions, like that creep who cut you off in traffic or that next door neighbor who never turned down the stereo (especially when playing that awful polka music!). We all have hopes and dreams, as well as unreasoning fears and blind spots. We are complex, and it's that complexity that renders a character compelling. By embracing the common things that make us all human and instilling them into your characters, you will achieve audience identification which is the heart and soul of effective storytelling.

Every character should have a specific purpose in the context of your story. This is where I usually begin in terms of building a character. What is this character's role to fulfill: hero, villain, protagonist, antagonist, best friend, wise sage, cannon fodder? The primary action the character must take is the foundation of the character. From there, ask yourself a series of questions that spell out motivation, physical attributes, and integration.