Brief biography of the character. A fictional person must be different from a reasonable person
Heroes and characters play a key role in the narrative - we look at the world through their eyes, we live with their feelings, we empathize with them throughout the story. However, in order for the image to be complete and “alive”, you will have to work hard on it, inventing and writing out all its elements.
So, What does the image of any character consist of? The two main parts are the appearance and the inner world. And each of these parts, in turn, consists of several interconnected elements.
Creating the appearance of the hero
1. Visual appearance.
Common elements of the visual image are the color of the eyes, hair and skin, height and weight, build, facial features, the presence or absence of any limbs, gait - stooped or with a straight back. Additional items – unusual shape ears or lips, hairstyle, scars, lameness, glasses, moles, mustache-beard, freckles, etc.
Appearance is a sign. And our consciousness is filled with stereotypes that respond to signs. Just as with the iconic word “apple,” we imagine the image of the fruit and its taste, and when describing a hero, we associate his appearance with his character.
For example, many will immediately consider a plump and short man to be a good-natured person, a red-haired and green-eyed woman to be a passionate and freedom-loving person, a limping black-eyed man with a scar to be definitely a bandit, a blue-eyed blonde to be a short-minded angel. And so on.
When choosing the color of eyes and hair for a character, we not only focus on our own ideal, but also subconsciously attribute to him the traits of a stereotype. And you can play on this, making the plump “good guy” the main villain, and the blond angel the imp, surprising readers with the surprise of perception.
2. Clothes and shoes.
We dress ourselves based on our character traits (in everyday life), out of necessity (season or work), out of fashion, out of national characteristics or features of the subculture (emo or goths). We dress and shoe the characters according to the same principles. And we also choose the color and cut of clothes and shoes, accessories like scarves or hats.
To knowledgeable people, clothing and its color will tell a lot about us - about our character, preferences and fears. When working on the image of a knowledge hero psychological characteristics- at least color range- can be very useful. It is also useful to study local subcultures - they are symbolic, and based on them you can create something of your own.
3. Auditory and kinesthetic (tactile) perception.
TO auditory perception First of all, it concerns the timbre of the voice. And you can play on the correspondence and inconsistency of voice and appearance, diversifying the image and surprising the reader.
Auditory perception of an image also includes all sounds made by a person: coughing, grunting, sniffling, exclamation, laughter. And a person who tirelessly sniffles or blows his nose causes a certain emotional reaction, which will complement the image. As well as the vocal characteristics of national speech characteristics - the well-known dialect “okanye” or “yakanye”, “swallowing” of the last syllable, etc.
The whole range human emotions reflected in the voice - in a surprised exclamation, in a rise in tone when angry, in a stutter when embarrassed, in a cry when dissatisfied, etc. The Russian language is rich in descriptions of emotions, you just need to choose the right ones for your character.
Kinesthetic perception – these are feelings from a person. Smells, intuitive perception, aura sensation. There are well-known common expressions - “he gave off an aura of danger”, “he had heavy energy, and he was overwhelming.” And there’s no need to talk much about smells, and that’s understandable. And you should not neglect these sensations, they are integral part character and
Literary course "Creating a hero"
Suitable for those who are starting to write a book, and for those who want to finalize and “revive” a ready-made hero.
In 14 days you will receive all the necessary theory and step-by-step practical tasks. At the end of the course you will have in your hands full story hero. You will recognize his motives and come up with bright plot twists, which will show the development of the hero’s character in the best possible way.
4. Emotional and behavioral reactions.
Facial expressions, gestures, changes in movements or complexion - all this beneficially complements the character's appearance. Without them, he seems cardboard, drawn, unreal, lifeless.
Emotional reactions
- this is, in fact, emotional response on your own or someone else’s words, on behavior, on an unexpected meeting, on the feelings that one character experiences for another, on the attitude towards what is happening.
Thus, characters turn pale with anger, red with rage, pink with embarrassment, and green with melancholy. They smile joyfully or maliciously, wince with displeasure, squint in suspicion and make grimaces, teasing.
Behavioral reactions– this is visible behavior: in gestures or movements, habitual or changing in different situations.
Habitual reactions- these are mechanical movements, those that the person himself no longer notices, but does constantly.
