Designing Novels, Part 2: Characters

[jeff_duntemann]

There was a time when characters didn't matter much in SF. The gimmick and the plot were primary, and the characters were named shadows that moved with the plot like wood chips floating downstream. A lot of the pulp fiction from the 40s and 50s that we now consider unreadable is unreadable for

Comments

[chris_gerrib]

I find it very helpful to explicitly state the "goal" of each character in these summaries.

Regarding "spear carriers who grow" - that's why I write everything on the computer! As the characters ferment and interact, I just go back and update the blurb.

I suspect that spear carriers growing into pivot characters is a feature, not a bug. I mean, you need these characters, and (frequently) it's easier to grab a spear carrier then create Yet Another Name.

The sequel to "The Mars Run" will co-star J. R. Story. Her original character blurb was (in its entirety) "J.R. - A pirate, female, red hair."

[jeff_duntemann]

Your J.R. clearly "grew" in much the same way that Jamie did, and I found her one of the most "organic" (i.e., not obviously "designed") characters in The Mars Run. She's definitely worth using again.

This phenomenon is a feature if your writing process is flexible enough to allow the unanticipated change in a character to enhance and not derail the project. Some people panic when they get an inspiration that forces them off the plotline they've consciously laid down in their minds or notes. I have myself, and it's interesting that the plot changes that resulted have been almost invariably better than what I had originally intended.

This is a goofy, spooky business sometimes.