A Simple Way to Create Complex Characters
In each of the writing courses I took in University we were given a very similar character building exercise. We’d be given a template to fill out things like out character’s name, age, profession, etc. Then, at the end, there would be a large blank section where we were instructed to write our character’s values, ranking them in order of most important to least.
After that menial task was completed, the Prof. would instruct us to fill out another such template, but this time we were to use our own information instead of our fiction characters’.
The point? It’s supposed to show us that it’s hard to rank our own values. Do I put family above my romantic relationship? My job above my art? Friendship above religion?
We personally consider most of these values to be of equal importance to who we are as individuals, so we should do the same for our characters. The point of the exercise is to show how complex we are, to show that we are not our values but the accumulation of those values.
After completing this exercise we were supposed to go forth and write beautifully balanced characters with various values that all came together to make up a unique individual.
So I tried that for a while and soon discovered that these characters are boring.
I came to this realization upon meeting real people who were striving for balanced lives — and who were also extremely boring. People like this try to be utterly self aware. They want to appear spontaneous while being completely in control of that spontaneity. They consider their relationship to be of the utmost importance but also claim that love is fleeting and you shouldn’t get attached. They pick wild flowers then spend twenty minutes making sure they look ‘just so’ in the vase.
These people are like Jedi’s. Maybe that’s a bad example because Jedi are pretty awesome, but minus fighting evil with glowing sticks they’re actually incredibly tiresome. They’re prone to lecture, wear drab clothes, and walk very slowly when there is no immediate threat, or possibly not move at all while staring off into the horizon. Most people are not peacefully balanced souls. Most people live in extremes — and these people are very interesting.
To create a complex character you’ve got to figure out what their extreme is — then force them to make a tough choice. Religion or family? Art or love? Have a character totally identify with one thing above all else and then take it away.
Be careful not to just pull the the rug out from under them, because that’s cliche, a simple redemption story. If Joe is dedicated to his wife, don’t just kill her off. Make him enlist. Country or love? Maybe it’s the same thing to Joe. Enlisting is, in a way, protecting his wife — but it also means being apart from her.
A wizard is dedicated to his magic, then discovers it’s killing him.
A surgeon is forced to become a knight and has to decide to heal or to hurt.
The heir to the throne feels called to become a monk. Duty or religion?
These examples force characters to rank their values and sometimes to give up the ones they ranked at the top. Balance is a nice message, but it’s not realistic. People are complex not because our values all roll into one, unique individual, but because our values are constantly warring against each other, fighting for supremacy. Charterers should be the same way.
So when you write out your character’s values, don’t let them compromise.
Here’s a better exercise: Ask, how would your character introduce himself? How do you introduce yourself? The socially acceptable way to self identify is via occupation. You’re a doctor or a student or you own a small business. Some braver people choose to call themselves artists — writer, painter, singer, etc. Some people always include their nationality or heritage. Then there’s the things you probably don’t mention in those passing conversations on the bus or in line at coffee shops: “I’m Catholic”, “I’m a communist”, or “I really don’t like dogs”. We all want to come off a certain way to those around us so when asked what we value we might say family when we want to say poetry. A little white lie.
Ask yourself how your characters introduce themselves and then ask if they’re lying. They probably are. Most of us do. If they don’t lie about who they are then ask why. Or better yet, find out what situation would make them lie about their values. That’s interesting.
Want more writing advice? Have a lot of unfinished stories laying around? Here are some ways to revive them:
