and tomorrow's bestsellers
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Discovering today's talent and tomorrow's bestsellers |
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The Protagonist and Antagonist Every story needs at least one main character who will become the story's protagonist. The protagonist needs to have at least two skills in which he or she is above average: sword fighting, computer programming/ hacking, science, self defense, etc. The antagonist is the thorn in the main character's side. The stronger your protagonist is, the stronger the antagonist must be. The readers must wonder who will win; if one is much stronger or resourceful than the other, there is no suspense, no tension. The antagonist must be as cunning, intelligent, resourceful, daring, or in some other way as strong as the protagonist. The Cast of Characters A character does not have to be a person; it can be an animal (Lassie, Seabiscuit), an inanimate object such as a house (Hell House, The Haunting), or even the weather (A Perfect Storm, Storm of the Century). Treat your characters as though they are long-term houseguests. You may not know much about them when they move in, but you'll know more than you ever wanted to know by the time they leave! DO NOT use common names. Be imaginative. Don't name your characters Bob or Bill or John or Sally, unless your plot revolves around someone who is "the average Joe". Check out Internet sites that have a variety of names. Visit cemeteries (especially when writing about past generations). Look for names with meaning. Be inventive. Many times, you'll have a cast of characters. Consider books with multiple main characters; each one brings something different to the plot. You may have the novice, the experienced one, the rebel, the idealist, the calming one, the hot tempered one, the romantic, the grouch. Remember, conflict drives a book. Great reference books for building characters include Linda Goodman's Sun Signs or Linda Goodman's Love Signs, because they detail the interaction between compatible and incompatible personality types. Rounding Out Your Character Develop a detailed composite of your character. Don't describe her eyes as blue or green or brown; they could be cornflower, jade, or the color of molasses. Give the character glasses or a beauty mark or a jagged scar. Their physique could be corpulent, bow-spined, lanky, svelte. Just as you determine their physical characteristics, you want to compile their history. Their date of birth (not just their age), where they were born, how many siblings they have, their relationship with their parents, the friends they hang out with... Many of these things may never make it into your book, but they serve to establish the type of person your character is. Where do they live? Do they own pets? Where do they work? Do they go to school? Do they live alone, with a roommate, or with family members (parents, children, etc)? Memorable Characters Consider the books you've read where you've remembered the main character long after setting down the book. Why did you remember them? What was it about their personality or their appearance that made them so memorable? Classics often have characters we remember our entire lives: consider The Grapes of Wrath, Gone With the Wind, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Why were the characters in these books so memorable?
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