NOTE: In these Writer's Tips 'he' could also be read as 'she' for political correctness. I do realise that characters can be female as well as male (I've met quite a few female characters in my time!), and nobody could ever accuse me of not loving women, so believe me when I say that I'm not trying to exclude them from world literature. I thought I'd make that clear before the e-mails started flooding in.

WRITE A CHARACTER PROFILE. Even if most of the details never appear in your story they'll form a solid foundation for your character in your imagination. You'll know instinctively how he will react in any situation and the dialogue will tumble out of his mouth onto the page.

KNOW YOUR CHARACTER. Construct a potted history from his birth to the start of your story. Know his exact age, not just 'early thirties' or 'middle aged'; by giving him a date of birth you'll find it easier to tie him in to events in your story. Example: if your hero was born on July 21st, 1944 you could not have him being conscripted into the British army because National Service ended at the end of 1960.

Know his social background, and give him a name that fits the background and his age group.

Example: Jeremy Witney-Smythe is more likely to be a thirty-something London stockbroker in the Sixties than a Depression era middle-aged coal miner from the Welsh valleys.

A HERO'S APPEARANCE will speak volumes about his status and character. Unless he's an eccentric millionaire threadbare trousers, ragged overcoat and ill-fitting boots without laces point to a tramp, an extrovert is likely to wear bright primary colours and distinct patterns, and a bosun's whistle hanging from a chain on the waistcoat of an old sea dog would be a nice touch.

GIVE YOUR CHARACTER distinct mannerisms and body language, without turning him into a caricature. A slight turn of his head when listening, maybe, or a particular way of addressing people. 'Excuse me, sir, might you help me, perhaps?'

YOUR CHARACTER must have qualities and weaknesses which help to develop the plot and channel it to its conclusion. For example, his fear of heights, which he must overcome to save the heroine from the collapsing rooftop.

IN DRAWING FROM REAL LIFE, build your character from at least three people, including yourself. This gives depth and conflict to his personality, as well as making it more difficult for anyone to accuse you of using them in your story.

WHEN A CHARACTER is fully formed, the plot development is determined by his actions; he isn't a performing dog jumping through hoops. If your hero simply stumbles from one crisis to another the reader will not bond with him emotionally and won't care if the good guy wins or comes a cropper.

DON'T BE AFRAID to give your hero one or two bad characteristics -- it will make him more human and the reader will readily identify with him. But don't overdo it; your hero is still the good guy!

DON'T USE THROW-AWAY MINOR PLAYERS; they confuse the reader when they don't reappear later on in the story. If a character is not important to the plot, scrub him. Too many bit players tend to muddy the water. A good tip when re-writing is to see if you can combine two minor characters into one. It's surprising how much you can tidy up a plot by reintroducing a bit player later in the story instead of inventing yet another character just to inhabit a particular episode. It saves on description and links time periods, as well as keeping your cast list short. A good example of this is in my second novel, 'Shadow-boxing Leaves No Bruises', where the heroine encounters two women at different times in her life. At sixteen she is taught the delicate art of police entrapment by a neighbour on a South African farm, and in her twenties she seeks help from a shebeen mamma in Soweto, Johannesburg. Originally I wrote in two separate characters for the roles, but on reflection decided to combine them. In the final draft the heroine goes to Soweto to seek out the shebeen mamma, knowing that she is her old teacher from the farm; the reader learns that fact at the same time as the hero. This device answers any charge that I'm stretching coincidence too far with an accidental and providential meeting of the two women. By combining the two characters I neatly linked the heroine's past with her present, tightening the plotline. I then went on to develop the bit player from the farm into a strong influence on the lives of the two lead characters.

USE LOTS OF DIALOGUE to (a) help with characterisation, (b) keep the plot moving and increase its pace, and (c) divulge infomation to the reader (for example, descriptions and character traits). Wherever possible, use dialogue instead of narration; a page of descriptive narrative can make a reader lose interest, whereas a few lines of dialogue will liven up a scene. And remember, a character is just a description until he opens his mouth and speaks -- only then does he live in the reader's imagination.

© 2008 Frank Swales

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‘Substitutes’ – a novel written with authority, warmth and humour of the chaos surrounding my years in Apartheid-gripped South Africa.
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'Shadow-Boxing Leaves No Bruises' – Conflicting love and hostility play out against the backdrop of apartheid and street politics of South Africa's violent townships.
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