A New Tale ~ Creative Writing is FUN! - Characterization

Develop Your Main Character From Page to Page

12/9/2016

Characterization is Life
by Stu Leventhal

Your main character cannot deliver a well-rounded story all by him or herself. No one likes a braggart or even believes them so even when your main character is the voice telling the tale you need others to collaborate and add details.

Sure, supporting characters are important to your story but they should be there to help tell your reader more about your main character. They are props for your main character to play off of in scenes. Supporting characters can steal the show but only if it sets your main character up for acting a certain way later. Remember whose tale this is!

By the way you should also think of setting as another character that influences how your main character acts and develops.

What is Great Story Characterization?

8/23/2015

Creating Great Literary Characters...

Defining Great Literary Characterization…

Characterization in Literature!

By Stu Leventhal – A NEW TALE

Creating Great Personalities for Your Characters sets up your tale for greatness!

All the other main aspects of literature; settings, themes, drama, conflict, plot, dialog, point of view... are all elevated when the author is a keen characterization scribe.

There are all kinds of people in this world and that means there will always be all kinds of interesting fictional and nonfictional book characters. But compiling a cast of quirky and eccentric characters alone does not make a great story!

All creative writing stories, poetry, lyrics, mysteries, sci-fi, horror westerns, romances, humor, short tales, novels, theater productions, journalism... revolve around vivid descriptions of characters.

Great Characterization is about enabling readers to meet people they would never have a chance to meet in person or during their real lives.

Through reading we explore having relationships without actually having the relationships. This is a chance to make friends and deal with enemies without taking the risks that come about in real life from interacting with our neighbors, co-workers and people who we just happen to bump into.

Make no mistake; readers can grow to love characters that only exist in a book!

But, the people in novels and stories have to be believable people for readers to pay attention to them.

We, as readers, go on a journey where we get to experience new things because we are getting to know people who are new to us, different than us and thus exciting to us. Our favorite characters challenge our ways of thinking. We are introduced to new beliefs and new ways of life.

Interesting characters are like interesting people; unpredictable and unique!

But uniqueness just for the sake of being unique does not usually work. Readers are too sophisticated to fall for an author creating weirdness just to write something different and unusual into a story scene. Whether an author uses weird characters, weird settings or outrageous themes there must always be some anchors to reality.

Always bear in mind that a creative writer’s goal is to get his or her readers to lose themselves in the tale. That means you want your readers to forget that they are even reading a book! You cannot do that if your characters are too way out there.

Yes, it has always been popular in literary circles for authors to try to introduce characters to the world who are unlike any previous, literature characters or any real people, living or even similar to figures out of history. It is a natural, creative challenge and goal for most authors to attempt to be known as the super imaginative and inventive, scribe genius of their preferred literary genre.

Authors own the creative rights to the characters they create. Characterization is big business when you factor in movie rights, book sequels, possible theatrical stage productions and songs written about one's characters.

Creating a book character; hero or villain or even a minor character includes choosing an appropriate and memorable name, nick names may apply too. Also sarcastic nick names may need to be crafted that other characters and even the author may use to refer to a character but the character, him or herself, does not know is being used.

Physical characteristics need to be displayed so the reader can picture the person. A Psychiatric profile needs to be created for each character, some of which will be made known to the readers and other characters in the tale but not all.

Revealing the whole, well-rounded, complete picture of who each of an author’s characters are may be a big part of the creative writer’s agenda or motive for writing the story but it also may not.

Ultimately great characterization will depend on how well the author meshes the defining aspects of his or her characters with the other elements of storytelling; theme, plot, setting, point of view… Every element works together strengthening the other elements of the tale.

Great stories are about people, which is why people take an interest in reading well weaved tales. Readers enjoy interesting complex characterization. People who make us wonder and think leave an impression on us in real life as well as when we read!

*Wish to learn how to create great literary characters?

*Want to know how to express yourself better and more clearly through writing in any and all genres and literary styles?

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Writing is not just for pro authors anymore. Writing at a higher level will help you rise in your career no matter what you do for a living! Increasing your writing skill will open doors for you that you never even dreamed existed.

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Creating Believable Characters

7/2/2015

Great Characterization requires an author being able to walk in their creations' shoes. The Creative Writer must see things through their character's eyes then have the character act accordingly.

