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@kathleenramm @selah-chelyah @devastate-lasting @gracie-j @erinramm @literally-everyone-on-this-forum
Here I pose a question to pick your minds: What makes a diverse and interesting character?
@leon-fleming Please define diverse and interesting.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
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@leon-fleming Let’s see…hmm. One who refuses to conform to cliches, cultural molds, or preconceived ideas. Of course, never a character who’s an outrageous rulebreaker/bender. That’s a cliche in and of itself. Like the girl who dresses up as a boy. If Shakespeare did it seven times, it’s overused.
An atmosphere, be it surrounding the character or the one from which your character comes (i.e., a family or a town), either social or physical, that influences your character’s beliefs, way of life, mannerisms, etc. A character from a large, close-knit family is going to be very loyal, even if they’re a traitor to their country. (Does that make sense?) A poor commoner who’s worked as a servant in a palace for many years is going to be polished and mannerly–polite propriety is all they know, after all. A wealthy person who has lived their entire life in a farming village/town is likely to be a rural, perhaps even vulgar, sort of person. The idea that a person is defined by one aspect of their life rather than many is incorrect–take note of every aspect of a character, from upbringing to religion to where they live, were born, have lived to what they read, and draw from them the same things you have drawn in your own life, applying them to the character.
A situation that brings out the best, the worst, and the previously-unknown of the character. Watching them transition from their reputation as a calm, quiet person to a loud, angry person all because of one completely unexpected occurrence makes them more interesting and unpredictable. (Granted, it drives the author batty, and I should know, but our own reactions are proof that we don’t always function how people, and ourselves, think we should.)
Other diverse and interesting characters. Dialogue, humorous situations, relationship dynamics–all the variables included in a friendship (or an enemy-ship) that play with a character’s personality, or even conflicting personalities, reveal more about them, and the impact that certain characters have on the other can make them more diverse. Think Holmes and Watson, for example. Their relationship brings out a deeper, more loyal, personal side to Holmes that you wouldn’t ever see in any other situation. It makes him deeper than the average, no-nonsense, boring old detective. It adds conflict to his character and to the story. Anyone, from a love interest to a child to an elderly neighbor to a crotchety father, can diversify another character simply by being there.
Two differing aspects of their personality. Having a strong, tough hero/heroine who is also very indecisive adds conflict to their character. So, sure, they can handle anything life throws their way, and they have a reputation for being a baddie. But when push comes to shove and their life is on the line, or they don’t know which way is up, they’re at their most vulnerable point. When it’s left up the them to decide, they crumple and turn out to be a very fickle pickle prone to tears. (The crying part isn’t necessary, of course. I’m merely drawing from a character of my own.)
Again, a not-cliched character. So, you’ve got a strong heroine who wants to fight a war or be a pirate or something reserved for guys–or else are on the run for their lives. Well, the first choice would be to dress up as a guy. It happened in real life (Anne Bonny and Mary Read…it didn’t end well) and it happens in fiction (The Twelfth Night and Mulan). It’s a cliche by now. So make an even stronger heroine who defies all the odds and still embraces the fact that she’s a woman. Give her friends/family who support her. Give her men in her life who respect her. Give her a reason to have earned their respect and a way to have done so conspicuously. (And, again, drawing from my own character.)
Or…their voice. Give them a unique voice. A character who doesn’t sound like every other, regardless the fact that they’re totally cliched and otherwise uninteresting, is always fun to read. If they’re funny, witty, or even slightly crazy–if they’re dark and sarcastic and overly morose–if they have a weird way of looking at normal, everyday things, or think in riddles/symbolism–they make themselves and a story interesting simply by having a unique voice.
That would be, to me, what makes an interesting and diverse character. They don’t have to be African and live in China with a family of cats, gerbils, and orphaned giraffes to be different or diverse. To me, I’m more interested in the way their past experiences have impacted them–from their outlook on life, to their voice, to their appearance, to their reactions, to their reservations. Also, a character with a mysterious past that no one knows about but is often alluded to and is kept a secret because it could cause them serious damage in/at some point of their life is always very interesting. The more diverse the past, the more interesting the character.
