Character motivation, wishes and desires, is the driving force behind the novel. Character emotion exerts dramatic pressure on the storyline and forces it forward. Therefore, without interesting characters the novel loses its emotional impact.

But the situation is even more critical than just having interesting characters. The reading experience can only become personal through characters. In dramatic fiction, the reader must be allowed to both view the fictional world and feel the human impact of the story. To receive the human impact, the reader must have an affinity for one or more of the characters. The reader then gets a human perspective on events. The more intimate the contact with a character, the more emotional the reader will react. The character must be someone threatened and pushed about by events. Otherwise it becomes little more than a narrative history.

In the next chapter, we’ll investigate the role of the narrator, the one who tells the story. The relationship between reader and narrator is much like the relationship between reader and character. And the relationship between narrator and character can be very close, but distinct differences sometimes exist, so it’s best to talk about character separately.

In Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, we see the world and the events through the eyes of a poet. He is our “camera to the world”; but more than that, we gage our reaction by the impact of events on him and suffer along with him. This is as it should be. The reader always gives up a part of himself to one or more of the characters in the novel and is always riding piggyback on that character’s feelings. The relationship between reader and character is illustrated as follows:

The reader emotionally attaches to a character and experiences the world and events through him. Only in this way does it simulate a real experience instead of just hearsay. It’s crucial that the author understand the importance of this. The reader must “experience” the story, and he can only experience the drama vicariously, through a character.

As you’ll learn in the next chapter, the reader is in a state of total sensory deprivation, and must have a surrogate who feels, experiences, for him in the fictional world. Whenever we, as readers, are deprived of this character contact, the fictional dream dims and we lose interest. (The exception of course is that narrative summary, which the author will use from time to time, does not have to be "experienced," and the information may be received more second hand. We’ll discuss this further in the next chapter.)

The more plot driven the story, the more it will seem contrived. To prevent this, the author must let the characters drive the plot. A character’s emotions and wishes exert dramatic pressure on the storyline and force it to flow naturally. Some academics call the storyline the “wish-line”. Emotional energy causes things to happen. Emotions produce intensity and vividness that makes the story interesting. Character feelings stretch along the thread of storyline like pearls strung along a necklace.

CHARACTER CREATION

Through the years, I’ve heard all sorts of ways to create characters. Most fiction instructors suggest writing character biographies, which is a very good idea, but rarely do they go on to tell you how to ensure that your characters bear the correct relationships to the story. The approach I present here will ensure that proper relationship. As with all elements of the novel, to create characters we return to Premise. As I stated before, the first word of the Premise provides the protagonist and the third word the Antagonist. This is illustrated in the following diagram:

A word about the concepts “protagonist” and “antagonist”. Commonly referred to, the protagonist is the story’s “hero” and the antagonist its “villain”. Though these concepts may serve your story well and in some stories even fit the characters perfectly, I find these concepts generally rather naïve. In the best of stories, particularly those that treat most situations in real life (excluding serial killer stories, etc.), we have no clear-cut heroes or villains. Certainly I wouldn’t consider the mother or father the villain of Kramer vs. Kramer. Webster’s dictionary does a little better, defining protagonist as “one who takes the leading part in a drama” and the antagonist as “one that opposes, an adversary.”

Generally, I prefer to refer to the protagonist as the point-of-view character. He’s the one the narrator follows around all through the novel. The antagonist is then the character who is in conflict with the protagonist. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the next chapter.

We can gain more information about each of these central characters from the type of conflict between them. We know that the protagonist feels strongly about what is at stake in the conflict. We know the antagonist feels equally determined about it. Because of their strong affinity for the same thing, in some ways the two will be opposites, in others ways they will be mirror images of each other, but they always will be related.

What is most important is that the author realize the gold mine of character traits that come from the Premise. By selecting the most central aspects of character from the Premise, the author will ensure the character is directly connected to the basic storyline and suited to the action produced by the conflict. This welds Premise (theme), storyline and characterization so as to achieve the unity that Burroway knew a novel had to have but didn’t know how to achieve.