Analyze your characters like a police detective would! Would your stories characters really say that? Would the main character really have a friend like that?

Yes, make judgements...but base them on real things that happen during the story.

Do your characters drive the plot? Really!

Is your theme being tested by your character's actions?

Does your main character really fit into the setting of the story? Why is he or she there? Would your characters stick around in the environment you've put them into or would they travel to get away from there as quickly as possible?

You can put anyone in any setting but sometimes you need to say why or your reader may not believe you!

Are your main characters strong enough to carry a whole novel? Really?

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A NEW TALE - A Creative Writing Tutorial by Stu Leventhal will help you get characterization!

Story telling revolves around characters, character development and character drama!

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New Creative Writing Advice Book Teaches Characterization

1/25/2015

Experiment! No two people are the same so who can say your descriptions or how you portray a character is phony?
Read A NEW TALE by Stu Leventhal... a Creative Writing Tutorial!

Good Creative Writing Is about Characterization!

10/15/2014

Characterization is Describing People

By Stu Leventhal

If you were describing a female friend to your co-worker whom you wanted to set up on a blind date with this woman, you would go all out to convince your co-worker she was his perfect match. The man would be on his guard because people are suspicious of blind dates and do not usually trust meddling match makers so it would not be easy. Your co-worker would want to know everything about the woman not just her looks! This is how your readers feel when you introduce a new character to a story.

Readers are skeptics just like people are when they are introduced to a new person. Your readers are going to be frustrated and anxious until you tell them enough for them to feel comfortable with the new addition to the cast.

People are multidimensional, multifaceted and multi-unpredictable! You have to showcase all of these to have well-rounded characters.

Characterization is usually a big part of any creative writing project because people like to read about other people. We want to know what others do and think. We like authors who can inform us what it is like to walk in their characters shoes!

Characters often reflect their author’s images. It can be said that a creative author is trying on different personas as he or she writes about different characters, sort of experimenting to see how he sees himself playing those roles. Writing, after all, is a self-discovery activity first and second a journey of awareness and enlightenment we can share with others.

Can you write a character study about yourself? If you cannot describe yourself, the person you know the most about; how can you expect to be able to inform readers about your characters? Think about how you would describe yourself to your readers. How would your best friend describe you? How would a boss, teacher or coach describe you? Think about what a former lover or present lover would say when telling their best friend or family member about you. How would a long time roommate or family member describe you?

Each of the above descriptions would be different because they come from a different point of view and each is only privy to specific info based on their relationship with you. Also, depending on who each of the above people were talking to about you and what the nature of the conversation was would determine how they described you. People have motives and often those motives steer their descriptions of other people more than the truth does!

As a creative writer you have to know all those above perspectives for every character you create. Plus you must know what each character thinks about themselves too! What are a characters defining qualities? What would they like their defining qualities to be?

If you were to tell readers about your best quality and your worst quality, would others who know you intimately agree with your assessment? What really makes you different from everyone else? What are you working towards changing about you?

Do you really like yourself? If not, can you like the characters you write about... really like them!

Most of us are very tough on ourselves! We scrutinize ourselves? We are masochistic in grading ourselves! Can you be as tough on your characters? And, not just on the so called villains! Good writers have to find a way to show tough love for their heroes too! the villains need your compassion. If your villains do not get understanding and sympathy from you their author, who will they get any from?

*Today’s creative writing assignment is to describe you, through the eyes of three different people. Make one view point be from a complete stranger who sat across from you on a train ride the other two views points should be from people who know you more personally.

*Need help with a writing project email the details to: [email protected]

*As always feel free to add to the discussions in our comment section.

July 17th, 2014

7/17/2014

CHARACTERIZATION AND THE CREATIVE WRITING MUSE

The Importance of Correctly Portraying Your Characters Essence!

Creating Believable Make-Believe Characters!

By Stu Leventhal (your creative writing mentor)

What is important to tell about each of your characters? How much of their inner selves should an author reveal? How do you know when you have said enough about a character that your writer will get it? And when is it time to get on with the telling of the story? These are the decisions that all creative writers must decide throughout the writing of their tales. In the beginning of a creative writing piece, authors have a tendency to want to speak to their reader longer than usual instead of taking a back seat and allowing the story to reveal the important stuff. This is because the author is aware that the reader knows nothing about the people and places being written about.