Some people like to twirl a strand of hair around their finger, some like to pinch their earlobe, some like to scratch their nose or heel, while others reinforce their words with gestures and waves their hands when speaking. This also includes gait and sitting - on the sofa or at the table (often found: “habitually lounging on the sofa” or “habitually sitting up with your feet in a chair”).
Changing reactions– these are changes in habitual actions or in actions depending on situations.
Thus, a person slouches when there is a cold wind, shudders and looks around when shouted sharply, shakes a finger or shows a fist, stretches or rubs his tailbone after sitting for a long time, speeds up his step when he is late, etc.
Of course, in the initial description of a character, all these elements cannot be taken into account, but they can be gradually developed, weaving them into the plot on occasion. But first they need to be invented and collected into a single image. It can help with this - for yourself, for those around you, for random passers-by.
Any person is already, consider, a ready-made character in a work, from whom you can copy the appearance. Just like borrowing the inner world that will be discussed.
We invite you!
Daria Gushchina
writer, science fiction author
(VKontakte page
1. What are the character's values? Money, friendship, power, faith, something else? How important are they to him?
2. What is visually beautiful for a character and what is ugly? “Externally” implies all five senses, some music can be beautiful for him, and some smell can be disgusting. A certain style in general can be beautiful - for example, some are crazy about Gothic.
A) Does the character have an ideal of beauty, someone or something that seems to him to be perfect, absolutely beautiful?
B) Is there something that disgusts him?
Q) How important is beauty to a character?
3. Does the character have strong moral principles?
A) How strict are they?
B) Can he sacrifice them? If yes, under what circumstances?
Q) Is there a concept of taboo, Sin, for the character, that is, it is impossible simply because it is impossible?
TEST 1: How would the character answer the question "What would you never do?"
TEST 2: How does the character feel about the expression “If you can’t, but you really want to, then you can”?
4. Is the character honest?
A) Under what circumstances is a character capable of lying? Is it easy for him, or will he be honest to the last?
B) How does the character feel about lying?
5. Does the character profess any religion/philosophy?
A) Why does he profess this particular religion/philosophy?
B) Has he previously practiced any other religion/philosophy? If so, why did he change it?
Q) How serious does he take his religion/philosophy?
6. What does the character want from life - fame, prosperity, love? How does he want to live - quietly and well-fed, wandering in search of adventure, luxuriously and richly, alone in the wilderness?
7. Is there something the character lives for?
A) Does he believe that he has a goal in life that he must achieve or a mission that he must fulfill?
B) What is the meaning of his life, something without which he cannot imagine himself? In free wanderings, communication with friends, battles?
Q) Does the character have a secret dream, the most important desire?
TEST: How would the character himself answer the question “What do you live for”?
8. How does the character feel about death?
A) What does the character think death is? Does the "official" opinion of the religion/philosophy he professes coincide with his own idea?
B) Is he afraid to die?
Q) How does the sight of a dead body make him feel?
9. Is the character easily scared? What is he afraid of? Does he have irrational fears, phobias, nightmares?
10. Under what circumstances would a character run for his life?
11. Is the character romantic or rather cynical?
A) Is the character inclined to embellish the situation, to “look at the world through rose-colored glasses”?
B) If not, is the character inclined to “rip off the rose-colored glasses” of others and de-romanticize the situation?
12. Is the character optimistic, realistic, or pessimistic?
A) Is he prone to whining?
B) Does he tend to encourage others?
TEST 1: Fast! Is the character's glass half full or half empty? Does cognac smell like bedbugs, or do bedbugs smell like cognac? Does he have a lower salary, or does his neighbor have more?
TEST 2: The party is in a cave filled with stones. The blockage is serious and it is hardly possible to cope with it on our own. They don't know if anyone knows where they are or what's happening to them. them with equal probability They can save you in an hour or never. How will the character behave in such a situation?
CHARACTER'S ATTITUDE TO OTHERS
1. Is the opinion of others about him important to the character? A) Is the character prone to showing off, “playing for the audience”?
B) Does the character strive to be liked by others?
Q) What would he like people to think about him? Who does he want to look like in the eyes of others?
2. Is the character sociable?
A) Is it easy for him to get along with new acquaintances?
B) Does he like to be in company, or prefers solitude?