HEART OF CHARACTER

The heart of character. The central, most important characteristics of both the protagonist and antagonist are identified in the Premise. These are characters in crisis, and the nature of the conflict between them will define who they are and help see beyond them to the level of the primal forces they represent. To illustrate this I’ll use a rather trite, but exquisite, example from the movie The Wizard of Oz. Each of the characters Dorothy befriends on her way to see the Wizard has a defect. The scarecrow needs brains, the Tin Man a heart, and the Cowardly Lion courage. Though this is a childish implementation of the technique, it illustrates clearly how to allow the reader to focus not only on the characters’ physical attributes, which may also be distinctive, but also give us a view of the inside of each character and, in doing this, make them “human”.

In Titanic, Rose’s central characteristic is a desire for freedom. The central characteristic of both her mother and her fiancé is their desire to keep Rose under control, in bondage, though the motivation of each is different. Rose’s interaction with Jack more fully develops her personality, exposing the depth of her desire for independence and freedom. Her fiancé’s attempts to keep her away from Jack expose the depth of his desire to control her. Eventually she comes to risk her life to save Jack (her symbol of freedom), and her fiancé is driven to attempt murder. This primal struggle between freedom and bondage is then fully manifest in character. Rose’s life then becomes the perfect metaphor for the cosmic theme concerning the human spirit’s struggle for freedom.

Another aspect of Rose’s problem is identified by the question: When does freedom lead to irresponsibility? She has a responsibility to her mother and also her fiancé. How she reconciles this is her internal struggle, a crisis of conscience and also one of courage. This illustrates another aspect of character that we’ll now discuss.

CHARACTER STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS

In the Poetics, Aristotle talks about what some have come to call the “tragic flaw”, a sort of spiritual weakness that eventually does-in the tragic character. It has come down to us this way because of a miss-reading of the ancient text, but never the less has been found useful in character creation. For a tragic character of heroic proportions this character flaw will cause his downfall. In the case of the designer of the Titanic, it was arrogance that brought him down. He thought his ship was unsinkable. Character strength and weakness are probably more useful concepts than the “tragic flaw”. The weakness may manifest itself as the "underside" of the character, the preacher’s weakness for hookers, the movie star’s weakness for drugs, or the celebrity’s uncontrollable jealously toward his ex-wife.

Character strength will also come from Premise. This will be the aspect of personality that will get the protagonist in trouble, i.e., put him in conflict with the antagonist. Associated with this strength will also be a weakness. The weakness will be the attribute of character that will provide the key to success. Strength gets the character into trouble, and the way he deals with his weakness gets the character out of trouble.

Also, weakness always gives the protagonist or antagonist a human quality that will endear him to the reader, particularly if the character has a rather lofty social stature. It makes him seem more human. This weakness may result from the “underside” of the character’s strength. A strong desire for independence, liberty, can lead to irresponsibility. This irresponsible side will almost cost the character the struggle.

CHARACTER CHANGE

All characters undergo some change during the novel, but the nature of the change for each character will be different. A character who appears in only one scene will experience something that will give them a different perspective. Otherwise your character is a piece of wood. The change in the protagonist will be the most profound.

Types of character change:

•  maturity

•  intellectual

•  emotional

• behavioral (actions)

The change is called the “character arc.” The conflict will apply pressure to who he is and result in change. The change will result in the character either winning or losing the confrontation, or perhaps transcending it. The character who changes gains an edge on his opponent.

CHARACTER ARC

The diagram below illustrates the change in the protagonist throughout the novel. I have broken down the change and the forces that cause it. First of all, the essence of the character must be established. This will be followed by that essence being put in jeopardy by identifying a weakness. This will result in the character experiencing the anguish of choice over making a change. The character then struggles to make the change, and this change will be tested at the climax of the story, the three-quarter point, or Second Plot Point as it’s called. The results, which are demonstrated in the “new” character, are what the entire story is about on the character level.

In Titanic, both Rose and Jack change. In the beginning Rose has accepted a marriage proposal and is on the threshold of suicide. By the end of the movie, she has freed herself from all her constraints and able to stand on her own two feet. Jack is not the same person he was in the beginning either. Jack’s arc is that he has given his life so that Rose may live. In the beginning he is self-centered, but by the end he has become altruistic. He has transferred his allegiance from himself to Rose. At the end when they are in the cold ocean water and struggling to stay afloat, the piece of wreckage will only support one of them. Jack puts Rose on it, and then he makes her promise that she will live her life as a free woman. Jack has given up his life for her.

