Read Online Creating Characters: How to Build Story People by Dwight V. Swain - Free Book Online
Authors: Dwight V. Swain
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stomach. Result: Woman A stays svelte. Woman B? Fat.
The same principle applies to men, of course. Staying thin is often important in terms of appearance, job promotion, and health. Yet loud are the wails that rise from many as they have to buy new wardrobes because their weight has gone up or down.
Or observe three churchmen—all thoughtful, all dedicated. Religion is important to each—a vital element of their happiness, you might say.
Thus, Bill is not only a believer, but a regular member and attendee.
So is Bob. But in addition to belonging and attending, he sits on the church board.
Bert? A member and attendee too, he has his own private ideas about religion.
Each pays tribute to his faith in a characteristic manner. Bill, for example, follows the rules and is present whenever he’s supposed to be.
Bob carries his devotion a step further. Sitting on the board, he plays a definite role in church politics.
Which puts him in direct conflict with Bert, for Bert believes that the church’s trend toward modernization and the contemporary is part of the devil’s plot to corrupt both the Word of God and the congregation, especially the young.
The result, frequently, is a fine Donnybrook that nearly comes to fisticuffs in the nave. Hot tempers, hot words spill over the sanctuary like blazing oil.
Yet each of these men and women operates from the same basic principle: a yearning for fulfillment, for happiness.
Each symbolizes that happiness differently, however. Thus, Bill enjoys the sense of duty fulfilled that comes with attendance . . . the warm feeling of being active on the right side. As a God-fearing man, he’s proud of raising his children in the right path, being head of a Christian family.
Bob, in contrast, isn’t content merely to stand up and be counted. A business type and aggressive he wants to help run the show from the church boardroom. It’s one of the things that makes him feel that he’s important.
Bert’s case is a little different. A bit paranoid, he’s suspicious ofall authority. The church gives him a point of focus. Add to that his conservatism, his feeling that any change is dangerous, and he’s an ideal convert for those who feel the trend to modernization is endangering the church itself and springs from Satan.
Three different men, three different personalities and attitudes. And despite what we’ve said here, any attempt to explain them is guesswork at best, born of our own views as much as of the facts.
Or what about Woman A, with whom we started? What gives her the drive and strength to cut her caloric intake and increase her exercise to the point that she loses weight . . . whereas Woman B, verbalizing the same goals and desires, somehow never gets around to it?
Because no one knows, your guess, your hypothesis—your rationalization, if you will—is as good as that of anyone else.
Assuming, that is, that you don’t go at the task and process blindly. You still need to learn all you can about the foundations upon which rationalizations can reasonably be based.
Don’t let your reasoning become involved to the point that it destroys credibility, however. Your fictional logic must, after all, reflect the thinking of your audience. Few Americans would accept the sexist orientation of Iran, with its requirements of the veil, the chador, and subservience of women, or our Hispanic maid’s idea that the stars caused disease. Likewise, few people today would see as a good father the domineering, razor-strop-wielding male prevalent a hundred years ago.
It’s also one thing to build a solid case, another to dive off the deep end in the manner of the British psychoanalyst who argued that Welsh miners’ strikes sprang from guilt reactions over their “rape” of Mother Earth.
In general, when setting up your people, you’ll find it most productive to explore again the three main areas of human activity: love, work, and society. Place special emphasis on the things we
The same principle applies to men, of course. Staying thin is often important in terms of appearance, job promotion, and health. Yet loud are the wails that rise from many as they have to buy new wardrobes because their weight has gone up or down.
Or observe three churchmen—all thoughtful, all dedicated. Religion is important to each—a vital element of their happiness, you might say.
Thus, Bill is not only a believer, but a regular member and attendee.
So is Bob. But in addition to belonging and attending, he sits on the church board.
Bert? A member and attendee too, he has his own private ideas about religion.
Each pays tribute to his faith in a characteristic manner. Bill, for example, follows the rules and is present whenever he’s supposed to be.
Bob carries his devotion a step further. Sitting on the board, he plays a definite role in church politics.
Which puts him in direct conflict with Bert, for Bert believes that the church’s trend toward modernization and the contemporary is part of the devil’s plot to corrupt both the Word of God and the congregation, especially the young.
The result, frequently, is a fine Donnybrook that nearly comes to fisticuffs in the nave. Hot tempers, hot words spill over the sanctuary like blazing oil.
Yet each of these men and women operates from the same basic principle: a yearning for fulfillment, for happiness.
Each symbolizes that happiness differently, however. Thus, Bill enjoys the sense of duty fulfilled that comes with attendance . . . the warm feeling of being active on the right side. As a God-fearing man, he’s proud of raising his children in the right path, being head of a Christian family.
Bob, in contrast, isn’t content merely to stand up and be counted. A business type and aggressive he wants to help run the show from the church boardroom. It’s one of the things that makes him feel that he’s important.
Bert’s case is a little different. A bit paranoid, he’s suspicious ofall authority. The church gives him a point of focus. Add to that his conservatism, his feeling that any change is dangerous, and he’s an ideal convert for those who feel the trend to modernization is endangering the church itself and springs from Satan.
Three different men, three different personalities and attitudes. And despite what we’ve said here, any attempt to explain them is guesswork at best, born of our own views as much as of the facts.
Or what about Woman A, with whom we started? What gives her the drive and strength to cut her caloric intake and increase her exercise to the point that she loses weight . . . whereas Woman B, verbalizing the same goals and desires, somehow never gets around to it?
Because no one knows, your guess, your hypothesis—your rationalization, if you will—is as good as that of anyone else.
Assuming, that is, that you don’t go at the task and process blindly. You still need to learn all you can about the foundations upon which rationalizations can reasonably be based.
Don’t let your reasoning become involved to the point that it destroys credibility, however. Your fictional logic must, after all, reflect the thinking of your audience. Few Americans would accept the sexist orientation of Iran, with its requirements of the veil, the chador, and subservience of women, or our Hispanic maid’s idea that the stars caused disease. Likewise, few people today would see as a good father the domineering, razor-strop-wielding male prevalent a hundred years ago.
It’s also one thing to build a solid case, another to dive off the deep end in the manner of the British psychoanalyst who argued that Welsh miners’ strikes sprang from guilt reactions over their “rape” of Mother Earth.
In general, when setting up your people, you’ll find it most productive to explore again the three main areas of human activity: love, work, and society. Place special emphasis on the things we
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