Characters are People Too
Perhaps it was because I was hip-deep in my novel, but when I read Scott H. Young’s article, The Critical 7 Rules to Understand People, I interpreted it in terms of character creation.
It’s all too easy to make characters stereotypical and flat: good or evil, noble or cruel, clever or stupid. Keeping some of Scott’s rules in mind when creating characters will help add some depth.
Scott’s Rule One: “Never blame malice for what can easily be explained by conceit”
Reading this made me reconsider one of the “bad guys” in the novel I’m writing. His motives, I realized, were evil just for the sake of evil. He needed some deeper reasons for his actions. What did he stand to gain? Was he trying to revenge some old injustice? By considering these questions, my story now has a greater level of depth.
Scott’s Rule Two: “Few Social Behaviors are Explicit”
On the other hand, real people don’t explain all the reasons for their actions, so why should my characters? Major plot points, of course, will have to be explained eventually, by a character or by events. But I wonder if by obscuring a character’s motivations for smaller actions the character will create a greater sense of realism for the reader.
Scott’s Rule Three: “Behavior is Largely Dictated by Selfish Altruism”
Another reason not to have all my characters be noble and self-sacrificing. Heroics are ok, as long as the character doesn’t just tramp around being brave all day long. A hero is more impressive when she spends the rest of her time just being human. A character with flaws is easier for the reader to identify with and makes a more interesting story, because the character will have to struggle against her flaws to become the hero in the end.
Scott’s Rule Four: “People Have Poor Memories”
Characters can forget things too, and their poor memories can even turn into important plot points. Watching your character connect all the dots at the end of the story, remembering things that he forgot and seeing how everything fits together, can be very satisfying for your reader.
Scott’s Rule Five: “Everyone is Emotional”
Emotions are the basis for a lot of human actions. Take advantage of this by sometimes having your characters act recklessly. The consequences of their actions can help develop the character and advance the plot. Emotion is also useful to remember when tempted to have a character be inhumanly wise, logically planning out his life. Emotion creates conflict, which is the fuel for a story.
Scott’s Rule Six: “People are Lonely”
I am often tempted to make characters independent, self-sufficient loners who only interact with people when absolutely necessary. But that often makes for a dull story. Dialogue with another character will usually be more exciting than a character who just talks to herself. Also, the more relationships a character has, the more opportunities for conflict and the more energy a story will have.
Scott’s Rule Seven: “Did I Mention People Are Self-Absorbed?”
Scott has an excellent point here: each one of us is in control of our own destiny because even your mother is concerned primarily with her own destiny and doesn’t have time to manage your life too. That sounds like a great lesson for a character to learn in the course of a story.
For more insight, read The Critical 7 Rules to Understand People by Scott Young.
