People You Know

 Good fiction is people. And people are people you know. —Theodore Sturgeon

A novel should give a picture of common life enlivened by humor and sweetened by pathos. To make that picture worthy of attention, the canvas should be crowded with real portraits, not of individuals known to the world or to the author, but of created personages impregnated with traits of character which are known. To my thinking, the plot is but the vehicle for all this; and when you have the vehicle without the passengers, a story of mystery in which the agents never spring to life, you have but a wooden show. There must, however, be story. You must provide a vehicle of some sort.

        —Anthony Trollope, Autobiography, chapter 7

It seems to me, everything a writer needs to know about writing good characters, life-like characters, is in these two quotes. For they are saying the same thing: Fiction is all about people.

Trollope states and Sturgeon implies, the plot of a story is merely the carrier. It is, in fact, the least important part of the book. Without living, breathing characters, the plot is merely a bunch of sticks.

People turn the plot into a story; and people make the story come alive.

Events in our own lives happen because people set them in motion. All fiction is every day, ordinary life presented at large. No matter the genre. And then, just like our own lives, something comes along and turns the world upside down.

So how do we create characters readers will love? According to Sturgeon, our characters are people we know. That is, they are drawn from real life. Or as Trollope wrote, “created personages impregnated with traits of character which are known.”

Justinia Wright is a created personage. And while a tad over the top (not unlike Sherlock Holmes or Nero Wolfe), she exhibits all the personality traits and quirks of people we all know.

Tina smokes and drinks. She is emotionally reserved, yet very much wants love. She’s secretive and manipulative, yet devoted to her brother, Harry, and his wife, Bea.

I simply took traits from people I know, and put them together to create a unique person.

Bill Arthur, the narrator and hero of The Rocheport Saga, was created the same way. He’s a regular Joe. He worked as a low-level bureaucrat before That Day  brought the world as we knew it to an end. His interests are what enable him to survive: guns and target shooting, and alternative and old technology. 

He was also a low-level prepper before the catastrophe. He knew the importance of being prepared for any sort of emergency.

His knowledge is what sets him apart, yet everything about him I drew from people I know. I just put all of the varied traits into one person.

Pierce Mostyn, the monster hunting agent of the OUP (Office of Unidentified Phenomena), exemplifies G-man gravitas. Cool, calm, distant, reserved. Yet, he loves two women. He yearns for a normal life. Enjoys a good cup of coffee. And loves his antique car. Again, all things I mined from real people. And in Mostyn’s case, even a fictional one: Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle of the TV series Foyle’s War.

To create a character, simply think about all the people you know. Pick a trait from one, a different trait from another, and so on, until you have a rough sketch of your character.

It’s best to leave your character in an unfinished state, so he or she has room to grow in your book and series — room to develop his or her own personality.

I’m constantly surprised by all the little things I learn about my characters — even the minor ones — as the series develops.

Now I know some of you have a need to know everything about the fictional world you’ve created. You want to know everything about the people you’ve put in that world. I urge you to resist that temptation.

Fill in the border of the puzzle, but leave the middle empty. As each story and book is written, your characters and their world will grow. Readers will grow right along with them. It is how things work in real life. We don’t know everything about a person when we first meet him or her. We learn as the relationship develops.

You see, my characters are real people to me. With each book and story the relationship between us deepens as trust grows and we learn more about each other.

I think writers make a mistake when they view their characters as simply elements of a story. If your characters aren’t real people to you, the writer, they will never be real people to the reader.

Yes, I know that comes across as somewhat mystical, or even a bit wacky. But, the one thing that I’ve gathered from reviews and comments about my books is that readers love the characters.

If your characters are real to you, they’ll be real to your readers.

And the process starts by assembling traits from people you know, putting them together, and then breathing life into them.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy creating!