TEST 1: Does your character like to party?
TEST 2: How would the character feel about the prospect of spending two days at home all alone?
3. Is the character tolerant of others?
A) Can he tolerate it when others behave, in his opinion, incorrectly?
B) Is he prone to moralizing?
4. Does the character divide people into “friends” and “strangers”?
A) How strictly is the line between “us” and “they” drawn for the character?
B) How does his behavior differ with “his own” and “strangers”?
Q) Under what circumstances will a “stranger” become a “friend” for a character? Is it easy?
D) How does the character treat strangers and strangers?
D) Is there such a thing as “enemies” for a character?
5. Is the character prone to any kind of chauvinism?
A) How does it affect a character’s attitude towards another character:
a. Floor?
b. Age?
c. Race?
d. Appearance?
e. Cloth?
f. Social status?
B) Does the character have any special relationship with members of his race?
Q) How does the character relate to representatives of non-humanoid (Greenskins, Martians, centaurs, etc.) races?
D) How does the character relate to manifestations of other people’s chauvinism?
TEST: Tavern. A tipsy group sits at the table next to the character and tells jokes about his race (“Do you know how many hobbits it takes to change a light bulb?...”). His reaction?
6. Is the character inclined to forgive, or is he more vindictive? Are there things he doesn't forgive?
7. Is the character vindictive?
A) What is the character inclined to take revenge for?
B) How important is revenge to him?
Q) If the character takes revenge, will it be on the principle of “an eye for an eye” or on the principle of “he will be repaid a hundredfold”?
D) How far can the character go in his revenge?
D) What lengths is he willing to go to in order to take revenge?
E) If it turns out that revenge requires too much time, effort and money, will the character give up or go to the end?
8. Is the character prone to self-sacrifice?
A) Under what circumstances can he risk his health or life?
B) Under what circumstances will he go to his IMMINENT death?
C) Under what circumstances is a character willing to sacrifice...
1) Soul?
2) By reason?
3) Freedom?
4) Welfare?
5) The main force(For a magician this is an opportunity to cast magic, for a priest it is God’s blessing, for a cyberpunk hacker it is a neuroshunt)?
6) Close?
D) Is there anything that the character will not sacrifice under any circumstances?
TEST: Compare two situations.
First: Fight. The character sees that a crossbow is being aimed at his comrade. He may have time to cover it with his body, but there is no time for anything else.
Second: The character's friend is going to be hanged. There is no chance of release, but there is an opportunity to change places with him. There is time to think things over.
Will the character's behavior be different in these situations?
9. How freedom-loving is the character?
A) Is he inclined to obey, or, on the contrary, the fact that he is ordered makes him want to do the opposite? If rather the second one, that is, is there someone to whom he is still ready to obey (“Besides the Lord, I have not known kings...”)?
B) How does he relate to senior officials and government officials?
C) How does he feel about the power of the law over himself?
D) Is he inclined to punctually follow the instructions given to him, or would he rather do it first and then figure it out?
D) Can the character come to terms with slavery?
E) Can the character endure slavery for a while?
G) Could the character serve (For example, at a table)?
H) Would the character easily submit to the force, or would he stand to the last?
I) Is there anything that would make the character humiliate himself?
J) Are there concepts of “Duty of Service”, “Duty of Honor”, etc. for him?
K) Is there a difference for a character between submitting to someone who has legal authority over him and submitting to someone who is simply stronger?
10. How powerful is the character?
A) Does the character like to order others around?
B) How does he treat juniors?
Q) How does the character behave with subordinates?
D) Could the character become a slave owner?
D) Could the character become a boss?
E) How does the character relate to people with a slave mentality who are ready to obey?
G) How does he treat those who are rebellious and do not recognize authority over themselves?
11. Is the character cruel?
A) How does he feel about other people’s death and suffering? Are they terrible for him, does he look at them in cold blood, or does he rejoice at them?
B) Can he kill? If yes, under what circumstances? How will he feel? Will this be a shock or pleasure for him, or will he react to it with indifference?
Q) Has he killed before? If yes, under what circumstances? How did this affect him?
D) Is the character capable of torture? How cruel? If so, how will he feel?
D) In combat, does the character only try to defend himself, disarm, immobilize, maim, or kill opponents?