On the other hand, Rose’ fiancé and her mother do not change other than to increase their opposition to Rose’s rebellion. They both want to keep Rose in servitude to them. And this illustrates a central point concerning character. Generally the character that undergoes the change is the protagonist. This is where the really interesting part of the story lies.

In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is the protagonist. He commits murder, is taken into custody and convicted. The second part of the novel is about his punishment in prison where, through the help of Sonia, a religious prostitute who has fallen in love with him, he is rehabilitated. Raskolnikov is one of the truly great internally tortured characters in literature along with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Everyone should read these two works to see the extent to which mental anguish can be exploited.

In the long-running TV series, Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, character arc is the single most important reason the series lasted seven years. The characters were constantly growing and changing. Buffy was initially in high school and then went to college. Her slaying skills, initially only rudimentary, became awesome. During this time her mother died and Buffy assumed legal responsibility for her sister, Dawn, and their finances. She became a fully adult character. Willow, the self-taught witch, was initially so timid that she barely recognized her right to exist, but at the end of season six she almost destroyed the world because of her rage at the murder of a loved one.

THE ANGUISH OF CHOICE

As stated in the previous chapter, the Premise contains hidden within it a universal question, particularly if the conflict is internal or involves two rights. When the protagonist deals with this question, it will be manifest as the “anguish of choice”. Answering this question, or the failure to do so, will lead to either victory or defeat. In this way, the story comes down to the character against himself, an internal struggle. In Hamlet, the question permeates the entire play in a way it does in few other stories. Hamlet has to take action against his mother, and this leads to the “sublime procrastination” where he even contemplates suicide (“To be or not to be”). Stories where the protagonist doesn’t exhibit anguish of choice have little if any philosophical depth.

The nature of the anguish will be such that it is in essence a search for identity, the recovery of one’s self. It’s as though because of the conflict the character must discover something about themselves that they could not see before. It’s a personal blindness. Finding this missing piece of himself will lead to change and ultimately to victory.

Don’t underestimate anguish of choice. Search you story for the moments when your characters will suffer through it. Find them and dramatize them. Don’t allow them to happen “off stage” and be told later. This would be a great strategic mistake.

CHARACTER IDENTITY

So far, we have talked about the inside of character. The external part of character concerns the persona, what he projects to the outside world. This is the social façade, the mask. This is the “pollen” that has or will collect around the “heart” of the character. The central questions about character creation are: Is the person identifiable? Does he have an identity? What characteristics distinguish him from every other person on the planet?

Any method the author uses that answers these questions is acceptable provided the character has a proper relationship with the story. Characters exist only within the story and generally should have no attributes unrelated to it. Novel characters are not as broad as real-life people. This does not mean they should be stereotypes. For example, a complete psychoanalysis of the antagonist might be okay in a story about a serial killer but might be inappropriate for the main character in a western.

Character identity is more readily discovered than created. You can build a background, a biography for your character, but unless it fits with your original concept of the story, he just won’t work. You can’t arbitrarily make up facts about him and get them to fit.

Another effective way of developing character is through what other characters say about them. Occasionally a main character will not even appear in the novel, and sometimes what the author leaves out about the main character can be telling. In Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, not only does Rebecca not appear in the novel, but the story’s protagonist, the new Mrs. DeWinter, is never given a name. She has little identity outside that as her husband’s wife. This has been so skillfully executed by the author that the reader rarely realizes it unless told. This has the effect of bringing Rebecca, the missing character, to the forefront and increasing her influence on the entire work.

The character’s identity should exist on many levels. They should be identifiable physically, have a distinctive voice, actions, emotions, motives, social status, and for the point-of-view character (discussed in the next chapter), be identifiable internally: the way he thinks, worries, deals with himself. We will also be able to see into the minds of other characters but always indirectly.

In ancient Greece, when an actor played a part, he donned a mask, the mask of Dionysus. Dionysus was the patron god of theatre and the god of the mask. Within the domain of Dionysus illusion could exist simultaneously with reality. The mask represented the persona, the illusion, of the character, and the author must symbolically don the mask of each of his characters as he writes. (We’ll explore this idea more fully in a subsequent chapter.)

PSYCHOLOGY

Before we get into building a character, let's delve into a little psychology. I'm keeping psychology separate for a reason, and that reason is that psychobabble can destroy a good novel. Still yet, understanding a little psychology can help add depth to a character. Just be careful that you don't deconstruct the character by using too much narrative insight.

