Hi everyone! How was your Valentine's Day? I had a date with The Walking Dead, a good book (that I'm writing), and a bowl of peanut butter ice cream. Much fun! And one of the best TWD episodes ever, if I may say.
As you know, all month long, we're talking about characters. Two weeks ago, it was protagonists. Last week, antagonists, and this week, it's some of my favorite characters... The minors.
Now, a lot of people say that the best minor characters are the ones that we don't really care about, the ones who are just there to support the story and aren't really there to do much other than propelling it forward. Well, they're partially right. But even minor characters need to have a life.
The Comic Relief
This guy is one of my favorite characters to write. I've only managed to do a couple of them successfully, but even a little bit of comedy can be a welcome reprieve from an intense science fiction novel. I would know, since that's what I'm writing right now.
But the question we have to answer, the question we've been answering every week this month, is how do we make a successful character in this theme. And I again have two simple things I do to make the comic relief the best they can be.
1. Relief
The biggest thing to do with your comic relief character is to only really make them amusing in moments of deepest tension. Use them to offset the intensity of your story, by making them come out and do something utterly expected. Have your comic relief character throw a berry that hits your antagonist squarely between the eyes, right in the middle of his speech for world domination. Better yet, have him come in and sit on the table in that moment, and explain how the antagonist isn't going to win. Then have him run away screaming when he realizes he's in a room of bad guys. Like when Han and Chewy run down that corridor after the storm troopers and come up on even more of them. Something realistic, but something to give your reader a little chuckle on the side.
2. No Slapstick
This is the key to a good comic relief character: do not have them do anything slapstick. Don't have them fall on a banana peel or step in poop. Make them a real person, with real world problems. Just make them someone who looks danger in the eye and answers by making a joke.
Trust me, there are a lot of people out there who actually do this. You might know one of them, and if you do, that's a very good way to get started.
I don't know why, but my comic relief characters frequently seem to be eating at a time when no one should be eating. I think maybe in my writer brain, food equals funny?
You'd never know about the food in their hands though, because I generally cut it before the story goes to print. No one needs to be eating 24/7.
The point is, write what you think is amusing. At the very least, it'll help you relieve some of the tension in your head. And if it sucks, you can always cut it later.
It's Friday! That means The Walking Dead returns in two days!
Yep, that's the highlight of my Valentine's Day. Peanut Butter ice cream and TWD. Bliss.
But for now, it's still Friday, and it's time to discuss the biggest bad guy of them all:
The Boss
Of course, we all know this is the main antagonist. This is the guy that we read most often, most likely because they're so much fun to write. Why is that, I wonder? I honestly have no idea. But I do so enjoy writing bosses.
Anyway, to get right to the point, I have two simple things I keep in mind when creating my biggest antagonists:
1. Make him epic
Obvious, right? But very important for the boss. He needs to be the biggest obstacle your protagonist has ever faced, so he probably needs to be at least slightly stronger than your protagonist. It makes for a good story, as long as you don't make it super coincidental that the protagonist wins in the end.
So, give your antagonist the odds. Stack things in his favor. Make him cocky and headstrong, and give him the will and the desire to fight for what he wants. Make him a combination of Sauron and Sarumon. Make him laugh at the oncoming threat, because he knows nothing can beat him. And make your readers think that he might just be right.
2. Give him life
This is the part a lot of people skip when making their boss. They make him so epic and cool and cocky that they forget he needs to be a person, too. That's what's going to make him the most epic he possibly can be. Give him reason for why he is the way he is, even if you're the only one who's going to know it.
Doing this will make it ten times easier to write him, and it'll make him a million times more real for your readers. And after all, that's what we're going for. Make him real, make your readers afraid of him, even though they know he can't possibly jump off the page.
Midweek, I feel it appropriate to jump right into the good stuff...
The Minion
Okay, okay, so maybe the minion isn't really the antagonist of any story, but he's always with the antagonist, and there are many times when the protagonist thinks he's fighting the antagonist but he's really battling the minion in order to get to the antagonist. That's why I included this in antagonists week. I have my reasons. So, ha!
The thing is, minions aren't exactly the easiest characters in the world to write. They tend to come out a little silly, like those stupid yellow blobs that everyone seems to be fascinated with. I can't stand those minions. I freely admit it.
