Are you a beginning writer or have you been working on your craft for a bit? Are you trying to develop a story, but it seems to be falling flat and you can’t figure out why? Maybe you need conflict. Here’s why.
more “The Need for Conflict!”
As writers, we tend to fall in love with our characters. And we should. They are our word children. Just like parents, we treasure our children. We love them. We want the absolute best for them.
All the time.
Nothing should ever happen to them.
And… this is unhealthy and boring.
Who wants to read about a character where nothing happens? Their story ends before it begins.
Of course, as real parents we want to keep our children safe. Yet, we also want them to learn and grow, to interact with the world, and to learn to be their own people. That means letting them make mistakes and work out the consequences. It means being available but also watching to see what they’ll do and think on their own.
Just like in parenting actual children, our characters don’t like it when we hover and tell them what to do without experiencing it for themselves. Readers don’t like it either.
So how do we keep from over-protecting our characters and making them bland?
Our characters aren’t going to have any type of self-improvement or character development by the end of the story if they always make the right choice. Do our kids always make the right choice? No. Neither do I. We must let our characters fail. It makes them relatable.
Even young characters need not be talked down to. Recognize the milestones they’ve hit and don’t take them backward…unless it’s necessary for the plot—like a regression to show how they handle conflict.
My earliest manuscripts were written when my kids were babies. So, when I started writing a middle grade novel, my critique buddy had to call me out. “The mom in this story keeps rescuing the main character. Let the kid solve her own problems.†She was right!! What eight through twelve-year-old wants their mom to come tie their shoes? AWKWARD! (Don’t worry, I didn’t actually do that.
As a mom or dad, it’s hard to see our kids struggle. Yet, we must let them navigate their obstacles. They will fail at some. They will succeed with others. Let them. And…
Why should the character decide this? It shows they have agency. It also reveals what is important to them, unveiling their drive and purpose, without just telling the reader point by point. This is showing versus telling.
Our characters need to have emotions to show what kind of person they are. Do they get angry at a particular cause? Frustrated if they don’t always get their way? Celebrate when another character is successful? Cheer on others? Hopefully we wouldn’t disagree with the last two statements, but what if they cheer for the wrong person? Help the bad guy? Get excited by attention from the wrong person?
We can’t make them a copycat of us or anyone we know. (Unless it’s a memoir or nonfiction.) Let your character decide what they like and don’t like, how they spend their time, and how they handle a problem. Add appropriate reinforcement when necessary.
Usually when we let go and let our characters fail, try again, make messes, create goals, etc. we discover the same thing we discover with our own children…they’re going to be okay. More than okay. They are stronger, aligned to their purpose, and in touch with their feelings.
And that leaves us loving our characters in a healthy way!
Marci Whitehurst is a former educator, theater and speech coach, a children’s author, rancher’s wife, and mother of three who lives on a cattle ranch in Montana. Her passion is sharing His Light and Life with a wounded world through stories, poems, and blog posts. She blogs about connecting with the kid inside all of us at www.marciwhitehurst.subtack.com. She can also be reached through her website at www.marciwhitehurst.com. Find her on X(Twitter) at @marciwhitehurst and on instagram @marci_whitehurst.
By now, you’ve probably seen Linus tell Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, seen Snoopy reunite with his brother Spike, and felt empathy for poor Rerun who is probably still stuck on that bike. For many, it’s tradition to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Specials every year. And for many, it is the only medium where Schulz’s work is still consumed. But the great cartoonist didn’t start off making classic television specials. In 1950, when he was just two years younger than me (27) he sold his first strip of Peanuts. According to David Michaelis in the first volume of The Complete Peanuts, “At the peak of Schulz’s popularity, Peanuts captured three hundred and fifty-five million readers, and the merchandising of the brand created a franchise unlike any the funny papers had ever known, with the cartoonist himself earning from $30 million to $40 million a year.†So take that kite out of the tree, play some soft jazz in the background, and cuddle up with a warm puppy. It’s time to talk about what writers can learn from Charles Schulz.
As writers for children, what better cast of characters to learn from than the iconic Peanuts gang? Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, Pig Pen, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie. The first and most obvious lesson Charles Schulz can teach us is about characters. While editors warn us about having children in our stories as adults in disguise, let us appreciate the genius of Schulz who makes children think like adults. They never offered lessons to each other (except for perhaps the previously mentioned Christmas scene), but instead they all wanted to be little adults. Charlie Brown is melancholy yet wants to be great. Linus was precocious, yet still literally clung to his security blanket. Schroder played sophisticated classical music…on his children’s play piano. Not only are these characters unique, but they all have depth to them. A certain twist of irony. A dog is the best baseball player. Lucy wants to be sweet and lovely, but she can cut you down by word or fist. It is important to remember that while adults can look at children’s problems as miniscule or simple, children don’t feel this way. A child can feel as deep of betrayal as an adult can. Kids have big feelings they need to process, and they usually process them by talking to their peers. Which is why Lucy’s advice stand is making a killing. While we should try to encourage children to listen to adults, we all know deep down that when adults talk, all children hear is, “Wah wah wah wah.â€
Something else we can learn from Schulz is condensed storytelling. Think you need hundreds of pages to tell a story? Think again. Most Peanuts strips are three panels, with just a few words if necessary. At over 17,000 strips over almost 5 decades, Peanuts is either the longest graphic novel ever, or it is a long-running series of short stories. I tend to believe the latter because you can pop into any strip, no matter what came before or after, and still get the joke. Because the story works on its own. Take this panel for example. In just 28 words, Schulz tells one of the funniest jokes ever. For a cartoonist, Schulz was competing against a short attention span among readers. There was plenty of other strips to read, not to mention the sports section, headlines, features, politics, obituaries, etc. Sound familiar? Our entire social media feeds are just like the newspapers of old, each section trying their hardest to get your attention. If you want a child to pick up your story and see it through to the end, be concise. Be hilarious. Be like Schulz.
