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What’s in Character – Core Personality

18 Feb

This is the first in a series of posts devoted to character creation. I will go deeper than just physical appearance and how a character speaks. During the series, I will tear apart the main character from my short story, “Good Night’s Sleep”.  I will show you how Yursi Sonal was developed.

I do not go through the entire process that follows, for every character in every story. However, all of my major characters are created using this process.

According to modern psychologists, which I am not, each of us has a core personality. It is part of our DNA and is the base line for who we are. Everything that we experience whether it is physical, mental, or emotional is processed by and layered to this core personality.

There are a multitude of tests to determine which core type we fit into. Each will provide slightly differing results. I started using one such famous test in particular, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. The results of this test indicate four important areas that make up a character’s personality:

Introvert(I) vs. Extrovert(E)

Sensing(S) vs. Intuition(N)

Thinking(T) vs. Feeling(F)

Judgement(J) vs. Perception)P)

This yields sixteen potential combinations of letters. E.g. INTJ, ESFP, or ENTP. Each combination describes a basic temperament for the individual.

As an example, let’s take my character Yursi Sonal. When the chromosomes that created this character came together, the result was a ISTP. That means Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Perception. The full description would take several pages to list. But, the full description is important to refer back to, so I keep it close to my computer at all times.  For now, we’ll shorten the description to: 

Impulsive and sometimes naive, generous, tactical, ignores rules and can be insubordinate to authority, takes risks and loves to play, subject to boredom outside of the job, requires a long leash.

So, this is the core personality that all of Yursi’s experiences will be processed by and layered onto. The way the character views their gender, birth order, physical appearance, their family status, geographic location, external environment, education, life experiences, employment, financial values, etc. will all be affected by this core set of traits. In upcoming posts, we will begin to add these “layers” to the core. Each layer will add to the character’s personality

If you are creating a main character, I recommend you consider this as your first step. An invaluable reference book for writer’s who want to use this method to create characters is, “Please Understand Me II” by David Keirsey. Even if you don’t go to this much effort to create your characters, it’s a good reference for character behavior.

As a side note, take an established character and ask them the Myers-Briggs questions to see what core type the character is. If they are honest with their answers, you might be very surprised at the results!

There are other, easier ways come up with a character. However, as you will see, when we build a character using this type of baseline and layering life experiences on top, we will end up with a living, breathing character that can and will respond to any challenge that comes their way in a real and believable way. Isn’t that what we want from or characters?

 
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Posted by on February 18, 2013 in What's in Character

 

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What’s In Character?

08 Feb

Every story has at least one character. The character can be almost anything. It could be a person, a spider, a tree, a rock, a dragon, a storm, etc. What ever the character is, it has physical and emotional features. It has a point of view, perhaps a history, some kind of future. Most likely, it has a personality, a temperament  even feelings. A story without a character is not a story.

Characters are depicted in different ways by various writers. Some go into lavish detail about how characters look physically while others use virtually no physical description at all. These latter writers rely on the reader to create a mental image of their own based on the character’s actions and dialogue. Even though the physical description never makes it onto the page, I would bet that the writer knows what the character looks like and how they dress. Interesting characters have detailed backgrounds. It’s the character background that I am interested in exploring.

Most of my stories start with a character. My first writings were, in fact, character sketches for role-playing game participants. I enjoy character creation and have approached it from many different angles. Sometimes I start with a physical description, sometimes a profession, sometimes a core personality profile, and sometimes a history. Each one works and very well-rounded layered characters can be created, regardless of where you start. The key thing is, always build more into the character than you will actually use in the story. Sometimes, your characters will go someplace or have to deal with an issue that you may not have thought about when you started writing. If you have a detailed character background, you can easily determine how your character should respond.

Recently, have I tried to write without having a fully fleshed out character to start with. I am finding myself having to re-read previous sections to remind myself what the character said or did. This is time-consuming, so I have started taking notes as I write. I hope the characters turn out okay. we shall see.

My intention is to offer a series of posts devoted to character creation. During the series, I will tear apart the main character from several flash fiction pieces and my short story, “Good Night’s Sleep”.  I will show you how Yursi was developed. I actually created her twice, using two different methods. Each gave slightly different results, as it should be.