So, here's what I do to make a good minion.
1. Give him strengths
Really, you want to make him similar in strength to the antagonist, at least from afar. So it looks like the two have similar amounts of power, until your protagonist gets up close and personal and realizes he's in trouble.
I like to give my minions a little less backstory and a lot more screen time than my antagonist. Why? Because I like to have my protagonists go up against the minions before they really face the big baddy, the boss. So give them a lot of screen time with a lot of character features and really good dialogue that makes them seem like a really cool, if somewhat minor, villain.
2. Make him a friend
But not to your protagonist, of course. Have him be a catalyst for your backstory about the actual antagonist, have him be the counterpart the antagonist needs to get talking. Use him to move the story forward, by having him be part of the reason why the antagonist is fighting so hard. They're in a symbiotic relationship, these two, whether they realize it or not. Very similarly to the relationship between the hero and the sidekick, these two need to work together — but I usually like it when my minion is stronger than my sidekick, just so the hero has a little more to contend with.
Hey guys! How was your weekend? We're still surrounded by leftover Superbowl snacks, which is definitely what I'll be having for lunch. And the Panthers should've had that game. And no, I don't really know what I'm talking about, because I'm a hockey person. Should've been seven games...
I digress.
Last week we talked about a couple of basic protagonists, so logically, this week is all about the antagonist. Now, I'm one of those weird people who really likes writing antagonists. I even have a few stories that are through the antagonist's point of view. And I'll tell you, that's not easy to write. Story lines get blurred, people.
I digress again.
The Jerk
This is your most basic kind of antagonist. He's the bad guy, the guy your protagonist is trying to beat, but he's not necessarily the vilest creature on the planet. Sometimes he's just stuck in a bad situation, sometimes he's not getting enough sleep, but he's always a jerk. Even when he's nice, deep down he's a jerk.
And yes, for the purposes of this blog post, he's a he. Because English, that's why.
So how do we write this character, in a way people are going to want to read it?
1. Make him real
Obvious, I know, but hear me out.
If you make your antagonist into something more like a real person, people will find him much more engaging and interesting. So, even if it doesn't make it into the story, write some stuff that's just about him. Give him a life, maybe a love interest, give him some real features that someone could actually have. And then put him into the story as your antagonist, and see how much more real he feels.
A lot of people go through this whole process with their protagonists and forget about the antagonists, but I'm here to tell you, both characters need to be as strong as they possibly can be.
2. Give him a heart
Even if he doesn't use it.
See, the heart is what makes a character who they are. A lot of the time, the things that make good antagonists into good antagonists are things that people will relate to. Now that's a convoluted sentence if I ever did read one. Okay, let's reword:
People like to relate to characters. Whether it's the good guy or the bad guy, we subconsciously want to be able to relate to them and understand the motives behind what they're doing. So if you give your antagonist a bit of a sap story, give them some reason or purpose that your reader will be able to relate to, it'll make it that much harder for your reader to hate them and that much more interesting for them as they delve deeper into your story.
Those are the two things I make sure to do, with every antagonist I write. I make them real, I make them people that could've been a protagonist.
At least, that's what I do with antagonists in the jerk category.
Wednesday we talked about how to make one of reader's favorite kind of protagonists: the average Joe. Today, we're discussing the opposite — which is also a reader favorite, and a type that writers tend to greatly enjoy writing.
Heroes, of course.
1. Advantage
This is the one problem a lot of writers have when it comes to writing the hero character. Because they're heroes, we tend to want to give them a lot of unfair advantages, simply because they are what they are. Trouble is, when you stack a bunch of advantages onto the hero and don't stack enough on the villain, you have a lopsided story that could only possibly end one way.
So, that being the case, what you want to do is create a hero protagonist who has distinct flaws. You usually want them to be the opposite of the flaws in the villain/antagonist, but we'll get into that later on. Essentially, you want to make your hero very heroic, but you also want him to be as human as possible.
In the end, that's the kind of hero that people like reading, because though we know they're the hero and that they're going to make it to the end, there's always that measure of doubt that says maybe they won't, maybe they're not quite good enough to stand up to the bad guys.
2. Sidekick
Especially popular in comic book fiction, every hero should have a sidekick. I don't agree that this should always be the case, but they can be a lot of fun to play with and they can be the thing that really works to humanize your hero.
