Everyday Canvas

Characterization is Important

Prompt by Lyn: I went to a writer's workshop this evening. It was called, "How To Throw Your Character Under the Bus" by Raz Steel. The premise of the workshop was developing your character's traits, giving them a goal and smashing the easy course in under five pages.
My question to you when it comes to character development how well do you know your character? What works best for you creating this epic person? Do you feel having an outline spoils that relationship? Can your character create the plot for you? Steel believes the character writes the story if you've created a strong character, what do you think?


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“The degree of characterization depends on the genre and what the author wants to do with it,” is a blanket statement that some believe in. Speaking for me, characterization is what makes a story, and I prefer to know as much about the character as I can, especially up to the point where the story would start even before I put down the first word of the first chapter. It doesn’t matter whether the story is a 350-word shortie or a full-length novel. With the shorter work, one needs to at least have a sense of the character.

Having said that, did I always do a full character examination? No, and this shows in my lesser and failing stories. It isn’t easy to make a full character sketch and then to learn it by heart just to write a short piece, but it is well worth it.

What works for me the best is, after I put down a basic character sketch, to imagine the character in different situations and watch how he would act. I even write short vignettes like that before attempting a novel or a novella. Sometimes, I get lucky and those vignettes find their place inside the story somewhere, mostly as flashbacks.

I don’t think having an outline spoils the relationship as to my knowing the character, but it somewhat spoils the joy of writing for me. Since with the Prep for NaNo here in WdC we do make outlines, I know making the outline eases the writing of the novel, especially if I have a deadline like that. My best bet is to make a very simple outline and promise myself not to stick to it if events pull the character another way. The work I most enjoy writing is done while pantsing, though, after I get to know the character well.

Can a character create a plot? It is possible. I have met real-life characters that I wanted to put in a story. Sometimes who the character is may suggest a plot.

As for me, I like to have the character and a situation to begin with. For example, a simple sentence like this would help me: Johnny loses the promotion and his girlfriend to his best friend. This is after I know who Johnny is. Then when I have that sentence, I need to know the girlfriend and the best friend, too, as they are the primary characters. If Johnny has a mentor or an ally, he or she may also need to be known in detail. Then, to start the novel, I might put all three primary characters in a situation, say an office party, where additional characters would be introduced with their not-too-detailed character sketches. For those secondary characters, a writer needs one or two strong traits, quirks or whatever that stand out. The whole thing, however, depends on how the story rolls. If a secondary character becomes somewhat important, I might stop and work on him or her, too, before continuing.