During decades of work as a therapist, Carl Jung developed an extensive theory of personality types. His work, titled simply Psychological Types, is a classic in the field. Jung identified four pairs of preferences: extraversion/introversion, sensation/intuition, thinking/feeling, and perceiving/judging. The theory is that every person has a particular mix, and emphasis, of these preferences. A simple, practical application of Jung's work in this area is contained in Please Understand Me, Character & Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates. This book uses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test as a tool for identifying sixteen different patterns of personality. What is even more interesting, they relate these personality types to the professions and interests of individuals. Not everyone is a big fan of this approach to individual psychology, but the author doesn’t have to be a disciple to use it as a tool for fleshing out a character. I’ve taken the test myself and found it to be amazingly accurate.

I'll not go into how you might use this type of information in the formation of characters, other than to say that you might consider having each of your characters take the type test. Keirsey and Bates also tell us that opposite personality types frequently attract, so that you can gain considerable insight into your secondary characters that your protagonist will bring into his life, and the origin of any conflicts that exists between them.

As an example, one might envision a rather dimwitted man who is attracted to smart women. Although he would be attracted to her intellect he would also feel threatened by her superiority. If these two then really care about each other, the good-natured banter between them would really liven up the relationship. He would be better at controlling the spending even though she’d have to balance the checkbook. Endless possibilities.

Another aspect of character psychology is the stage of life he is going through. Books have been written on the subject, the most popular of which, published several years ago, is titled aptly enough Passages. Another excellent book is Murray Stein’s In Midlife, which, using the myth of Odysseus’ ten-year odyssey about the Aegean, provides insight into the underlying forces driving the mid-life crisis. This book is also a useful introduction to the relative new and fascinating field of archetypal psychology.

The way a character presents himself to the world, along with his inherited attributes, says a lot about what goes on inside him. A man who combs his hair over his bald spot has a certain insecurity about his appearance. A woman who won’t quit talking is protecting herself from her audience. Some experts will advise you to provide each of your characters with a “tic,” some persistent trait of character or behavior. This gives the author something to describe each time the character comes on the scene and makes the character immediately identifiable to the reader. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby calls Nick “old sport.” This is an affectation Gatsby picked up to convince people he was an Oxford graduate. The tic fit Gatsby perfectly because it was part of his false front. Generally I believe this to be a good idea, but don’t think that once you’ve done that that you’ve solved the characterization problem. This tic must fit with the character’s basic nature, and the character must be fully developed in other ways. But at least it’s a place to start with your character’s mannerisms and it’s something to which you can add as you proceed.

As an example, in the movie When Harry Met Sally, Sally had the really irritating habit of giving lengthy instructions to waiters in restaurants. This gave Harry something to play off of and eventually he came to find this aspect of her personality endearing.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

To develop the way a character presents his physical self to the world, you don't have to tolerate plausibility as an obstacle. Take this example from a recently published novel by Hilary Mantel titled Beyond Black:

Alison was a woman who seemed to fill a room, even when she wasn't in it. She was of an unfeasible size, with plump creamy shoulders, rounded calves, thighs and hips that overflowed her chair; she was soft as an Edwardian, opulent as a showgirl, and when she moved you could hear (though she did not wear them) the rustle of plumes and silks. In a small space, she seemed to use up more than her share of the oxygen; in return her skin breathed out moist perfumes, like a giant tropical flower. When you came into a room she'd left--her bedroom, her hotel room, her dressing room backstage--you felt her as a presence, a trail. Alison had gone, but you would see a chemical mist of hair spray falling through the bright air. On the floor would be a line of talcum powder, and her scent--Je Reviens--would linger in curtain fabric, in cushions, and in the weave of towels. When she headed for a spirit encounter, her path was charged, electric; when her body was out on stage, her face-cheeks glowing, eyes alight-seemed to float still in the dressing room mirror.

Note the mixture of concrete physical attributes gradually progressing to the more subjective, as if this is the way people viewed her, to the clearly untrue and even esoteric. But this woman is a medium, and she projects her profession with her presence and even the absence of it.

CHARACTER VOICE

Voice, the way a character speaks, will reveal many things about the character: education, social class, mood, and intelligence. Hence, all dialogue carries the indelible style of the character in the same way a fingerprint is unique; therefore, dialogue also distinguishes between characters. But dialogue can’t be written the way people speak but is presented in edited form. It must be “portrayed.” Voice can be viewed as the author’s act of impersonating the character. The author takes dictation, but it is a strange sort of dictation. Dialog is a distillation of real life conversation, not a transcription, and frequently only expresses an emotion about the subject, not necessarily factual content.