What do you think makes a diverse and interesting character?
I’m a bit late to this, but better late than never!
To me, interesting characters are characters that can not be accurately described in a single sentence. For instance, a character who is NOT interesting could be easily described as, the funny guy, the serious general, the happy-go-lucky girl, the mean stepmother, etc.
An interesting character needs to have multiple sides and dimensions to them. Light and dark, fearful and brave, silly and serious. Despairing and hopeful. A complex character can’t be described in one sentence.
Take say Gandalf for example, to describe him as a wise wizard would be an injustice, because he is so much more than that. The same goes for Same Gamgee, it would be wrong to describe him as just a loyal gardener.
However, I don’t think it would be too inaccurate to describe Finn from the Star Wars Sequels, (who I personally think is quite bland), as an Ex-Storm Trooper who is now a rebel. Because, if you think about it, is he much of anything else?
Of course there’s a lot of things that go into creating interesting and diverse characters, like the things that @gracie-j talked about in the previous post, but I think the one sentence test is a good way to know whether a character is interesting, not just quirky or weird.
Now I’m curious, what do you think makes an interesting and diverse character @leon-fleming?
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@kathleenramm Very good point! Particularly on the mean stepmother one–that is by far one of the most common cliches…ever. I mean, if it exists in five different fairytales, should you really do it again? Ahem. One way I’ve tried to avoid that is by listing several of my character’s similar traits (i.e., happy, funny, kind; positive things and all) and then contrasting them with a list of negative traits (i.e., lightheaded, oblivious, impulsive; which, for this example, means that although the “girl next door” is a nice person, she hurts a lot of people without knowing it). It also helps to put an otherwise strong and logical character in an illogical situation to bring out a different, more complex side of them.
And Finn was probably the worst character in the newer movies. I mean, he had potential, I think, but what happened? Where did he disappear to? He was totally unnecessary to the whole Rey/Kylo/Luke thing going on, and ended up more like a extra than anything else. And, in a way, he was just dorky. But, then, I’m more of a Han Solo kinda girl anyway. (Why, Han? Why? Why did you have to die?!)
Yeah…pardon my ranting. 🤣
@gracie-j
Wow. I think you hit the nail on the head! You brought up a lot of great points. Especially the part about throwing the character into situations that bring out the best, worst, and unknown about a character.
And yes, I really can’t take the “the-girl-who-dresses-up-as-a-boy” or the “the-girl-who-is-not-like-other-girls” cliches anymore. I just… can’t.
@leon-fleming
I also have to agree with @kathleenramm and the one-sentence-test. The more you dive into a character the more they stand out from any other characters who seem similar on the surface.
Too often, writers rely on giving characters quirks, a rather eccentric appearance, or a peculiar favorite color to make a character interesting. You can have many characters who are witty, or have a tragic backstory, but in the end, what differentiates them all is their hopes, fears, desires, flaws, values, how they change throughout the course of the story (how they change the story, and how they are changed by the story), misbeliefs about the world, who they care about, and more- through these things they become so much more interesting and memorable.
Iron Man is a good example of this. While you could try to describe him as a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” he is so much more than that. He has his flaws that he needs to deal with, values that are challenged, fears he needs to overcome, and by the Endgame he is a decidedly different person than he was at the beginning of the first Iron Man movie. And that’s why Iron Man tends to be the favorite of so many fans.
But those are just my thoughts. What do you think makes for an interesting and diverse character?
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@erinramm Thank you! 😊 For agreeing with me on both points, of course. I mean, it’s very nice to know that I’m not the only one out there who is bored to absolute death–admittedly, not the best metaphor there–of the “dresses-like-a-boy/tough girl/feminist” cliche, especially considering everyone else on the planet Earth is still using the 500-year-old stereotype. In today’s day and age, it’s more creepy than anything.
