206 A Character Walks into a Predicament (ENGLISH)

“A default sans serif font walks into a bar. The bartender says, ‘I’m sorry, we don’t serve your type here.’” We want more from our characters than that they are typos. On the other hand, we do need them to be recognizable types. Without the existence of types, it would be very difficult to tell a story at all. What we don’t want is stereotypes. So, how does one make a character unique? We can call upon back-story, digging up the their past, looking at foundational moments in their life, early gains and losses, victories and traumas. We can turn to their friends and enemies for an opinion, which we can choose to believe or not. What about their features; how much stock can we put in blond hair and blue eyes? Do we even need to describe a character at all? Julian Barnes has an amusing response to that question in FLAUBERT’S PARROT. Does our character have a hobby? A pet? An unlikely possession? Do we finger through their record collection? The books on their shelves? The food they like; the food they don’t like? What is their favourite colour? And, were you to make a list of such preferences and prejudices, would any of it actually constitute a living breathing character? That is what we’ll explore. Through a number of writing exercises, we will look in depth at the power of scene-work. This is the way readers best come to know a character, by what they say and do. We will follow Tim O’Brien’s advice and look at THE THINGS THEY CARRIED. What is in your character’s pocket, their tote, their personal baggage? But most importantly of all, what motivates them? What predicament are they likely to end up in? And why, when push comes to shove, should we care?

Instructor

Tim Wynne-Jones