Rounding out those characters!
Nano prep is in full swing and more news!
First of all, let’s get the news out of the way! I’m super pumped to be revisiting my Darkspell world finally! Earlier this summer, I did a trial publishing the first novelette in paperback. Things didn’t work out quite like planned, but I am now releasing the paperback on Amazon!
And I’m even more excited because I’m nearly done with the first draft of Darkspell: Uprising, the next chapter for Flora, Oliver, Finn, and their friends! To celebrate, this month’s podcast story is a new story from the Darkspell world, AND (as if it couldn’t get better) one of the referral bonuses I’m working on for my substack is another story from this universe as well! So keep watching your email for those new stories.
Rounding out your characters
First, what is rounding out a character? Well, have you ever read a book, watched a movie and something about the character felt off? Maybe the character seemed plain and had no ambitions. Possibly, at the end of the day, the character felt bland, forgettable, or maybe even worse. (Note: Unlikeable doesn’t mean bland or two-dimensional; you can have a rounded-out character that is absolutely unlikable.)
I have found in many instances that the books that are hardest to get through and the most forgettable or bane of my existence characters are those that feel lifeless. Giving a character life can mean lots of things.
First, a main character (I would even go so far as saying a minor character) needs a purpose. Not just a plot but a drive. Maybe to be the best they can be, maybe to make the world a better place, maybe they are finding their place. But a driving force feels necessary regardless of genre. You can have a romance book and have a drive. For my first romance, Christmas Confessions, Bella had the drive not to be pigeonholed into her family’s status, to be her own person. It drove her actions, whether they were mistakes she made or not.
But rounding out a character is more than giving them a drive or purpose. Characters truly need to feel real. Real people are messy, loud, and quiet and have lots of emotions, sure, but only including that will still make for a flat character. They have likes, phobias, and quirks and are not perfect. They make mistakes; maybe those mistakes haunt them. They get cocky or have very niche interests.
A book series I love utilizing when I have issues figuring out some stuff about my characters (things I might use to round them out or figure out their emotions) is the Writers Helping Writers Series. There are nine books with different focuses. Ways to think about a character (negative traits, positive traits, emotions, emotional wounds, and conflicts). Something that they bring to light well is that when there’s been an emotional wound, there are repercussions. I also have started looking into various card ‘game-based’ prompts to help generate story and worlds, but sometimes from that, you can get information about your characters (watch for a review coming soon of The Story Engine).
Now… maybe you’ve thought of all this. You know your main character’s favorite food, and what they do when they can’t sleep, and do they like to dance and what kind of music…
But somehow, they’re still flat and boring. Yes, it’s entirely possible. I have found that a review of the piece might be needed. Did you have a plot but maybe not a drive? Or is the drive introduced so late? Why should the reader care? Recently, I’d read part of a book (it did get DNF’d, no, I won’t say what book), and what I couldn’t get over was the main character clearly had thought put into her. Emotional turbulence that disrupted her early in the story, a reason to be cautious around new people and getting close to others, interests that made her seem like a normal teenager… but I could not get past how repetitive her thoughts were about the love interest. It took so much space in each chapter and harped on the same things without ever feeling like there should be a connection. Sometimes the character gets lost in other parts of the story being told. Check for info dumps or repetitive thoughts intruding on your story. And look at the details. You may not include all the details (and definitely don’t need to tell the reader every detail about your character upfront). But sometimes, those little details will shine.
An example from my own writing: I was working on my other fantasy novel over the summer, and one of my favorite little tidbits is that the two main characters obviously love each other, but Xyrilla always seems cold. She has a short temper, and most would question why Erar is in love with her in the first place. But her love language is acts of service. So, for all her snappiness and maybe cold shoulder, she sits down and makes Erar a meal, even carrying around the spices his father uses to make it a meal he would truly enjoy. It’s a little detail, but it shows she cares and pays attention to the smallest of details about the man she loves.
In the end, an author’s first draft is not the end all be all. Especially as we come up on NaNo Season, editing is where an author will likely add and polish the story. Not everything will come out in the first draft. I know, for me personally, when I write a story, I’m building the world as I write the first draft. I always add and learn more about my characters during that draft. So remember, you may not know your character fully until you are in your second or third draft. That character may be growing in your mind as your story grows.
Next coming out will be the long-awaited episode 3 of Nerdy Mom Shares a Story podcast!