Writers tend to think they must hold their reader’s hand every step of the way and especially in the beginning of telling a story. It is natural to feel like you have to establish a solid starting point in order to begin a journey. But that is not so. The reader does not need to know where everyone is coming from to appreciate that they are headed somewhere new. It is more important to start right in the thick of things, in the heat of the moment. That gives your tale energy, excitement and a reason for being told. If today is the same as countless of other days then why start your tale today! You can fill in the blanks during later scenes and answer your reader’s questions through the dialog between characters, flash backs and other literary techniques.

The most important aspect of characterization is not establishing the physical traits for your characters or even their mental states. The important thing is for you to portray their personalities correctly! If they are big or small framed, pretty, handsome or rugged looking, book smart or down to earth all does go into the reader’s perception of them but the way they carry themselves and how they act and react is the essence of who they really are. Stories are about characters and how life’s experiences affect them. Therefore, you as author need to say who your characters are right now if you plan to say or show how they are specifically being changed by the incidences of your story.

I normally am against most narrative descriptions or the author outright telling and explaining things but there is a time and place in creative writing for author narrative. Usually it can be used effectively in small doses to speed up the flow of a story that is lagging behind or sluggish. There are many better choices of revealing a story character’s personality than just outright stating it. Yes, it is always best to use action and dialog to show how someone acts rather than just telling your reader how they usually act or have been known to act in the past.

Facial expressions, body language, yawns, furtive glances, nervous stuttering hesitation or ticks, excessive sweating are all good tells for revealing how a character is thinking. Allowing your reader to eavesdrop on other characters discussing another character when he or she is not present is also a great opportunity to introduce info about a character.

Your characters should be well rounded if knowing about them is important for the reader to get the jest of the story. Every character in your story cannot be a main character! Tell only what needs to be told, never slow or stall the flow of the story to say something that the reader does not need.

There are things that are special about each and every one of us. These traits are what everyone who meets us notices. They define who we are and how others relate to us. That is what should be told to your readers about each character in the story. You as author may choose to offer up a trait that seems unnecessary at the time but later it becomes important because it relates to the overall theme of the piece or helps the plot make more sense. The key is to always introduce new info about someone or something into the story naturally as you weave it. Never force something on a reader if it seems out of place to do so. How unobtrusively you can slip vital info into your story is the sign of how skilled you are as a writer. Master this art and you will open up unlimited opportunities for where your stories can go.

ANTI_HEROES AND ANTI_HEROINES

2/28/2014

CHARACTERIZATION, LITERATURE AND THE ANTI-HERO

BY Stu Leventhal

An anti-hero character is when an author uses a hero character for his book or story who does not seem to stand up to the traditional view of what a hero should be. The anti-hero character often acts the opposite of how we would want our heroes to act or think. For instance, instead of being brave and courageous the hero or heroine of the tale is a coward. Anti-heroes are rarely chivalrous and usually self-centered. We as readers disapprove of most of their actions. Yet there is something about them that draws our sympathy.

The anti-hero is still the protagonist or at least a very important main character to the story but just not endowed with the endearing good traits of a typical hero; physical strength, high moral backbone, strong work ethic and a sense of civic duty and patriotism. The anti-hero is often a criminal but there is a much more devious and evil villain in the story whom we would rather see defeated. Author’s use the anti-hero because they are often more complicated beings than traditional heroes who tend to sometimes border on becoming stereotypes due to their predictability. Thus, the anti-hero can be more interesting as we cannot be sure of his next move, motive or reasoning.

Despite his or her imperfections and outright faults, the anti-hero character usually has a bit of charm that readers relate to which is why we find ourselves rooting for him or her to triumph.

Examples of anti-heroes characters in literature:

Michael Corleone, Mario Puzo’s 'Godfather' series.

Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 'The Great Gatsby'.

Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s 'Macbeth'.

Arthur Dent, Douglas Adams’ ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’.

Scarlett O’Hara, Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With the Wind’.

Holden Caufield, JD Salinger's classic, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’.

*There are many more examples of anti-heroes and heroines in literature. Who are your favorite anti-hero characters in literature?