I look at character creation like creating a painting. The artist starts with a blank canvas and begins by drawing a pencil sketch, the a base layer of paint is applied. Then, the picture begins to take shape as the artist adds layer upon layer of paint to the canvas. Each layer uses the layer beneath and adds detail to painting until together, all of the layers make up the final image.

I have seen characterization addressed many times in blog format. Usually, it is a brief discussion talking about character tags and traits we use to describe characters within the story. I have posts covering those areas as well. I hope this series will be a deeper dive into the background material where those tags and traits originate.

If you are in the initial stages of a story or have a story with a character that seems flat, I will give you suggestions that may help you bring your characters to life. Along the way, if your character has a major problem area that you would like to discuss, I would be happy to do so. :-).

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2013 in What's in Character

 

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Me watching you watching me

18 Dec

Dear Friends and Acquaintances,

Yesterday, it struck me again how much information is available on the internet. What started out as a two-minute search for the properties of Bloodstone, turned into a three-hour session that covered topics ranging from geology to modern magic to Wicca to various other organized religions to the US Bill of Rights to personal information on a friend of mine. I found the Bloodstone information I was looking for in the first two minutes, but I just could not help myself. One question led to others. It is so easy to get lost in the internet and the nearly limitless amount of information house there. So, needless to say I fell farther behind on my FAD challenge word count.

Then, I jumped on the blogosphere, read a few posts, and made some comments. As I was commenting on a post, it occurred to me, again, how much personal information we share with others without giving it much thought. We talk about ourselves, our families, and our lifestyles. What we like to eat, to drink, where we like to go and things we like to do. Now, I am no longer as paranoid as I used to be in my younger days. I don’t post information about others without their expressed permission. However, there is still a little voice that tells me to pay attention to what goes on around me. People are watching what I say and do. 😐  Dun, dun, duuun!

Since I am giving out so much information on myself, I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of who it is I’m giving this information to. WordPress, to my knowledge, has not seen fit to provide who stops by to view my posts so, I must take matters into my own hands. I decided to create a clone. The clone would need a disguise to ensure no one would know it is me. It cannot sleep and should be easy to care for.

For reasons which I will not get into in this public medium, I have a close relationship to the Rabbit/Hare. Yes, I know they are very different. I am a biologist for crying out loud. However, many people think they are the same thing and I am not inclined to take the time to explain it every time the question comes up. That’s what the internet is for.  🙂 But I digress. I looked through 80,000 images and found a self-portrait which now resides at the top of my blog site.

So, beginning now, I will always be here, watching you watching me!

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2012 in Musings and Odd Thoughts

 

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Writing Cross-gender

13 Aug

The other day, a friend asked me an interesting question. Noting that the main character in my short story is a woman, my friend asked, “Why did you use a woman? How can you know what a woman would do in the situations you put her in?”

Uh-oh! this is going to be a tightrope walk.

My response was the best I could come up with on the fly.

“That’s a good question. It was a conscious decision to use a female for a couple of reasons. First, I had never used a female as a main character and I thought it would be fun. Second, it would force me to look at things from a perspective that was outside my comfort zone. It was a challenge I hope I learned something from.”

My friend seemed to accept my answer for now.

Let me lay some ground rules for this discussion..

First, as a man, I know nothing about what goes on inside a woman’s head. Any man who says otherwise is a fool! I say this having spent 31 years living happily with the same woman. There is a sign that hangs in our family room that I try to live by. It says, “There are two theories to arguing with a woman…Neither one works!”

Second, as a man, I know that women don’t have a clue as to what goes on inside a man’s head. Say what you want ladies, but you don’t.

Third, and probably the most important, all men are not alike and all women are not alike. I have worked with women who could out swear, out fight, and out drink ninety percent of the male population, then turn around, put on an evening gown and dazzle that same group of men with charm, grace, and elegance. I have also worked with straight men who could quote every sport statistic, hunt and fish all day, put a tune on the Harley motorcycle and also have that almost magical ability to communicate with women to a point where they have more female bff’s than male.