CHARACTER ACTION

What a character does will always speak louder than what the narrator says about him. You can say your character is in an uncontrollable rage, but if the character punches someone in the mouth, you get your point across better. Body language is different than other types of action. Body language is the way a person uses their body that unconsciously signals their emotional state. For example, some people when seated cross their arms or legs when they feel threatened in a conversation.

CHARACTER EMOTION

The degree to which the reader feels the character’s emotions is the degree to which he will believe the character’s actions. Do not tell what they are feeling; allow them to express it. Be skeptical of any rules dictating how a character must act. Frequently ‘experts’ say that characters must be passionate and take a definite, single-minded stance in the conflict. But one of the most memorable characters, Hamlet, couldn’t make up his mind about anything. Don’t destroy your characters’ originality. In Anne Tyler’s The Accidental Tourist (which was made into a successful movie), the main character wasn’t passionate about anything and lived in a miasma of self-doubt.

Once again, when exposing a character’s psychology don’t resort to psychobabble. You don’t need to be a psychiatrist to write good characters. If you trust your characters they will show you how they act through their own impulses. Writing characters is fun and exciting. Go on the adventure with them. The more you become surprised by your characters’ actions, the less you have to worry about technique. Let them lead you into unknown territory.

CHARACTER MOTIVATION

Characters should have their own motivations and not be subject to the will of the author. The author doesn’t put motivations into the characters but pulls motivations important to the story from within them. The reader can always tell the source of motivations, and if they don’t come from within the character, the reader will pickup on it immediately. A good check to ensure each character becomes real is to ask if they have their own agenda and if it shows in their dialogue and actions. They should never simply fulfill the author’s intentions. To accomplish this, the author must "launder" all his intentions (much as the mob launders drug money) toward the storyline through his characters.

CHARACTER SOCIAL STATUS

In addition to pure social class (aristocracy, peasant), profession (King, queen, engineer, mother, commander-in-chief, hobo) will also play a part. In American novels, social class tends to play less of a part than the section of the county someone comes from and their ethnic origin.

CHARACTER THOUGHTS

Thoughts from a character will be generally limited to the POV character, and in a first-person narration, exclusively those of the narrator. The way people think is generally different than the way they speak. Thoughts are different than voice. People are rarely who they believe they are.

SUMMARY

The author funnels all these characteristics into a single character to form his identity and performs the same activity for each character.

The author should also know things about the character not included in the story. Writing a character biography can be helpful, but select only details that play an important part in the story. Approach your characters obliquely, possibly not even as human beings. You might consider describing them as though they are a piece of mechanical equipment, a tree, or an animal. Homer, in The Iliad, describes Agamemnon, the commanding general of the Greek forces at Troy, this way:

Agamemnon’s lordly mien was like the mien of Zeus whose joy is lightning; oaken-waisted as Ares, god of war, he seemed, and deep-chested as Lord Poseidon; and, as a great bull in his majesty towers supreme amid a grazing herd ….

We get the picture of him as lion, oak tree, and bull while being compared to three Greek gods, all of which makes him, ironically, seem more human. But in another description, that from Euripides in his play Iphigeneia at Aulis, Agamemnon is presented this way. Agamemnon’s brother is reminding him of how he came to be commander:

… Your politeness then, your universal handshake, open house for the common soldier, ready audience to all without
favor, whether sought or unsought – then, by such behavior, you tried to buy votes in the open market, for the generalship. Afterwards, once you held power, your manner changed. Your former friends found your friendship less forthcoming; you were busy; your door shut, your time precious. A man of principle should not change character as he grows great.

Agamemnon now seems approachable. He’s twofaced. He’s further described as uncertain, even cowardly when it comes time for him to sacrifice his daughter so they can gain favorable winds from the gods for sailing to Troy. Agamemnon is a character in crisis.

A character can, and should, have weaknesses, but when the author discredits a character, even a bad guy, he discredits the novel. All characters should have a center of integrity. Agamemnon acts "cowardly" toward sacrificing Iphigenia because he loves her and because he is a caring father. This retains his integrity while also exposing his ruthless nature and craving for power. It also illustrates anguish of choice.

