In Character

There is an insanely overwhelming number of things to consider when attempting to write a story. Character happens to be one of them. In fact, many agents and publishers will tell an author that character development is one of the most critical elements of a novel. Why do you suppose that is?

Character is what makes us human - that's why. Character is what makes us uniquely alive. It is what draws us to one another and sparks the curiosity that leads to deep and meaningful relationships. A person's character is what makes him interesting and worthwhile. Character builds community.

What do you suppose most of us remember about the novels we read last summer, or last month, for that matter? I know...nothing, right! Most of us forget more of a book's content than we remember (especially the content of text books - trust me, as a professor, I know) and when we do manage to commit something to our long-term memory about a particular book, it's usually that we read it. We might remember if we liked the book. We almost always remember if we hated it. If we recall anything else at all, it's usually something about the book's character(s).

People - at least the majority of people - are memorable. The ones who live in between a front and back cover had damned well be very memorable. So, there we have it: Character development is critical to storytelling. This idea fascinates me because character development is critical to us as human beings as well.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best when he wrote, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matter compared to what lies within us."

(A blog or two ago, I talked about experience and how it makes us who we are, so I cannot very well contradict myself completely today and agree with Mr. Emerson, can I? Of course I can, I'm a writer! If I tried hard enough and used just the right words, I could convince you I believe the world is flat - which, by the way, I do . . . but that's a blog for another day).

This challenge of developing characters who are complex, deep and honest is tough, especially when they also need to be likable - or at least relatable. Characters have to be believable, too, or nobody will want to get to know them. If a reader doesn't want to get to know a book's characters, guess what? He's not a reader for very long.

As a novelist, the character development trial is one of my favorite challenges because it is the only one that a writer does not take on alone. The quest to develop character belongs to us all - writers and non-writers alike. Every single day we are challenged with the task of cultivating ourselves. We make regular decisions about how much of our character we are willing to expose to the world - how much light we will allow to shine upon the truth that lives so freely inside of us.

Though it is true that experience makes us who we are, our character can only develop when we allow the world to see - one tiny glimpse at a time - that which lies within us. Though we might cower from the risk of exposing too much of our own character, writers can often let people into the deepest tunnels of what lies within us through the written word. We show it rather than tell it - an industry secret.

As novelists, we tend to show ourselves through the words we choose, the character traits we develop and the stories we share. We scatter our own selves throughout the many "lives" we create. It is a gift, really, this challenge of character development, because, to do it well is to do life well. Indeed, it is not about what is all around us. It - life - is about what is deep within us.