How to Write Fiction

Creating Characters Part 1 - The Physical

Sirius Black is probably my favorite literary character of all time. I love him so much that his name is the password to my Wifi (should you ever feel the need to hack it). When I saw the movie for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Gary Oldman's deranged mug flashed across that first news article, I almost cried--and not in a good way.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Gary Oldman ♥, with capital letters and emojis, but I would NEVER have cast him in the role of Sirius Black if I were given such power.

Don't agree with me??? GOOD! That's the point of this article.

So, how do you craft characters that will dominate the fantasies of your readers?? Give just enough physical detail to spark your reader's imagination.

The less specific you can make a character, the more relatable they are to a broader audience. You want to get specific enough to make your character real without being so specific that you risk small details tripping up your reader.

You want to guide your reader's imagination to craft a character who is both yours AND THEIRS. In this sacred author/reader covenant is where characters are born that transcend the story and exist long past the words THE END.

I'm sure this advice is likely blasphemy to a lot of you. As writers, we want our readers to SEE EXACTLY WHAT WE SEE IN OUR MINDS. We use all sorts of literary devices to accomplish this. In fact, we like it so much that Wattpad included a little feature called a "Cast List" where our readers can see which actors we would cast as certain characters.

There's nothing wrong with this, but had JK Rowling shown me a picture of Gary Oldman following her description of Sirius Black in the book, I would have loved him less.

To illustrate my point, I tossed out this description of one of my leading men to some friends and had them tell me who they pictured in THEIR mind using a famous person:

Across the field, the man's gaze locked with mine, his dark eyes drawing my attention with all the force of a black hole. He was tall, with dark hair tied back and shoulders that looked strong enough to bear the weight of the world with me.

Here are the responses I got:
Antonio Banderas
Luke Evans
Richard Armitage

Who did I see when I wrote this character? Jason Momoa (the dude that played Kahl Drogo in Game of Thrones. See photo above.)

Now, I could daydream all day long about some Drogo... but Keanu Reeves doesn't do it for me at all. Keanu would be the Gary Oldman to my Sirius Black.

By leaving the description JUST DESCRIPTIVE ENOUGH, I can appeal to a broader audience.

Q/A

Is nationality or race really important?

Not necessarily. My main character described above is (in my mind) American Indian. But, it wouldn't change the story at all if he was Korean (@winterstar5) or Asgardian (ahem), or heck--Jason Momoa is Hawaiian. I also considered casting Brandon Lee for this part in the movie, if he wasn't, ya know, dead. RIP Brandon. xoxo

What about facial features?

If your MC has a glaring scar down his face from a knife fight, that could be important. If he/she wears an eyepatch, that's probably a crucial detail. High cheekbones, thin noses, and plump lips are rarely story breakers. Just remember: what you find appealing some readers might not. Use it when it's necessary.

But, eL. your MC has long hair, and I don't think that's attractive. What's up with that?

My MC's long hair is important to his character. It's part of the time period... or he's going to die because it gets caught in chicken wire....or he might be Samson--you don't know. It's a risk I'm willing to take because it's important to the story.

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@-LizzieBrooks- won the dedication for this chapter for correctly guessing Jason Momoa in the thread. Great minds think alike!