TYPES OF CHARACTERS

We’ve already discussed the protagonist and antagonist. Other types of characters also frequently populate novels, and you would do well to realize who they are because it might help flesh-out the character. Some of the more prevalent are discussed below.

THE THEMATIC CHARACTER

It is absolutely amazing how many times a thematic character shows up in a story. The thematic character has special knowledge he conveys to the protagonist that gives him an advantage in the conflict. He will probably be the third most important after the protagonist and antagonist. His special knowledge is inherently a part of the Premise. Thematic characters are historically some of the most interesting ever created and in many cases are irresistible to readers. They satisfy a basic need in story telling, and probably in the human psyche, a need for wisdom.

In Greek myth, the ancient king Oedipus, as a young man, unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, and then years later after becoming king searched for the murder. He turned to the ancient seer, Teiresias, who, though blind, could read the will of the gods. Teiresias is the thematic character, and he divulges to Oedipus all the woes to come, though the king does believe him. This then is the essence of the thematic character. He understands the nature of the conflict in a way that is blind to the protagonist. He provides the wisdom for the protagonist to overcome the antagonist, if he accepts the knowledge provided by the thematic character. Of course, Oedipus could not overcome his antagonist because it was himself, and he had already committed the crime, though unwittingly.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is the thematic character in Star Wars. He teaches Luke about the Force, the good and bad of it. Jack in the movie Titanic is the thematic character, and he teaches Rose about freedom and warns her of the consequence of social bondage. In the more recent TV series Buff, The Vampire Slayer, the thematic character is her Watcher, Giles, an Englishman who comes to the States specifically to advise and train Buffy in the ancient art of vampire slaying. In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the thematic character is Gandalf. As an immortal wizard who has been in Middle-earth for thousands of years, he provides guidance not only to the Hobbits but also to all those involved in the war against the evil forces of Sauron.

GROUPS AS CHARACTERS

Characters don’t have to be individual human beings. They can be families as in Romeo and Juliet, where the Montagues and the Capulets, are feuding and the lovers are caught up in the conflict which destroys them; or countries in The Hunt for Red October, where the USA and the USSR are in conflict over the desperate search for a rogue nuclear submarine. In this type of story where larger social forces determine many of the events, these countries as "characters" are treated psychologically as though they are people. Countries exhibit human characteristics: arrogance, anger, jealousy, etc. They also will have an arc.

In short, any social unit can serve as a character and should be structurally treated as such in a novel.

PERIPHERAL CHARACTERS AND SUBPLOTS

Now that we understand how characters relate to the novel we can start to understand secondary characters and subplots. Subplots have all the same characteristics of the main plot, although they may not be a part of the full novel from beginning to end. They have a setup, 1^st plot point, midcourse reversal, etc. Each subplot is associated with a secondary character. The subplot conflict will be locked with the entrance of the character. All the subplots will be closely associated with the main storyline. A Premise may be written for each peripheral character involved in a subplot. This Premise will help identify the heart of the character and allow them to become well rounded within the story. The author can identify the ‘arc’ associated with each and draw a subplot geometry diagram just as with the main plot.

In Titanic, the conflict between Jack and Cal (Rose’s fiancé) is a subplot resolved when Rose helps Jack escape from being handcuffed inside the sinking Titanic.

CHARACTERS PLAYING OUT THEIR LIVES AGAINST A LARGER SOCIAL OR NATURAL EVENT.

In Titanic, the love story between Rose and Jack is played out against the larger story of the sinking of the Titanic. In Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, we witness the lives of highly-developed characters played out against the First World War and the Russian revolution. We also see this type of story in the Hunt for Red October, where we have minimal characterization in a story about an international incident involving a nuclear submarine. Other stories of this nature are Carl Sagan’s sci-fi novel, Contact, and all the volcano-eruption and asteroid-impact movies. What is crucial in this type of story is that the Premise be reflected in both aspects of the storyline, i.e., the conflict involving the characters must be linked with the conflict involved in the larger social conflict. In Doctor Zhivago, the main character is a "confessional" poet, a man very much involved in the "personal." The revolution is about the death of the personal life in Russia in favor of the communal life, the state.