TEST 1: A stranger armed with a sword runs towards the character. The character has a loaded pistol in his hands. He is guaranteed to be able to hit any point on a runner’s body, shoot into the air, or run away. His actions? What about in a situation where there is no way to escape?
TEST 2: Before the character's eyes, a person familiar to the character (for example, a member of his team) is going to finish off a defeated enemy who is unable to resist. His reaction?
TEST 3: A character's acquaintance is about to torture a prisoner. Character's reaction? Will he try to stop him, turn away, participate, observe, or remain indifferent?
TEST 4: The character's acquaintance used torture. Will this change your character's attitude towards him? How?
CHARACTER'S ATTITUDE TO HIMSELF
1. How does the character feel about himself? A) Does he treat himself pathetically or with a degree of self-irony?
B) How much does he love himself?
Q) Does it happen that a character hates or despises himself?
D) How does the character feel about insults addressed to him?
D) How does the character feel about laughing at himself?
E) Does the character tend to feel sorry for himself?
TEST: While talking with friends, a character accidentally makes a funny and stupid slip of the tongue. Friends laugh joyfully. His reaction? Will he be offended, angry, or laugh with them? How will his reaction change if those with whom he speaks are not friends, but unfamiliar people?
2. How satisfied is the character with himself? Is there anything in his character that he would like to change?
3. How confident is the character? Does he believe that he will succeed?
TEST: The character stands on the edge of a wide and wide gorge, across which a ghostly bridge is thrown. He knows that “The bridge can only support those who believe in themselves.” His actions?
4. Is it easy to influence him or convince him of anything? How does he react to attempts to influence him?
TEST: A preacher on the street stops the character and begins to expound on his faith, convincing him to join it. His reaction?
5. How much control does the character have over himself?
A) Is it easy to provoke a character to take some action?
B) Is it easy to bring him into a state of passion?
Q) Is it easy for a character, being in a state of passion, to pull himself together?
D) Does the character have a pet peeve, something that makes them lose their temper easily?
D) Does it happen that in a state of passion he commits actions that he later regrets?
E) Is there something that is difficult for the character to overcome?
6. How does the character have fun and relieve stress?
A) Does the character have hobbies or interests?
B) What does he like to do?
Q) What does he not like to do?
D) Does he have any bad (or harmless) habits? How much does he depend on them?
D) What is more important for the character - “I have to” or “I want”?
E) Can he satisfy his desires at the expense of his duties?
G) Can he suppress desires for the sake of responsibilities?
It’s also worth including all the scars and features of the body. Each big or small scar has its own story and the character's reaction to this story, positive or negative, with irony or nostalgia. The same is with the characteristics of the body, large lung capacity - runs longer, more convolutions of the brain - smarter, no fingers right hand– maybe he’s clumsy;)
- We give a name
Eh, a very important point in my opinion, but at the same time, logic fades into the background if you want to call your hero something cool name and you don’t care that a name also affects a person’s life.
Let's subject ourselves to common sense and define it this way: if the actions take place in our world and in our time, then you go into the directory and choose a name in accordance with the character; if in our world, but in the past you give names in accordance with that era and place, it is possible without character, but with meaning; if the action takes place in a fantasy or fantasy world, then you already have complete freedom of choice.
If you're having trouble coming up with a name, then good help There will be various kinds of geographical, astrological, biological and other reference books - you open them, find an alphabetical index and transform the names of places, terms and phenomena into the names of your heroes.
- Life story
And my favorite part of creating a character is combining everything described above and creating a complete personality out of it.
History, or the biography of a character, is the “lubricant” that will allow you to link some character traits with others and “revive” the hero of your story. In the biography it is also worth mentioning the parents and how they influenced the character, their personal qualities, something our subject could adopt from them, refuse something, they could force him to do something, how they pampered him, how they punished him. .d.
If your character's behavior has any unique habit or feature, it's time to describe the history of its origin here, and make it as vivid and memorable as possible for the character.
In general, having the traits described in detail from the previous paragraphs, you are ready to create a “living” and unique personality, which has no analogues yet. You can do a little test, do everything described above for a character, then take one of your friends and do the same steps, and then let your friends compare and say that one of them was invented by you, and the other real man. So let them think who is who, and you can check how much real hero you created.
