This caused me to dig deep. To look at how I craft characters, and how I show their arc through the character.
Characters should NEVER be the same at the end of the book as they were at the beginning.
Here are 4 keys I came up with to crafting dynamic characters:
1. PERSONALITY
Start with an established archetype: the guardian type as a police officer, the nurturer type as a nurse or teacher. Now blend that archetype with a unique character: the police officer who is a gossip, a mom character who is a thrill seeker.
Your readers will see themselves in your characters. They’ll see their flaws. The things they want to do, or how they wish they could have reacted in a situation. Get creative with who your characters are at their core.
2. GOALS
What does your character want? Dynamic characters have
goals. There is something they want more than anything. To get into college, or
to get their coworker fired. Maybe they’d like their child to survive middle
school (yes, please) or they want to get the one ring to Mordor. Even at the
outset of Lord of the Rings, before he even found the ring, Frodo’s desire was
to have more adventure in his life than just living in Hobbiton.
Your readers have wants, and goals. So give your characters
the same. A yearning for peace. A way to make their marriage better.
However, underneath that there is something your character
needs to LEARN in order to obtain this goal.
Which takes us to…
3. a LIE
or WOUND
The Lie. Your character believes a lie about himself, or the
world he inhabits. Your character suffered a wound in his past that taught him
something. Unfortunately, what it taught him is wrong.
Only through this process of learning what he needs to know
in order to reach his goal will your character realize what he believes—and
that it’s wrong.
Take our thrill seeking mom. She believes, because of the
trauma of losing her own mom as a child, that life must be sucked dry. Lived to
the fullest. And so she goes after all the skydiving, bungee jumping and free
climbing she can. What she wants (her goal) is to build a better relationship
with her teen daughter. So she suggests a skydiving date. Well, the teen is
afraid of heights.
Can you see the conflict building?
Our thrill seeking mom needs to learn that life can be full,
but also quiet. And safe.
It’s not about one thing belief being wrong and the other
right, necessarily. There’s nothing wrong with thrill seeking. There’s also
nothing wrong with life being quiet. What it’s about for the story are those
preconceived things we believe, that hold us back.
And we ALL have them.
4. A
DESTINATION
Every character needs a destination. Is this the place where
they achieve their goal? Maybe. Sometimes they get what they want, and
sometimes they don’t. It’s about what’s right for them to break the chains of
what has held them back their whole life.
And so your character will arrive at a new place in their
life by the end of the book—physically, metaphorically, or spiritually. Maybe
one, maybe all three. They have learned the great truth that they needed to
know. They have overcome the past, and those chains have been broken. Susan May
Warren, whose writing advice can be found HERE, calls this the “new man.”
The person they were always supposed to be.
A great example of this is THOR. At the beginning of Thor’s
first movie, he’s a hotheaded prince who thinks he’s ready to be king. He’s all
about fighting and conquering in the name of his people.
By the time he gets to Avengers: Infinity War, Thor is
scarred. He’s gotten a serious haircut, lost an eye and now he is the Asgardian
king. The thing he always wanted. But it was a hard-won battle that changed
him. He’s humble now. He cares about people. And he’s willing to give his life
to save others.
What examples of great dynamic characters from books
or movies can you think of? I’d love to hear your favorites.
Characters should NEVER be the same at the end of the book. 4 keys to crafting dynamic characters from Lisa Phillips on #SeriouslyWrite #Writetip
A British ex-pat who
grew up an hour outside of London, Lisa attended Calvary Chapel Bible College
where she met her husband. He’s from California, but nobody's perfect. It wasn’t
until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone
told her). Since then she’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of
mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always
ends in happily ever after.
Find out more at authorlisaphillips.com
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After a man is killed while carrying his brother’s navy ID, Secret Service agent Declan Stringer is determined to figure out why—even if it turns a killer’s sights on him. But first he must convince NCIS agent Portia Finch to partner with him on the case. As attraction sparks between them, Portia knows she’s on dangerous ground…because Declan is hiding deadly secrets.
After a man is killed while carrying his brother’s navy ID, Secret Service agent Declan Stringer is determined to figure out why—even if it turns a killer’s sights on him. But first he must convince NCIS agent Portia Finch to partner with him on the case. As attraction sparks between them, Portia knows she’s on dangerous ground…because Declan is hiding deadly secrets.
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