REDEMPTION

The author must decide, guided by the Premise, the ultimate fate of his characters. Depending on the type of novel you’re writing and the Premise, each of your characters will meet their appropriate fate. Some will be redeemed on a spiritual level while others will be left to wallow in their own pettiness. The one who learns from the conflict transcends it and will be redeemed. This constitutes the end of the story.

LEVELS OF PREMISE

Every well-written novel generally will have three levels of Premise. First there’s the cosmic Premise (e.g., good versus evil), the story Premise (freedom overcomes bondage) and the character Premise (self-determination overcomes society’s demands). These are three aspects of the same premise, and each may have a different outcome. In Titanic, the cosmic struggle is the divine forces of good and evil, and this struggle remains unresolved. The story Premise is the Titanic’s struggle to stay afloat. The Titanic loses. The character premise is Rose’s attempt to throw off the bonds of her mother and her fiancé and live her own life. She wins.

Each subplot also could potentially have a full set of Premises. From this you can now understand the complexity of a novel’s underlying structure, and the reason novels, or any story for that matter, are so variously interpreted. You may also be able to understand the multitude of reason so many novels, and movies, fall short of their promise. Few writers really understand the underlying energy inherent in a novel, all storytelling actually. The reason so many movie sequels fail is that the Premise has already been proven in the previous movie, the characters have already arced and the next episode is either a bland repeat or beside the point because the main character fails to change.

Of course, many stories (novels and movies) are successful and yet don’t satisfy all the requirements set forth here. Although other examples certainly exist, many adventure stories fall in this category. The success of these stories is generally due to a charismatic hero who captures the reader’s imagination. Our interest in the hero is generally because of his extraordinary abilities and not due to character growth due to his anguish of choice. Spielberg’s Indiana Jones doesn’t have many moments of profound, personal decision making. It is his strength, endurance, fighting ability, and that uncanny knack for getting out of trouble that we admire and keeps us returning for each episode. These movies succeed because of a larger-than-life hero. But these stories don’t cause us to reflect on who we are or necessarily help us mature as human beings. However, they may send us into the mountains or to a foreign country seeking adventure.

CHARACTER BONDING

A word of caution about conflict. Conflict is so central to providing story progression and a sense of realism that it must exist even between friends. Human interaction is extremely complex, and any scene that doesn’t have an element of conflict will be flat. However, in recent years there has been a tendency to create sharp destructive conflict between characters in what would ordinarily be a friendly relationship. Some authors will even say that conflict is the only thing of interest in fiction. This is simply not true. As a matter of fact, bonding between friends is often essential to providing sympathetic, meaningful characters, and is sometimes even central to the story.

Two examples of this that in recent years have captured the public’s imagination are J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter without Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger would be dull if not unimaginable. These three characters, though they do argue, are very close and care for each other terribly. This is also true of the Hobbits in Tolkien’s novel. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin form a tight-knit group deeply committed to each other. Authors should not be overly conscious of creating conflict at the expense of friendship.

Another example is the under-rated TV series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Fans of the series are addicted to the interaction between Buffy and her friends and family. In several episodes friendship has been brought to the forefront to reinforce the fact that one of the primary reasons Buffy is so good at slaying and has lived longer than most slayers is her ability to make and use friends to help her stave off the forces of evil. Slayers don’t generally live long lives.

Yet, stories of the loner action hero are also plentiful. The characters Clint Eastwood played in some of his earlier films, High Planes Drifter for example, had this quality, which added a sense of mysticism; and Lora Croft, more recently, is also a character without a permanent companion. What I want to get across is that you should be true to your vision of your characters and story and not rely too heavily on what self-proclaimed experts lay down as “the rules”. Be a renegade. Write something no one has seen before. Just be good at it.

THE ACTION HERO

Finally, I will say a few words about one of my favorites, the action hero. The action hero was born in Greek antiquity. Four immediately come to mind: Heracles, Theseus, Perseus and Jason. Heracles, Hercules to the Romans, is famous for his twelve labors, which were levied against him as punishment for murdering his own children, among others, a fact most modern tellings of his adventures conveniently leave out. These labors which ranged from killing the monstrous Nemean lion with his bare hands, to killing the many-headed Hydra, which grew two heads for everyone chopped off. His last labor was to descend to Hades and bring up Cerberus, Hades’ three-headed hound which had a snake’s tail and guarded the Gates to the Underworld. Heracles never missed with either bow or spear, was unbeatable at wrestling, and exhibited unbelievable strength.