- How to prepare to draw a comic
- How to invent a comic book world
P.S. Guys, listen to those who don’t know, I’m in my twenties and I heard that at this time, if you have scoliosis, you can’t straighten your posture. But found it here“corrector” and there was a desire to buy. When I run, my back hurts terribly - I need to fix it. Has anyone tried these correctors? I want to take it, and I will take it, but I’m interested in the successful experience of my readers, has anyone tried it? =)
That's all for today, everyone creative mood Friends!
Hero work of art could be anyone - from a cockroach to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we fully get used to only the image that resembles ourselves - that is, it has such human characteristics like character, habits, strengths, weaknesses, memories, dreams, plans for the future, etc.
If your heroine is distinguished only by her velvety skin and elasticity of form, then reading about her will only be interesting to prisoners who have already forgotten what a real woman looks like.
Number of heroes in a work of art
How many heroes should there be in a novel? As much as you can hold. In Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace there are more than two hundred named characters. In the tale of the heron and the crane there are only two.
It is believed that three is the optimal number of main characters in genre novel. One character is missing conflict situations: It will be difficult for the reader to empathize with him. Two is better, but someone else is needed to bring chaos to the relationship between the two main characters. Three is just right.
But even the intellectual novel and the mainstream should not be overpopulated. If the reader begins to get confused about the characters and forget who is who, this is a bad sign.
Reader's emotions
When the reader accepts the hero with all his heart, he experiences:
Sympathy - approval and sympathy;
Empathy - the reader easily imagines himself in the place of a literary character.
For this to happen, the character must be charming. Prince Bolkonsky, Carlson, Cat Behemoth - all these and other memorable characters have the following in common:
Reliability - they are described in such a way that the reader seems to see them with his own eyes;
The ability to imitate - you want to copy the habits, words and style of behavior of the characters.
Heroes that inspire admiration
IN good novel The characters cope with their problems in a way that is admirable. Getting used to the successful literary image, the reader feels smarter, stronger, more charismatic - his life is filled with new colors. And I no longer want to let go of this illusion of another “I”.
An ordinary person as a character
Many people believe that the ideal hero is a simple person. That's why there are so many faceless girls in the manuscripts that come to publishing houses, looking for love, and boring men with a midlife crisis. And even more - characters suffering from binge drinking and psychosis. The point is that the authors similar works They do not engage in literature, but in self-medication - they describe themselves and their problems.
Who do you want to spend time with?
One of the leading American literary agents, Donald Maass, invites authors to imagine that they are traveling on a train. Who do they want to be in a compartment with for the next ten hours - a bright, witty person or a dull neurotic?
That's it.
If we want people to spend ten hours with our characters (which is how long the average book is read), the characters must be interesting.
We're not talking about characters like Superman or Batman. It's about charm. And the hero can be either a fool like Forrest Gump or a misanthrope like Dr. House.
How to show a hero with qualities that are difficult to convey in words (beauty, power, fame, etc.)?
If we describe a beautiful girl in a standard way - what color her lips and hair are - it will all look like a template. But if we show her through the eyes of another character, describe what he experiences when looking at the heroine, then the scene will play completely differently. The main thing is to focus on subjective perception.
The same technique can be used in scenes with kings and others significant persons: demonstrate not the imperious sparkle of the eyes, not the noble position of the head, but the feelings of another hero who comes into awe at the sight of the ruler.
When the desire to write a novel arises, the first question future writers ask is where to start? Some people start with an idea, others describe the plot in detail, and others immediately begin to describe the landscapes. But, in fact, you can start writing with characters. Moreover, this is how it should be done.
When reading books, you can notice how differently the authors pay attention to the characters' personalities. And, if a book with a wonderful plot, but dry and not lively characters, leaves a small memory in the memory, then a work with perfectly described and realistic characters will never be forgotten.
Nowadays, the American writer Donna Tartt pays great attention to the characters in her books. Reading her works, you understand that some characters look more real and interesting than real people. This may be one of the reasons why Tartt deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for her latest novel.
