Recognisable, but not predicable - what we look for in characters ... and partners

Travelling from India recently, I was catching a connecting flight in Dubai when I saw someone in the transit area who looked familiar. We smiled.

“Do I know you?” he asked. As it happened he didn’t. We turned our mutual acquaintances inside out and, though we knew many of the same people, we had never met.

Then it struck me. Hoping it wouldn’t offend him, I suggested: “Even if we’ve never met, we’d probably recognise each other anywhere.” 

I could see we came from the same city, that he probably studied at the university where I teach, had worked in ngos and, during the ‘80s, had probably lived in a specifically bohemian part of town … (There was more and I was right on all counts.)

Luckily he wasn’t offended. I think perhaps he was even slightly pleased by the mutual recognition. 

We are all a product of place and time. We take for granted that we’ve been formed by where we grew up, the generation that raised us and the people who became our peers. We recognise things in each other.

We understand where we’re coming from – certain things can be taken for granted. We know what has to be said, and what can be left unsaid. We understand the same things.

Perhaps that’s more true of generations that grew up during turbulent times. There’s an intensity to the experiences that draw people together in identifiable ways. But it’s probably true wherever and whenever you grew up.

The same can be said of characters. And they should be a product of time and place. They shouldn’t be generic beings or, on the other hand, a random mix of character traits that you’ve just made up.

But when you’re building characters, be very careful of stereotype.

Readers do like to identify with, and sometimes laugh about, the commonalities that develop among those of us who have lived through some of the same experiences. But they also like to be surprised.

This doesn’t mean throwing in a few wild quirks. A successful character cannot be too inconsistent. We all have a few of these, but we should be able to understand how a character has become what he or she has.

It’s difficult to get that right – recognisable, but not too predictable. A bit like choosing a partner, perhaps …

At allaboutwriting, we run a Character Course that blends psychology and writing to create a one-day immersion in the process of creating memorable and larger-than-life characters. It looks at the skills needed to make these characters leap off the page. The next one will be on February 27.

For more information, contact Trish Urquhart on 0826524643 or . Information on the different courses run by allaboutwriting can be found on http://www.allaboutwritingcourses.com.