A Matter Of Characher

Characters give your story life. Simple, isn't it? Can too many characters get in the way of the story? Main characters are important, but what of the secondary ones? What of the strong and the weak? Questions such as these are among my thoughts when I think of characters.

 

When writers are asked which story elements they rank highest, they may put other things at the top of their lists. A story may be written well, tell a story that that excites the writer and the reader. Without characters to give life to what's written on the page the good writing and the good story could suffer. Characters are what your story needs. Right? Not so fast. Give your character a problem to solve, something that he (or she) can accomplish, spend some effort on. Make your character appealing, even if he is suspect. Allow your reader to get to know your character. It your have trouble with this, you may try sketching him out, emotional as well as physical. You don't have to write a profile of your character, but even if it's a part of your thought process, it might be considered. Bland characters will be noticed. You're the writer, and this is something you don't need. 

 

I think a well conceived character can't do a story wrong. Your story calls for a character that is not entirely likeable. I don't mean flawed, but out and out unlikeable. Even this type of character can be appealing. By the way he holds himself. By the way he stands up for himself. By the way he confronts his obstacles. The thoughts of such a character, too, can speak to the way he is perceived. Your aim is to please yourself as well as your reader. You may choose to have your character speak in first person. Doing so personalizes your story. Guy De Maupassant's The Horla is an effective, exquisite, example of this. So is Nikolai Gogol's Diary Of A Madman. Among  many others. Anton Ckeckov's Ward No. 6 is, in my opinion, a story to be studied. If this is your aim, you have done well. If your aim is something else, these are excellent stories to read.

 

I've have grown increasingly fond of the first person narrative. I have written a small series of short stories using this method to tell the fictional stories of those afflicted with mental problems. In such cases, the narrator might become the main character. First person narrative is certainly absorbing. If I can be absorbed by my stories, and any reader I might have as well, I am pleased. If a writer is pleased by what he does, he will continue to do it. There is nothing wrong with choosing a first person point of view. It can sometimes be preferred, especially if it furthers the story along. If you're using it to prove you can and nothing more, that's the wrong reason. 

The importance of giving your story character cannot be denied. But, like point of view, adding character  because you  can doesn't do justice to your story. Characters, as essential as they are, don't have to be everything. I didn't say characters here for a reason. Because characters, as essential as they are, don't  have to be  everything. With practice, and practice can take patience, the situations of your story can supply the character needed. I use as examples of this Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Algernon Blackwood's The Willows. The  Turn Of The Screw (Henry James), and other house stories, add to  this as well. The way the story is  written, the language used, the dialogue your characters use, all contribute to the character of the story. 

 

I may revisit  this subject again, because I do think character, with or without the development of characters, is the life of your story.  I would like to know what you think. By doing so, you can add to my knowledge, and this cannot be bad.