Very good about character creation James Frey in his book “How to Write a Great Novel”:
1. A fictional person must be different from a reasonable person.
One one of the main mistakes of writers is that they “write off” their characters from real people. It’s not bad if you take only some of the qualities and make up the rest, or exaggerate. The point is that the reader will be bored watching ordinary people. A fictional person must be superior to a real person in everything. It should be more emotional, or, conversely, more boring. His actions must surprise and shock, delight or disappoint. Just don’t leave him indifferent. The reader will not forgive this.
Very important. Whatever your character is, his actions should be clear to the reader. If his actions and feelings seem illogical to someone, people will simply close the book and find something better.
Also It is important to understand that a fictional person is easier to describe than a reasonable person. Why? Because he has limited story line, and you need to describe only those feelings and decisions of the character that the plot requires.
Characters are the material from which the entire novel is built.
2. Fictional person - subspecies.
“flat”, “cardboard”, “one-dimensional”. Here we are talking about supporting characters whom we may meet in a book once or twice, hear a few words from them, and no longer remember their existence. These are, for example, bartenders, waiters, etc. We don’t care what’s going on in their inner world, what losses they experienced, who they loved and who they hated. It does not matter. Such characters need not be described;
a "full", "multi-dimensional", or "tri-faceted" character. This is the type of main characters, including villains. Main quality of this type- one cannot attach any label to its representatives. They should be interesting personalities, with complex and complex motivation of actions. These heroes must endure a lot of suffering and know a lot of joys, love, hate, search and run, suffer and enjoy... And, most importantly, they must have a full biography. But more on that later. You must interest the reader so that he wants to get to know your characters better.
3. Meet the characters
How to meet the heroes? In his work “The Art of Creating dramatic works"Lajos Egri calls the character “triangular”, and identifies the following facets:
physiological. This includes all the physical qualities of your hero, such as his weight, height, age, eye color, health, and the like. Although this facet may seem the easiest to create, you need to remember that it is precisely appearance judged first. Therefore, it is important that the appearance matches the character;
sociological. To form this facet, you need to answer the following questions: What social class does your character belong to? What church does he go to, what political party does he support? Who raised him? He was spoiled child, or grew up in strictness and order? Does he have many friends? What are they? general qualities? And there can be very, very many such questions. The main thing is to find out what your character is like socially. It is very important to understand the dynamics of character development. He was not born the way he is now, he became that way. You need to understand the reasons for the formation of his character, this is the only way you will get a realistic hero;
psychological. It should be noted right away that you do not need to be a professional psychologist to create good and high-quality characters. You just need to understand human nature and be observant. Has your employee quit? Find out why he did this. An acquaintance quit eating unhealthy and signed up for sports? Chat and find out what caused these changes.
This facet is considered to be an interaction between the social and physiological facets. Here you need to describe your character's passions, fantasies, complexes, fears, guilt, and the like. It also includes emotions, habits, intelligence, self-confidence and various inclinations.
The greatness of the drama depends on how the author manages to create complex, multi-dimensional images of the characters. Thus, the eternal task of self-knowledge turns for the playwright into the task of knowing the heroes of his own work. The old call to “know yourself” for a playwright sounds like “get to know the characters as closely as possible.” George Baker "Technique of Drama"
4. Making characters act
A very important tip - do not create inert characters. Have you ever read books in which minor characters were more interesting than the main ones? It shouldn’t be this way, firstly, and secondly, this happens due to the fact that the main character turned out to be inert. In this case, he will avoid conflicts, fear difficulties and struggle. No one is interested in such characters. Try to ensure that your main characters are dynamic and able to cope with various difficult situations.
5. Creating a character biography
Before you start writing the first chapter of your book, you need to completely create each character. The biography of the main characters should consist of 10-50 A4 pages. You should know everything about your character - where he was born, how he grew up, who raised him, who he was friends with, who he loved... In general, everything that can explain to the reader why your hero became the way he is now.
Of course, when you already have almost the entire biography in front of you (it is recommended to write it in the first person), you will still have several questions about the hero, the answers to which you will not know. Then the best option will hold character interview. Since he is a figment of your imagination, all his answers will definitely be honest.
You must describe all the details of your hero's life. Even if you don’t use them in the book, and no one but you knows about them, you must write them. After all, you create a person.
Write the books that you yourself enjoy reading.
If you take all these tips into account when creating your character, you will find that you yourself begin to believe in his existence. This will be confirmation that you have created a truly high-quality hero.