Characters not caricatures.

When writing a novel a writer should create living people, people not characters.

A character is a caricature.

Ernest Hemingway.

 

Last week my sister in law borrowed two DVD's from the library. I hadn't seen either of these movies before, but the first was an incredibly popular film in the 70's.

 

I'd often seen it on the library shelves but had never picked it up, simply because I had tried reading the book and found it oh so boring.

It was titled Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Most of you will remember this title from John Le Carre, who also authored The Constant Gardener.

 

I found myself not only enjoying the movie, but drawn to the characters. Told in flashback form, it was a story of betrayal, murder and greed.

 

The second movie was called The Debt and starred Helen Mirren. Another movie written about spies and everything that goes with it. Because it starred Helen Mirren, I saved it to  last. There's something about Mirren that I find compelling. She brings her own style and influence into every role.

 

In this particular instance, I was quite let down. Don't get me wrong, the performances were good, very much so, but the story itself, for me, was unbelievable.

 

Mirren's character, one of three Mossad spies who embark on capturing a sadistic doctor responsible for the death of thousands of Jews, is bland and unappetising. I couldn't reconcile my thoughts of spies, Mossad spies at that, being so…emotional. Surely spies should unemotional, bent on getting the job done at all costs?

 

In every book I've read, or every movie I've watched, the characters which draw me in and hold me long after the end are the ones steeped in reality. They share similar traits with us, which help us identify with them.

What makes characters such as spies or serial killers chilling is their charm. We can easily imagine them committing atrocities simply because we can picture them, and their quirks, as our neighbour, odd relative, or dare I say…close friend? After all, how well do we really know someone?

 

Caring enough about your characters to study the intricacies associated with their lives, or learning more about what makes them tick, is how you'll find readers falling helplessly head-over-heels in love with them, and you.

 

In John Le Carre's interview he said, "Stories are the ultimate escape: the fictional world is the one in which you really want to live”.

 

If this is the world our readers want, then it's up to us to make it as real as possible for them.

 

 

What lengths would you go to so your characters become people?


                          _______________________

Lee Franklin lives in a small country town, where every one of her neighbours could possibly be a serial killer, either in real life or in her imagination. It's a good thing she doesn't mind things that go bump in the night, but it does help to have three dogs guarding you...just in case.