I guess your example would be described as the character arc. The more intrigued you are by watching the character change and grow throughout the story, the more interested you are in the character as a whole, whether they’re a space pirate from 5027 with green hair or a plain waitress at a small-town diner. And, yes, Tony Stark definitely has the best character arc–maybe ever, but at least in comparison to Hulk and Thor. I mean, what did they do with their lives? Put on a “hulking” two hundred pounds, that’s what.
Is this the moment where I use Scarlett O’Hara as an example, or is Gone with the Wind still a controversial subject, @leon-fleming? Anyway, despite hating the vain, selfish, greedy Scarlett, a reader can still be interested in her character because of her misguided ways/outlook on life and the way that slowly changes with everything that happens to/around her. So, for research purposes, if you wanted to read the book or watch the movie even… Yeah, I won’t go there. She’s still an amazing character, though, with a very interesting arc.
@leon-fleming
I often feel as though every character in a book is the same. They all think the same and act the same. This is most likely because it’s one person writing them all. So I really like it when I can tell that the author took time to give each and every character individual personalities and quirks. It takes a lot of research and studying people, but the payoff is amazing. It gives realistic diversity among the characters
WIP - Decisions
Kapeefer til we're old and greyI whole-heartedly agree. You know when an author is good when each of their characters have a voice of their own and don’t all feel like the same person. And yeah, research plays a big part in this. Fortunately for me, I really enjoy studying and researching people and their psychology. When I was seven, my sister and I would interview kids and teachers at art school for inspiration for our characters in our stories. XD It seems kinda weird looking back, but from then and still to this day, characters are my favorite thing about writing.
Do you know of a particular author who writes diverse and interesting characters well without making them feel like their being written by the same person?
@gracie-j
I think you have convinced me to read Gone with the wind, even if you haven’t convinced Leon yet.XD I definitely agree that a character doesn’t have to be morally good to be good as a fictional character. Actually some of my favorite character’s are gray characters. People who are struggling between the light and the dark.
@leon-fleming
Erm, I’m late, but personally I think that having solid motivation and fears can create a good character. A fleshed-out backstory that supports their motivation will as well. And then of course how they respond to the author shattering them and flinging the pieces of their goals and dreams and desires around to be crushed underfoot and then gathered and glued back together always helps.
The pen is mightier than the sword, but in a duel, I'm taking the sword.
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@kathleenramm Yeah…I totally replied to you like a million years ago, but it obviously didn’t go through. Boo.
Anywho, to sum up what I said…I’m so glad to hear that I’ve convinced you to read Gone with the Wind! My life’s purpose is almost complete! All that is left to do is to force–er, coerce–em, gently persuade Sir Fleming to read GwtW, and then I can die a happy woman. 😆 I do suggest watching the movie as well. ‘Tis long, no doubt about it, but oh, so worth it.
And you are SO right. I think pretty much everyone feels that way–drawn to the grey, the characters so muddled and so realistic, so like us. I know I am, even in my own work and my own very grey characters. (Granted, ’tis the grey ones that drive me batty, but the readers don’t need to know that, I s’pose.)
@e-k-seaver Is it just me, or is the whole shattering and flinging and crushing thing actually enjoyable? Yeah…that’s probably just me. 😆 But, seriously, it works.So, @leon-fleming, who has yet to reply to any of these very intelligent answers, there you have it. The grey, tortured-by-the-author-to-the-point-of-utter-despair-and-insanity characters (like Katie Scarlett O’Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler, for example) are preferred over all others.
@devastate-lasting (I mean, I would define them, but I really don’t see the point anymore.) @gracie-j @kathleenramm @erinramm @alia @e-k-seaver
Alright, nice answers! (dot, dot, dot)
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@leon-fleming Nice? We all poured out our souls (em, I poured out my soul) to you, and all you have to say, five years later, is nice? How about extraordinary? Or fantastic? Or superb? Or excellent? Or insanely wonderful? Or terrific, in all caps? Or even supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
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