So, based on this information a possible response to the question asked could be, “It does not matter, we are all basically the same.” Now I did not say it was the right answer, only a possible answer. I think it is way too simplistic and a cop-out.

When I build characters, I consider basic Myers-Briggs personality types. I layer on things like sociopolitical structure, geography, number and type of siblings, birth order, physical features, education, goals, lifetime achievements and traumas. Why on earth would I not consider gender and its effects on personality? How an individual responds to the above listed influences are greatly affected by gender. If my character comes across as a little manly at times, maybe it’s because she grew up in a matriarchal society that values skill at arms. Maybe, she is gender neutral in her sexual orientation. Maybe, I screwed up and had her behave out of character. Hey these things happen. That’s why I edit my drafts, repeatedly.

Like it or not, there are some basic psychological differences between the sexes. I am not an expert on the subject but, as a writer I have various reference materials to assist me when I need help on difficult subjects. Back in 1993 a book came out that seemed to get close to the reality of those differences, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships by John Gray. I found it very interesting how close to the mark he was on how men really are and what makes them tick. I asked my wife and she confirmed that he was close on the women’s side as well. Though nothing is perfect, I refer back to both this book and my wife when I am stuck as to how my character would respond. Between the two I can get a pretty good idea as to how the character should act.

The bottom line is that I want my characters to be real and true to themselves whether they happen to be male, female, or something else (remember, I write fantasy). If a test reader calls me out, that a character is acting out of character, I will look very hard at why I chose those actions. I think that is the best I can do.

Please weigh in on this one. I would love to hear your thoughts.

 
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Posted by on August 13, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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Room to Write

13 Jun

Twelve years ago, my wife and I purchased our current home with the idea that it was a blank canvas that we could make into our own. All the walls were white. Okay off-white, the previous owners were all chain smokers. Fixtures were mostly gold finish and worn out. The carpet reeked for dogs and cigarette smoke. The yard was a mess with sparse grass and one lonely peony in the back yard. So a few months ago we finally began work on the last room, my study/writing room.

I asked the CEO of my domicile what she wanted to do with this room. Her reply stunned me, “Whatever you want to do. It is your room and I want you to be happy with it.” God bless this woman who let’s me live with her!

Immediately, I started to fantasize about all sorts of interesting, and expensive, things we could do to give me the room of my dreams. However, she doesn’t call me “The Dream Squasher” for nothing. I am the CFO of the domicile so I am well aware of what I can and cannot spend. So, many of my dreams vanished into a puff of smoke. 😦

That’s okay, I am a list maker so I started to make a list of necessities: Desk with ample room to spread out notes and journals, comfortable chair, laptop computer with external oversized monitor and external keyboard, shelves for books that I cannot part with, oak 4-drawer file cabinet (new purchase), stereo system and wide variety of music (that’s a whole different post), soft overhead lighting, views of our backyard waterfall garden and side yard japanese garden, and a bulletin board for story-boarding.

Then comes the accessories (no new purchases): Bison skull, prints by Bev Doolittle, swords and knives I have made and collected, longbows, quivers and arrows, collection of Native American pottery, portrait of the CFO in his renaissance costume, medicine bag, antique cuirass, English war hammer, various (fantasy, Celtic, Native American) sculptures, and most important a photograph of the CEO.

It took about two months to finish it but it is now my very favorite room in the house. Unfortunately, I have been unable to use it much due to other life altering events keeping me away. The good news is the sea has calmed somewhat and I am spending more time in my new sanctuary. The words are beginning to flow more freely.

I still write during my lunch hour but I find myself daydreaming about sitting behind the three feet of oak and listening to my favorite russian composer. Ah…pure bliss.

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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The First Person

11 Jun

Most of my reading of late has been by authors, Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne, who utilize the first person point of view in their urban fantasy series’. I enjoy the intimacy that this POV provides into the protagonist. I feel like I know these characters. I truly feel like I’m in their heads and feeling their pain. Usually, I end up screaming at them, sometimes out loud, that they should do something different because they obviously are too stupid to see what’s coming. My wife tends to look at me with disgust and shake her head when I get too loud. Anyway, I had not given much consideration to writing in first person for my fiction until a few weeks ago. I have written a few first person experiential vignettes but always looked to third person for my fantasy work.

