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Introduction
Hi!
I'm Melanie Anne Phillips, your instructor for "How to Create Great
Characters." First off, I'd like to congratulate you on your decision
to take this course. By the time you have finished all the lessons, you'll
know more about characters than you likely imagined there was to
know! In addition, you will have mastered the techniques to create
compelling, memorable characters whenever you write.
Each
of the lessons in this course provides a bite-sized piece of information about what characters are, how
they work, how to build them, and how to use them. Some lessons also contain
streaming video and audio, essays on aspects of character development, exercises
to improve your skills, and links to additional writer's resources.
Work
on each lesson as long as you like, then move on to the next. No
deadlines, no pressure - learn at your own speed!
Again,
congratulations on taking this first step on the road to creating great
characters. And now, it's time to begin your first lesson.
What
are Characters?
It
might seem obvious at first blush that characters are people. But when you
think about it, there are lot of characters that aren't human. Animals can
be characters, as in the movies "Beethoven," "Babe," and
even the shark in "Jaws." In addition, some characters aren't
even flesh and blood. There have been stories where the wind, a
self-driving truck, or a virus is a character. In "Wizard of Oz"
and "Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers," trees are characters. Clearly, physical form has
little to do with whether an entity is a character or not.
So
what is the quality that makes one tree a character and another just a
prop? Simply put, to be a character, an entity must feel like a
person. It must strike us as a thinking, feeling entity, be it human or
not. But there is more to being a character than that. As
an example, consider a street scene in which a number of people are
milling about, all headed in different directions, going about their
business. Certainly each is exhibiting the qualities of being human, yet
not one of these people is a character - they are just background.
In
contrast, consider a mob scene in which enraged townsfolk gather to lynch the
person they feel is responsible for a string of murders. In this case, the
mob is, in fact, a character. What, then, is is the difference between a
crowd of people on the street and a crowd of people in a mob that makes one
group a character and the other group not?
To
be a character, an entity must not only exhibit human qualities, but it must also
have a specific purpose, or agenda to affects the plot progression of the story. The street scene
people are just milling about, but the mob has vigilante vengeance in
mind. Although each individual on the street might have his or her own
purpose, as a group they are not trying to achieve a collective objective.
That is why the mob comes across as a character, but the street people don't.
So,
if a soldier delivers a message to a general and then leaves and we do not see
him again, he fulfills the requirement of being human, but does not have any
agenda to alter the flow of events in the plot. Therefore, he is not
a character. But, if that same soldier were to change the contents of the
message, or refuse to deliver it, or intentionally show it to the enemy, or in
any other way attempt to impact the flow of events, then that soldier would
be a character.
Players
Any entity that exhibits
human qualities, but does not have intent to alter the flow of events in
the plot is called a Player. For example, in the movie "The
Matrix," Neo is a character, and so is Agent Smith, Morpheus, and
Trinity. But the cops who corner Trinity in the opening teaser are
not. The wino in the subway station that morphs into Agent Smith is
not. The Oracle is a character, but the bald-headed child who tells Neo
how to bend a spoon is not. Even though the child has a very important
impact on Neo's growth, the child's comments are made without intent to affect
the course of events. He merely delivers necessary information as a plot
device, much like the soldier with the message described above.
In
a sense, a player is just a shopping bag which may or may not contain a
character. You can put information in the bag, you can fill it with human
qualities, but until you give that plot-centric intent, it remains just an automaton
in the Grand Scheme of things.
Sometimes a player can contain many characters, such as Dr. Jekyl and Mister
Hyde or a person with multiple-personality disorder . In extreme cases, such as
science fiction, horror, or fantasy stories, a storyline may even include a spirit
that leaps from one player to another. If these players are just
bystanders to the story to begin with, then each host starts by not being a character, temporarily
becomes a character when it is inhabited by the spirit with intent, then returns to being only a player
when the spirit leaves.
Exercises: Identifying Characters
1.
List three well-known characters you have come across in a book, movie, stage
play, or television episode.
2.
Describe why each qualifies as a character, based on the material in the lesson.
3.
List three players you have encountered that are not characters.
4.
Explain why each is not.
5.
List three players you have created.
6.
Determine if each is or is not a character and explain why.
Video
Clips
Click
here to play a 16 minute streaming video (in Real Player format) that provides a
good introduction to many of the character concepts we'll be covering in the
first few lessons of this course. If you do not have the latest version of
Real Player
installed on your computer, you can download a free copy at http://www.real.com.
Copyright
2003 Melanie Anne Phillips
Visit
http://storymind.com for tips, tricks,
techniques, and tools for writers
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