How to "Create" Characters

An author writes a novel to tell a story but it's the people in the novel that must make the story happen. For example, if a theft is going to take place, one of the characters must be the thief. Most novels have two or three basic characters and perhaps half a dozen secondary ones. So the author must bring into existence thieves and murderers, nuns and adulterers, post-office clerks or bank managers to breathe life into his story. Notice I said “bring into existence” and not “create”. The difference is subtle, but it's what separates the great works of literature from the trash that eventually finds its way to the recycle bin.

Good authors don't create characters. They observe them in every day life and copy them. How else could it be? How would they know how thieves behave and interact with others if they haven't met any? If they created a thief and gave him characteristics that they think a thief should have, readers who have met actual thieves in their lives would not believe in him. Sooner or later word would get around and the book would be forgotten. Authors write fiction but we can only enjoy the story if we feel that the characters are real, if we can believe in them. And if the author has not copied his characters from life but created them, he might as well send them to Mars!

Now reader you probably think that I am putting you on. Isn't everyone saying that authors “create” characters? I mean the first thing we read in any novel, usually under the copyright statement, is that the characters are the product of the author's imagination and that they bear no relation to any living persons. Right? Hogwash!

No major work of fiction and no respectable author can exist unless their characters have been copied from real life. Aunt Jemima might be aunt Margaret in the story, but if we are to think that aunt Margaret is real, then it's a good idea that she resembles aunt Jemima as much as possible. Of course she doesn't have to be an exact copy. An author might change some of her characteristics. He might have her knit instead of sew or give her blue eyes instead of brown if that is necessary to the story. Still, he must be very careful. He can't for instance have her solve crossword puzzles then show her to have a limited vocabulary. There are millions of such traps to fall into and the more an author ventures off his real life model, the easier it becomes for him to make a slip and make his character unbelievable.

But what if the author needs an aunt Jemima for his story but hasn't met one? In this case there are two things he must not do: First, in no way can this aunt Jemima be a major character. Major characters are so well woven into the story that the reader becomes intimate with them and unless they are real to a large extent, the author will be exposed. Second, the author must never copy aunt Jemima from another novel. If he does, then his book will have a photocopy of a photocopy, and we all know how clear those are. What can he actually do though?

In my latest novel Bird of Prey (2010) for example, a secondary character who was an ancient coin forger was absolutely necessary to the plot. I had never met such a person so I set this as one of my priorities. Through various contacts I actually managed to find one and we met in his shop. I talked to him for five minutes. I had a good idea of his appearance and actually saw his shop but I didn't manage to persuade him to see me again. So for all practical purposes, I knew nothing about him. What motivated him to forge ancient coins for example? Just money? What about the risks he took? It would have been nice if I knew someone who knew him intimately, but such men hide their profession even from their wives so what could I do?

The best course of action is psychological research articles, but there are shortcuts. In my case The Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein came to my rescue. Ms Edelstein has analyzed the available psychological research of most professions, personality types and criminal activities to give us a peek into what various people are like and what makes them tick. In my case, when I looked-up forger of Art, I found that:

-Rarely women

-Respectable, may run a reputable business in restoration

-Almost a creative artist, good technical ability

-Draws inspiration from others' work, based on someone else's technique

-Justification is “If I can paint a picture that people buy as a Monet, I must be as good as the original”

-Buyers, dealers, and experts do not like to believe they can be duped

-Success folsters self esteem

-May be a one-time event or a career

-Financial gain may be secondary to creating a sensational object

-Amateurs are motivated by envy, jealousy, inferiority, and desire for attention

These guidelines were enough for me to understand my character's motive and construct his dialogues. At the end I became so convincing that most of my readers found this character one of the better secondary characters in the book. Still, there was no way I could stretch him into a major character without getting into trouble. How would he, for instance, interact with other characters? What would his life be like beyond his profession? Are such men timid or vulgar? Or doesn't it matter?

That's why the major characters in any novel must be based on people the author knows intimately. They can be no less than his lovers, his boss or his best friends. And because he exposes their pitfalls to anyone who can read, they conceivably might get mad, stop talking to him or even sue.

So at the end, the author must hide behind his thumb and claim that they are the products of his imagination!