During a writer’s group timed exercise I just started writing in first person. To say it was different would be a gross understatement. I had to keep telling myself to stay out of the secondary character’s heads. My protagonist would have no idea what the other individual was thinking except by watching and listening to other character’s reactions. Why I have not looked at this before is beyond me.

As I began to evaluate the exercise, it dawned on me that first person is a natural vehicle for a fantasy writer. When we fantasize, don’t we tend to put ourselves into the fantastic situation? We don’t know what the outcome will be and we certainly don’t have all the information of the universe at our disposal. We have to react without knowledge of other’s motivations.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of taking one of my favorite characters, jump into their body, and take it for a spin without regard to what I think I know about their world. I did create it after all.

First, I plan to take my original exercise piece and finish the scene the way it was playing out in my head when I wrote the opening. It is somewhat different from how my fellow writer finished it (see Dual Writing Exercise – Part Deux).

Then, I think Yursi Sonal, my protagonist from a short story and several flash pieces, will become my experiment. Don’t worry, she won’t mind. In my world, she trusts me. 😉 I have another short story idea for her that I will try with first person.

So, before I plunge headlong into this without a care in the world, I have a few questions for those of you who are intimately familiar with this POV. What are some of the major issues that you have struggled with? E.g. Exposition of information the protagonist needs to know, continuity of antagonist’s motivations and actions, internal dialogue, etc. Do you prefer writing is first or third person? Why?

 
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Posted by on June 11, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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Pipesmoke

12 Apr

This page has been sitting in my Musings and Odd Thoughts tab for a while. With all that has been going on around me of late, I thought a truly personal post was in order. So, for those who have not read it previously…

 A curl of blue-grey smoke climbs lazily toward the star-filled sky. My lips make contact with the well-worn pipe stem. As I begin to draw on the stem, the glow reflecting from the bowl onto my thumb, lets me know that the fire within is healthy. The warm bowl guards my hand against the crisp evening air. The heat from the ash feels good. The hot flavor washes across my tongue. It tastes sweet, tart and bitter all at once. The pungent aroma snakes up my nostrils. The smell is friendly and warm. It reminds me of other nights in other places. As I pull my mouth from the stem a few tendrils of smoke escape into the moonlight. After a pause to relish in the experience, a ring of smoke rises gently from my mouth. It floats skyward. A moment later a blue-grey arrow shoots up through the ring. The arrow mushrooms beyond. The ring widens and begins to dissipate into the night.

The sweet assault on my senses soothes the frustrations of the day. Worries and irritations float away on a thin rising column. They are replaced by peaceful relaxation and a warm feeling of contentment. Each inhale seems to draw me further into a state of mellow solitude. With each exhale comes more relaxation as my tensions are expelled on a smokey jet.

It is a time of contemplation. It is a time for prayer. It is a time of thanksgiving. It is a time to enjoy and reflect on the good things in life. It is a time to appreciate those things that we have and give thanks. Far too often we ask for things and far too seldom do we take time to thank the Creator for all that is done for us. This is also a time to listen. Listen to the crickets chirping in the bushes. Listen to the wind moving gently through the leaves overhead. Listen to the yapping of coyotes in the distance and the whippoorwills one tree away.

I pull again on the stem. A billow of sweet smoke rolls skyward. It swirls across the first quarter moon and then disappears. I truly am grateful for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I have good health, a wonderful wife, a nice house, a good paying job, and my beliefs in a greater power. Every new day is special because it is different and has its own surprises to offer.

Far too soon the bowl is empty. It begins to cool in my palm. I carefully scrape the inside of the bowl to loosen the remaining contents. I rap it gently on the heel of my other hand. The leftover ashes and unburnt mixture fall to the Earth. They came from the Earth; it’s only natural that they return there. The pinholes of light in the night sky beckon me to take one more long last look before going back inside. A smile crosses my face as I say goodnight to the spirits.

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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