“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow
after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” ― Ray
Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing
Although
The Book of Learning is an
action-packed fantasy adventure, the heart of the story focuses on the
emotional journey of twelve-year-old Ebony Smart. When her grandpa dies, Ebony
is sent to Dublin to live with an aunt she didn’t know existed, with only her
pet rat, Winston, for company. Aunt Ruby informs Ebony that she is part of
the Order of Nine Lives - a special tribe of people who reincarnate. She claims
Ebony has one week to break a terrible curse or else die – and if she fails,
the future of the Order of Nine Lives, and her family, is at risk. Immediately
believable, right?
Erm…hardly!
So how do you create fictional and otherworldly characters that are realistic,
grabbing the reader’s attention so they want to come on a journey with you? The
way I see it, there are three golden rules:
1)
Your reader must be able to feel emotion towards each
character (this can be positive or negative).
2)
Your reader must be able to identify with some aspects of
each character.
3)
Your characters must behave consistently – they should
change and grow, but in a way that is true to their personal world view.
Ernest
Hemingway famously said, “When writing a novel a
writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a
caricature.”
I think that’s the best advice I’ve
heard on creating characters. If you delved into the lives and family history
of most people, you’d find weird stories, skeletons in the closest, and
shocking or unbelievable events – as the saying goes, fact is often stranger
than fiction. So when you write fantasy and fantastical characters, you can
make anything believable so long as the characters show realistic personality
traits, believable emotions, and react in a way that suits their individuality.
My characters appear before the storyline
when I write my books, and I always write a ‘draft zero’ in exactly one month,
letting the characters lead me. It gives me the clay that I need to sculpt my
story. I don’t plot or plan character bios like some writers do, and I don’t
plot or plan my stories until the second draft – I write organically in the
early stages, and then add the details later.
When people find out you’re a
writer, they always want to know if you base your characters on real people.
They ask if you’ve got revenge on someone by writing them into a book. Friends
and family often want to know whether they feature as a character. As people
we’re curious about people – fictional or real. And seeing as books play out
differently in every reader’s mind, in every reader’s imagination, I believe
people in books are particularly intriguing.
Personally, I find that influences
come in many guises; your own experiences, your friends and family and
colleagues, characters in books and films, songs, random events you’ve
witnessed, conversations overheard, philosophical ideas… the possibilities are
endless. But when you take all these influences – often without realising or
intending to – and meld them into a character, that character then takes on a
real personality of its own.
Here’s
a bit of background into some of my characters - where they came from and how
they evolved…
Ebony Smart – Having grown up in
the South West of Ireland (where I live now), Ebony has to quickly adapt to
city life in Dublin (where I used to live), with a completely new family that’s
full of crazy ideas about being reincarnated. I needed Ebony to be a smart and
quick-witted girl, who was feisty but also adaptable. I’ve experienced plenty
of change and I’m extremely determined, so I put quite a lot of myself into the
character of Ebony. Then, for the crazy stuff, I researched some great
characters, including Lydia from Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Jo March from Little
Women, and I watched lots of Manga cartoons like Spirited Away, Origin and
Princess Mononoke.
Winston – I wanted Ebony to
have an animal that would be her friend, her one constant when she moves to her
new surroundings - and a pet rat fit the bill perfectly. When I was a teenager,
lots of my friends had rats as pets (some still do), and it always strikes me
how smart and wily these creatures are. Contrary to popular belief, rats are
actually very clean and affectionate when they’re not living in sewers.
Researching Winston was easy – a few memories, a trip to the pet shop, and some
YouTube clips. As for the talking bit – all animals communicate in their own
way. I just had to find a way for Ebony to be able to understand him.
Grandpa Tobias – As Ebony’s
guardian, I wanted Grandpa Tobias to be gentler on Ebony (like doting
grandparents often are), but with the sprightly spirit of e.g. Grandpa Joe from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I didn’t have any grandparents growing up,
but a lot of the Grandpa character is based on my own father. My father was 20
years older than my mother, so more of a grandpa age when I met him. I didn’t
know him very well at all, and he died a few years after we got in contact, but
he was my introduction to countryside living and it made a huge impression.
Rather than a true portrayal, this is what I imagined my father to be like when
I was small.
Zach Stone – This character
emerged from nowhere, and I couldn’t find another character like him for
inspiration. So instead, I followed the advice of friend and author, Isabel
Abedi: I chose an actor (Ezra Miller) who could play him. Then I watched some
YouTube clips to see how the actor moved, how he reacted to things, the faces
he pulled. This really helped to give Zach colour and personality.
This
is just a brief insight into some of the characters in The Book of Learning and how they developed. All authors write
differently, but I hope this post has given you an idea of how my own characters
become people rather than caricatures.
What
about you? As a writer, where do you get inspiration for your characters? And
as a reader, which characters have stayed with you and why?
Fab post! Thanks, Elizabeth - I can't wait to read the book! In addition to the awesome post, we have photos of Elizabeth's dog Franklyn. Because like me, she knows my audience well!
For more from Elizabeth and Franklyn, check her out on Twitter, Facebook and her blog.
For more from Elizabeth and Franklyn, check her out on Twitter, Facebook and her blog.
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