Authors and their Characters

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

John 21:25

Who the characters are on paper are like the tip of the iceberg. As an author, I have a much larger perspective of that character’s identity.

Even though Jesus was a real person, and even though He is an extreme example, this scripture may hold true for each one of us. And a well written character, especially a protagonist or antagonist, should be like a real person.

If other authors are like me, they know much more about their characters than what is written in the story you read.

When I was 16 and my brother was 11, we co-wrote a book together. It can never be published because there was some major plagiarism in it, primarily from movies we grew up watching, but it was an extremely fun and rewarding experience. It was a character driven sitcom-esque book with quirky situations centered around a fairly weak plot. One of the most fun parts of writing the story was all the jokes and situations we came up with that had nothing to do with the plot and would never make it into the story itself. At random points in the day, we would interject the character into our real moments, joking about how he or she would react: “Of course, that wouldn’t be the case for George. He would have . . .” or “That’s something John would have said.”

The result was that the characters came alive for us. We each knew them as good friends, or annoying nemeses, depending on the character. They still seem very much real to me, twenty years later, and going back and reading the draft is like connecting with a very old relationship.

When you’ve experimented with your characters in random situations that fall outside the story you’re telling, they jump off the page. As a writer, you will make less “out of character” mistakes. You will also put together a more sincere conflict and plot. Your character’s voice will be more realistic.

Most rewarding of all will be that relationship you form with your character. JK Rowling revealed that the character she would most likely want to have dinner with is Dumbledore, even though her favorite character is Harry Potter himself:

I’ve never written a seven-book series, and I can only imagine the place that Harry and his friends will have in Rowling’s heart.