Using Personal Reflection to Create Memorable Characters
Writing and Learning
Call me crazy, but it feels like this past year flew by as if some great overseeing power snatched the calendar off the side of the refrigerator and flipped through the months like a Las Vegas black jack dealer shuffling a deck. And while we can’t time travel (or so they say) or watch a personal documentary of A Day and a Life of Me from this past year, we can reflect on ourselves. Reflection demands that we take a step back and see a larger picture of who we are.
How did you react to that situation? What could you have done differently?
Could you have smiled more? Laughed more?
If these questions brought out a flood of memories from the past year, then, good.
Reflection is difficult. It means tapping on the rigid shell we encapsulate ourselves in. We carry an exterior to keep our sensitive feelings close and protected; except, there’s a lot of gooey goodness under that tough exterior. Too many of us are afraid, for personal reasons, to show the world our softer side.
Ultimately, if we have difficulty taking a deeper look into ourselves, try diagnosing the flaws of others. That’s right. Be judgmental! – at least in writing story.
Think about it. Whether we belly up to a bar or eat expensive salads for lunch with close friends, the conversation usually ends up talking about someone else in our lives. The boss. A family member. A neighbor. Either way, as humans, we have an innate ability to analyze others’ actions and words; basically, we gossip about other’s rationale, behavior, and intellect to help us make sense of our own situations.
Using Gossip to Create Characters
Let’s go back to the bar for a moment. Think about how you would describe the jerk boss no one likes to your friend while eating lunch. What made Janet so grouchy? Why does Cynthia always take over a conversation so no one can get a word in edgewise?
A good story needs character arcs. And the development of that main character is three thousand times more intriguing to readers than picturing hair color, or glasses, or jeans worn too tight. Like us reflecting on our past year, so too should a reader see the progress and setbacks to those “therapy sessions” we call scenes. This helps us create characters and all the wonderful flaws that come with them.
In these upcoming holiday weeks, we’ll probably meet up with family members and friends we haven’t seen in a while. From a writing perspective, I suggest to take a step back and look at all the different personality types. Be the weirdo sitting in the corner chair drinking eggnog and pretend to stare lovingly at an ugly decoration. This way, if someone interrupts your snooping, you have a quick conversation piece.
Observe interactions between people. For instance, analyze the distance between two cousins talking about their kids. Are they sharing pictures or complaining? Maybe take a gander and contemplate why Uncle John only sneaks whiskey into his coffee mug when his spouse isn’t looking. After you’ve started to see some patterns in behavior, create a backstory. Think of why they are the way they are. And be creative. Exaggerate. Experiment with different versions of the backstory. And most importantly, have fun with it.
Everyone, everywhere is a potential character. Tap and crack that tough exterior; though I do advise changing names—no one need to give away our secrets.
-RADolence