CREATIVE WRITING AND YOUR CHARACTER’S INNER MIND

2/14/2014

REVEALING YOUR CHARACTER’S THOUGHTS TO YOUR READERS

By Stuart Leventhal

When writing a character’s inner thoughts they should come across to your reader as spontaneous, natural and casual, unless the emotions of the moment warrant otherwise. One’s thoughts should not sound rehearsed. One’s inner thoughts should fit the mood and the situation the character is involved in. We may think using the same tone and personality we talk with but our thoughts change much faster! There is no time for thorough analysis of every fleeting thought. Just give your reader a glimpse into your character’s subconscious.

Beware of allowing your characters to think in the same fashion that they would converse with your reader in the same room. They are not standing in front of the reader face to face so the prose should not come across as such a dialog. Remember, thoughts are private musings! No one is supposed to hear the conversation that is going on inside one’s head except oneself. Thus, we should not try to impress anyone. And there is no need to explain the character’s thoughts to the reader.

Allow the readers to figure out for themselves the significance of what is flashing through a character’s mind during a scene. You can reveal thoughts to explain a character’s actions or reactions to something that is happening. Allowing the reader access to a character’s inner thoughts often reveals hidden aspects of a personality. Thoughts can be a means of telling the reader some of the back story. One’s thoughts exposed can also be a means of allowing a character to betray oneself. Or, it can be a means of revealing true bravery.

The character should never let on that he knows the reader or anyone else knows his inner thoughts. He can never act or react like the reader or another character knows what he is really thinking.

Allowing your readers to see inside your character’s mind is not the same as when an Elizabethan theater actor, performing up on stage, makes a dramatic speech supposedly from a mountain top exposing the pimple on his soul to the theater audience. Remember, you are allowing your readers to ease drop! Write your prose accordingly; as if the reader is secretly listening in. Don’t tailor the thoughts or edit them. Stay in character and think in character. Do not drift in and out of context. Do not let yourself as author step in to explain. Your character is having a conversation with him or herself, not talking with the reader or to you, the author.

It is best to only allow your reader to go inside a character’s head when you absolutely cannot reveal something in any other way. Stick to revealing a character’s personality through the character’s actions or interactions with other characters whenever possible. Unless the info is vital at that particular moment to the telling of the story, suddenly revealing one’s thoughts will seem out of place, to the reader.

Letting your reader inside a character’s mind is best reserved for those times when it would be unnatural for the character to share his thoughts with another character in the story but your reader vitally needs that info right now. For instance, if what your character is thinking is too painful or awkward to say out loud and his coming actions will seem out of character without an explanation then by all means express his thoughts. But if the character can explain his actions by telling another character at a later time what was going through his head then hold off.

Try not to see inside every character’s mind except when writing comedy. Usually exposing one character per scene, just the main character in the scene is tolerable. Access to multiple thoughts during the same scene turns the scene into slap stick! Remember, that you cannot possibly reveal all of a character’s thoughts, so pick your moments carefully.

*Be sure to make it clear to the reader, especially if there are more than one characters present in the scene, that they are reading the inner thoughts of your character and not reading an actual spoken conversation. You can simply announce you are writing the inner thought. For example:

Barney thought, “I am going to kill Fred if he doesn’t shut up soon!”

But, many authors choose to use italics to designate a character’s thoughts and reserve quotation marks only for actual talking scenes. This assures that there is no confusion for the readers regarding what is being spoken and what is being thought. For example:

Barney watched Davina and her mother swirl on the dance floor. They look more like sisters. He marveled.

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Fiction Characterization is Creative Writing

11/9/2013

THE CHARACTERS ARE THE STORY

By Stu Leventhal

Great characterization authors are experts at making their
readers believe their characters actions are not being manipulated or contrived by them, the author, to enhance their story. Even if the story and characters are completely fabricated and totally fictional the reader has to feel the characters would not speak or act in any other way than is being presented.

We all know that real people are fickle but fickleness has to be
shown to the readers honestly in writing if an author plans to use it to further the plot. Once a reader starts questioning his author’s motives and the seeds of doubt take root, all is lost.

Great characterization is interwoven with the other literary
story elements. A person acts and reacts based on the environment they were raised in and the circumstances in which they live at present. Next, the writer considers the character’s constitution and thus their words and deeds mesh with their backgrounds and beliefs. The reader has no reason to wonder. The scenes could pan out no other way for these
characters.