Theseus was cast from the same mold as Heracles, although his feats were performed in emulation of his predecessor. Perhaps his most famous adventure was his journey to the island of Crete to see King Minos. While there he descended into the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur. Minos’ daughter, Ariadne, provided him with a golden thread, so he could find his way out of the Labyrinth after accomplishing the feat.

Perseus was ordered by the king Polydectes to get the head of the Gorgon, Medusa. Medusa had hair of snakes and was so hideous that one look upon her face turned men to stone. To kill her, Perseus had to visit the Graeae, two hags who shared a single eye, to obtain information about the weapons he might use to kill Medusa. The weapons consisted of winged sandals which allowed him to fly, the cap of darkness which made him invisible, and a sword of adamant.

Jason is most famous as leader of the Argonauts on their voyage to Colchis on the far side of the Black Sea to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Jason was raised by Cheiron, the centaur, who was the wisest and most learned of all beings. Heracles and Theseus were among his crew. The voyage was successful, and he returned not only with the Fleece but also with Media, the evil sorceress who was the daughter of the king of Colchis.

Every generation seems to have its action hero. During my father’s youth, it was Tom Mix, the cowboy movie hero. And during my younger days, it was Roy Rogers, also a big screen, and later a TV, cowboy. The most famous of all recent action heroes is probably Ian Fleming’s James Bond. And of course, there’s Superman, Spider Man, Spider Woman, Batman, Batwoman, Xena, etc. They are put up against overwhelming odds, and our interest in the story comes from their uncanny ability to escape death and defeat when encountering even the most formidable enemy. In the first episode of their adventures, the action hero may actually undergo considerable change while he develops his skills and until he finally understands who is. After that, we generally get the same character with no change or character development.

The reason the action hero is so frustrating to the gurus of storytelling is that so many times they don’t fit the model for a good protagonist: they don’t generally change or experience the agony of choice. Philosophically, many of them are of little interest, yet, they are unbelievably popular. I would attribute their popularity to the rollercoaster ride they take us on. They are fearless, although Indiana Jones is afraid of snakes, and ruthless and because of this they allow us to vicariously experience dangerous situations and perform feats beyond our own limited capabilities.

But stories about action heroes are constructed the same as any other story. The Premise for such a story is usually very simple: good overcomes evil. And since action heroes may all look pretty much alike, the invention of the manifestation of the forces of evil, the protagonist or villain, may be crucial for the story to succeed.

AUTHOR/CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP

The relationship between author and character is fraught with paradox. The author, in a sense, resides within all his characters (and will always absorb some of their neurosis), but only by getting your characters away from you, ironically, can you get that closeness needed to relate to them and write them properly. We say to hook up with voice and write from within the character; to approach all your characters through their senses, listening to them, letting their experience generate your words. If they climb on a horse, we need to feel the saddle, smell the leather and sense the height. In that way, you’ll be able to determine what jumps out into the air, is alive, as opposed to that that lingers lifelessly on the page.

We as human beings know so little about ourselves that we have difficulty relating to a character we see as ourselves. A good exercise is to write about someone we view as our opposite. This is one of the best ways to identify that hidden part of ourselves that our characters represent. In Madam Bovary, Flaubert so completely identified with Emma Bovary that when he described her suicide he could taste the arsenic in his mouth.

ONE PARAGRAPH SUMMARY 

Character and plot are inseparable. Plot is defined by the conflict between opposing wills, the two main characters as defined in the Premise. Each of the storyline milestones will test (stress) the main character in a new way. It will force a reconsideration of who he is. Characters drive the storyline. The protagonist, antagonist and the thematic character are not just connected to the story. They are the story. Character wishes and fears, along with his resulting decisions, constantly propel the story into the future. Ideas and emotion determine character motivation. Emotion may drive the character in a direction he doesn’t agree with intellectually, creating internal conflict.

ASSIGNMENT

Provide a character sketch for each of your primary characters. State the “heart” or central aspect of each character (as defined by the Premise) along with their strength and weakness. Draw and label the arc diagram for each character to demonstrate how they change due to the conflict in which they are engaged.

For secondary characters, and perhaps even those that only momentarily enter the story and never return, consider how that momentary encounter might have an impact and in some way change the secondary character. You’ll need to consider this further during the final editing process as described in Chapter 11.