See, even if your hero has a lot of unfair advantages, and even if they could easily overcome whatever the antagonist throws at them, there's still the sidekick to think of. Most sidekicks are a lot more human than their hero counterparts, so much so that the hero has to continually save them. So now not only do they have to defeat the villain, but they have to do so while being crippled by the guy who's just trying to help.
There are a lot of possibilities for making a good strong hero character, and for making them the sort of character that people want to read. But really, the best kind of character in my opinion is a mixture between hero and Joe, because everybody wants to think of themselves as a hero, and everybody wants to know that anybody could be a hero — if only they were given the chance.
Okay, really, it's February? At least that means we're that much closer to the Cedwig release! What did you guys think of the excerpt on Monday?
Before I digress too far...
All month long, we're going to be delving a little deeper into the essence of character. It's something we've talked about before, but it's been a while so I thought we'd take another glimpse. Plus I feel like I learned some new things last year, that I can now share with all of you. :-D
This week, it's all about protagonists.
Protagonists, Part One: The Joe
He's our favorite main character, our favorite sort of protagonist, because he's just like you and me. He's relatable, he's fun, and he's likable, because he's just like you and me.
But how on earth do we go about writing that, and doing it successfully?
1. Write what you know
Everybody knows this one, I know. We're supposed to write what we know, because we'll be the best at writing things that we fully understand and have a grasp on. But in the case of characters, I take this to mean that we should not only write what we know, but write who we know.
You know that one friend who's supremely likable and everyone gets along with them? How about the guy that hangs out in the background and says next to nothing to anyone? Or, how about the girl who likes to stay in the spotlight at all times? Maybe the lady who owns her own company?
Yeah, I'm sure you know a few people like that. And because you know people like that, I'm also sure that you can write them.
See, it's a lot easier to create a character who's based off someone you know. So start out by basing your average Joe off someone you know, someone who is the average Joe, someone you think would make a good protagonist in a story.
It's also a good way to get yourself out more, because if you have questions for your character you might have to stalk your friend. *wink wink*
2. Write what you like
Especially for protagonists, I find that it's better not to write annoying people. So don't write about that friend who won't shut up no matter how many social cues you give them that you don't care what they're saying. Write the person who fades into the background or the person who skillfully works the room, but don't write the guy who walks into the room smelling BO and talking like a fool.
At least, don't start out that way. I'm not saying you can never have those kinds of protagonists, I'm just saying for starting out and getting reader's attention, it'll be better to start out with people that everybody seems to like.
But really, you should be writing people you like.
I do this by writing about women who I consider to be real women -- women who do what needs to be done, no matter the odds against them. Women who fight for what they believe in. Why? Because that's me. I'm a woman, and that's how I am. So I write characters who are a little like me, because hey, I know me.
I find that it works very well, and I've gotten amazing reviews based on my characters alone.
The time has come, my friends, for the second excerpt of Cedwig: People in the Vines!
I hope that you enjoy it, and that you'll stick around for more news about the book! I'm so excited to release this novel, and I cannot wait for all of you to read it! :-D
[love]
{Rani Divine}
~
Cedwig: People in the Vines
The sky
above us was already darkening, the sun descending toward the horizon. Even
though I’d been out in the forest during the night, in the company of my
people, I somehow felt that there might actually be dangers in these woods. I
knew that Eirian would keep me safe, that he would prevent any harm from coming
to me, that he would make sure everything went according to plan. But no matter
how hard I tried to keep it out, my humanity crept back in. I was still one of
them, no matter what. It would take time to shake the ways of my past from my
mind.
“Where
are we going?” I whispered. I didn’t know why I whispered, but it seemed like
the right thing to do.
“Soon,”
he replied, laughing quietly.
We
walked on the ground through the trees and vines, Eirian stopping to help me
when the brambles were too high for me to climb over on my own. He smiled
whenever he looked into my eyes, and he always made sure that I wasn’t too
tired to continue.
I
wanted to walk. I wanted to experience as much of this place as I could in the
time that I had. There was no telling how long it would last. I didn’t know
what Tzeira would do when the humans began the attack. Now that I’d left them,
I had no doubt Jonas would try to start the battle even sooner. He wanted this
place to belong to him and only him. These creatures, these beings, did not fit
into his plan for the future. I may have accelerated his plans, if only because
of Jonas’s anger.