While many of the Peanuts gang are cute, it is important to remember one tiny detail: they can all be a bit rude. While we laugh off insults like “blockhead†Schulz let his kids be kids. They were imperfect. Sometimes selfish, mean, and violent. Now I’m not saying they are brats, but they have their flaws. Which makes them all the more lovable. Many children in stories today are disrespectful, crude, and downright naughty. While you shouldn’t make your characters like Gregg Hefley or George and Herald from Captain Underpants, you should also be careful to remove that halo above your characters. Because no one ever learned a lesson by doing what was right the first time around. Sadly, we as humans learn from our mistakes. So don’t be afraid to have your characters lose their temper, get the blues, or threaten to slug someone. Just make sure they have redeeming qualities in the end. Good grief!
What is your favorite moment from the Charlie Brown specials? My mom’s favorite, is “I wasn’t made for winter!â€
Let me know in the comments below!
Just like his two older brothers, Kyle Morgan was homeschooled from Kindergarten through High School. When he is not busy writing, the next classic children’s book, Kyle loves spending time with his family, all things baseball, and watching black and white movies. He is a monthly contributor to Write2Ignite where he blogs about writing for children. His work has appeared in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, The Caldwell Perspective and StarLight Magazine. You can check out his Facebook page or follow him on Instagram.
Each year 5th graders in the school where I teach become buddies with a kindergartner. They sit with them in chapel, listen to them read, and also write and illustrate a picture book for their kindergarten buddy. The 5th graders created characters and wrote their stories. Their teacher then asked me to help them with the illustrations, so we looked at picture books to discover how pictures help tell the story.
The students noticed that illustrators often gave something distinctive to each character, such as a kerchief around a dog’s neck, a colorful cap, or even sunglasses. When we brainstormed how to make their characters special, ideas popped up like colorful balls in a toddler’s corn popper push toy.
more “Creating Characters Who Have Hearts and Souls”
According to Elaine Marie Alphin (Creating Characters Kids Will Love p. 2)
“Kids read because a magical closeness springs up between them and the characters in books and stories—the same magical closeness I felt as a child. They read because a writer has brought a character to life on the page for them.â€
Every great children’s story pivots around a character who has a problem, a desire, or a need. Through the events and conflicts of the story this character, by personal investment and volition, solves that problem, gains that desire (or loses it) or meets that need. In doing so, that character changes grows or learns something.
So, how DO we create memorable characters?
For me, every story begins with the main character. I’ll be thinking “what ifs†and a character will parachute into my head. This usually gets me pretty excited! I get a rough idea of what’s going to happen to this character and how they are going to react.
Next, I get to know that character really well. Some writers do this on paper or screen. I do it mentally for picture books. I can actually “see†the character. That picture is sometimes sketchy. I learn more and more about that character as I write the story.
I try to keep the following in mind with my characters.
1. Is this person acting and reacting in realistic ways?
Is this really how a kid this age would think? Talk? Act? React to this situation? If not, ask kids that age how they would act or react. Or watch popular kid’s shows on TV. Or observe kids at a park, library, mall. (Careful! No stalking!)
2. Does this character have flaws?
If so, GOOD! Nobody is perfect. Do these flaws affect how they will react further down the story line? Readers can’t relate to a character who never gets in trouble, never has a mean thought, never acts sneaky, never laughs at someone else’s mistakes. If a character or their life is all good, there’s no story for me to write. My character must have room to grow in the story. Also, does my bad guy have at least one redeeming trait? One tiny grain of goodness in their soul?
3. Have I created enough CONFLICT in this kid’s life or situation?
Here is my personal nemesis. I hate conflict! But NO CONFLICT means NO STORY. Remember the elements of story? Conflicts, problems, issues, sticky situations are the blood and bone of story. No problems to face, to overcome??? YAWN!
4. Is this character someone my readers will love, or maybe hate? Can they feel for them?
If readers don’t identify with or connect with a character either positively or negatively they won’t keep reading the story.
5. Is this character bigger-than-life? Sometimes my characters start with someone I know personally, or someone I see out in public. Are they cute? Make them cuter. Funny? Make them funnier. Sneaky? Make them sneakier. EXAGGERATION, ABSURDITY, PREPOSTEROUSNESS (Yes, that is a real word.) make readers laugh and cry, tremble and shriek with your characters. And it makes them identify with your characters because they know that they themselves are not perfect either.
6. Is this character well-rounded in the story, or one dimensional? Do I SHOW (not tell) how they think? How they act? How they feel? How they speak? Do they always say the same thing? Act exactly the same way? A character who doesn’t fluctuate or change isn’t acting human, and adds nothing to the story.
7. Are each of my characters distinctive? Does the way each of them speaks and acts instantly show my reader which character is in the scene? Can I write dialogue without tags so that readers can identify who is saying each line?
8. Does my main character have one primary trait that the story focuses on? Is their story about their courage? Their fear? Their loneliness? Their optimism? Deciding this gives me a good clue as to the theme of my story. Isolating the way my main character changes identifies the theme of the story.
9. Have I built motivation into this character? Is their need, desire or problem big enough to motivate them to do the things they must do to make the story great? If not, I need to change their personality or situation enough to drive them to go after their goal.
A great story filled with action is fun to read. But if we want readers to ask for more, to keep reading the things we write, we must tell that story through amazing and unforgettable characters.
Now plop down in that desk chair and create someone who is unforgettable!
Joyce Hostetter will be presenting on Creating Memorable Characters at our Master Class on September 19. You can find more information here. We hope to see you there!