The setting effects the characters’ actions and these actions
drive the plot. Setting, plot and character development all combine to create the theme. The theme then has to mold the plot and characters’ actions since their duty is to support or prove the author’s theme.

Often, new authors and amateur scribes make the mistake of
thinking their stories will lack excitement and drama if they do not portray fantastically adventurous flamboyant characters. But, the opposite is true! The drama is more powerfully felt by the reader if the character is less able to cope with it. A daredevil does not evoke the same sympathy when he gets himself into a fix as a wall flower does.

Another fallacy is that it will be difficult to keep the plot
interesting and moving if you do not dream up fantastic situations, confront your characters with insurmountable obstacles and constantly pit them against the Devil incarnated and keep making sure any chance of their happiness is
always dashed. No life is all sun shine or all bleak there has to be a believable balance.

It is easier to write the next scenes of one's story once the author has decided on a specific setting, his cast of players are created and a theme has been decided on. The plot will flow from scene to scene naturally as long as the writer stays
true to the setting and the character traits of the main players.

Think of your best friend or a close family member. Aren’t you able to predict how they are going to react to a given situation or to new news? You should already know how your characters are going to act in most situations even if those situations
never occur during the tale you are weaving.

Great characterization has nothing to do with attempting to
create the most interesting people who have ever been imagined. Yes, your characters need to be well thought out and fully developed. People are complex and their lives are full of contradictions. We all have quirks, stubbornness and tenacity moments. Our actions are irrational and self-destructive at times. All of life’s nuances must be taken into account when you build your characters. But, not every aspect of your characters strengths and flaws can or will be presented directly to your reader. Your readers have to be given some credit for common sense and understanding, after all a lot of the fun of reading comes from imagining oneself in the shoes of the characters.

The wise author does not develop characters. He creates lives. A character is a one, two or three dimensional representative of a being set in time. A life is constantly changing and thus its dimensions are never quite fixed.

Great characterization has most to do with presenting your characters, simply, understandably and most of all recognizably to all of us. That is why great characters can stand the test of time. Great recognizable characters are what give great literature their value allowing their tales to be told, enjoyed and
cherished, not just tolerated, from generation to generation.

Great Characters Define Plot and Story

8/29/2013

by Stu Leventhal

Great characters stand on their own feet without the help of luck, fate or the need for their author’s constant intervention. They could make the transition from one novel to another with little stress and it would seem as if they always belonged in the new tale they migrated to. From page one of the story great characters are evolving, developing, maturing, disintegrating before their readers eyes, adding to both their own knowledge of life and ours as we read their stories. Great literary characters are constantly adjusting their attitudes according to the stimuli they encounter from scene to scene. And thus, a great tale can be defined as an entertaining account of a key character’s journey.

Inner turmoil, personal conflict, unmanageable desire, character flaws and strengths; the author’s job is to paint a convincing portrait of an important episode in a specific individual’s life. To understand the impact of the episode we must first have a keen awareness of who the person is who is going to be affected profoundly by the episode. The same plot will have different effects on different characters. Thus great characterization develops the plot or scene sequence of a good story. Yet, many writers and scholars claim plot comes first and only through a series of influential events are great characters developed. The debate is as old as who came first the chicken or the egg?

One seemingly truth is that without main characters a story has little chance of gaining momentum enough to become a great tale. Depictions of events multiply in drama, intensity and emotional impact when they are told from the view point of specific characters. Stories no matter how exciting seem to lose their value unless they are about their impact on people. And, there must be a reason for telling the tale…Theme!

“To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.”

- Herman Melville

Stories without strong themes are quickly forgotten. Themes get their strength from the plot’s effect on the characters. So, characters must be strong in their convictions going into the very first scene then they must be equally as strong in their new convictions gained all along the journey. The author’s chore is to convey to the reader his characters beliefs as they shift, ripen or deteriorate with each scene.

“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!”

- Ray Bradbury

How do you start your stories? What is the most important element of a great story? Is it easier to start writing by creating a few characters then letting your imagination take things from there, or to have an idea you wish to present first then build a plot that supports your idea or should you start with an event then describe how it affects a specific set of people?

Stephen King explains his story composing technique – “I try to create sympathy for my characters then turn the monsters loose.”

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