When
the sky turned completely dark, Eirian stopped. There was no light filtering
down through the trees, and even Eirian became impossible to see. It didn’t
help that his skin darkened in the fading light, as he had explained earlier.
Their bodies were designed to camouflage into the forest itself, so when the
forest darkened, they darkened as well.
“Do not
speak until I tell you,” he whispered.
I
didn’t reply. I nodded, though I wasn’t certain that he could even see me.
He
lifted a curtain—of what, I didn’t know—and light flooded the area.
Eirian
led me into what I at first thought was a large cave, but soon realized
couldn’t be. I saw stars hovering above us, twinkling bright in the sky. Bright
blue vines hung from every branch in the massive tree before us. The vines
thrummed with life, beating as though they had a heart of their own. Veins of
white light continually traveled down the vines, over and over, as a living
entity surviving within the vines themselves. The thrumming echoed in my mind,
filling my heart until my body echoed the sound. It sounded at the same time as
my own heartbeat, and I lifted my hand to cover my mouth, preventing myself
from crying out.
What
was this place?
“Coed o
eneidiau, clyw fy ngweddi,” Eirian said. I didn’t understand the words, but
somehow I knew what he was saying. He was speaking to the tree, asking it to
heed his words. “Yr wyf yn dod â'r un a ddewiswyd i chi,” he continued. He
released my hand and stepped closer to the tree, his eyes staring reverently up
toward it. “Hi yw y Vartes. Mae hi'n un ohonom.” He dropped to one knee, dipping
his head toward the ground. “Let her hear,” he breathed. But the words were
still not in basic, even though I now found myself able to understand. “Gadewch ei clywed.”
Eirian
got to his feet and turned to face me. “What do you hear?” he asked, still in
the tongue of the Cedwig. “Beth ydych
chi'n ei glywed?”
“I hear
you,” I whispered under my breath, hoping that I was now allowed to speak.
He
smiled brightly and beckoned me closer, under the branches of the giant tree.
My body
trembled slightly, still beating in time with the thrumming of the vines. I
stopped when I stood beside Eirian, my hand automatically slipping within his.
I didn’t know what it was about this place, but it made me afraid. It wasn’t
that I feared for my life, or that I thought something bad was coming, it was
that this place seemed so unlike anything I had ever seen or imagined, and was
so alive. The very ground beat with
raw power, the whole world echoing with the might of the Vartes, which I
assumed was the power of this place. But I didn’t understand what it was.
Eirian
reached up and took hold of one of the vines, plucking it from its place in the
air and resting it within my hand. “What do you hear?” he asked, in basic.
I
closed my eyes and listened. Within my very mind, I heard thousands of voices,
voices of Cedwig and of humans, of what I somehow knew to be other Dewin. They
all spoke to me, to each other, each of them with their own unique voices,
their own unique words.
When my
eyes reopened, they looked straight into Eirian’s. “What is this place?” I
breathed.
“It is
the tree of souls,” he whispered, taking the vine from me. “The Cedwig have
been chosen to protect it, to keep it from all prying eyes. Only those chosen
by the witch may enter this place, to listen to the voices of the dead.” He
laced his fingers with mine, his eyes staring deeply into my eyes. “What you
heard are the voices of those who have gone into the arms of the Vartes, those
who no longer step foot upon this world.”
“The
dead?” A chill went down my spine.
He
smiled brightly. “Those who have been saved.” He nodded. “Those who the evil
one and his dominion have not taken from the arms of the creator.” His eyes
shifted back up to the sky, to the branches that filled the air, each one
covered in dozens and dozens of blue-lit vines. “Those who follow the paths set
before them, as you will do.”
We only
stayed there a moment more, both of us staring up into the sky. I tried to see
the stars beyond the light of the vines, but beneath the tree the thrums shone
so brightly that I could see nothing but them. As I looked toward the sky, I
let his words sink in. Somehow, they already knew what I would do.
I made
note to ask Eirian about it later—this didn’t seem like the time or place.
“We
cannot stay,” he whispered at last. “The Vartes will not allow it.” He turned
and led me back toward the wall of vines, my eyes all the while staring up at
the sky.
