1. ohr_drakonis

    ohr_drakonis Member

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    Can use some assistance with providing my main characters with more 3 dimensionality

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by ohr_drakonis, Feb 28, 2022.

    My protagonist is Andrew Shalev. Andrew means 'strong man', and Shalev means 'combiner' in Hebrew since his purpose is to unit the Color Realms (in the first book, the Realm of Blue and the Realm of Green).

    My secondary character is Katy (meaning 'pure', last name I'm considering Hovev-Yaarot which means forest lover in Hebrew but may sound a little strange to an American audience).

    They have a debate in the second chapter about technology vs nature, Andrew says that technology will overtake nature, and paints a mechanical dolphin, whereas Katy says that nature is superior since only nature is from G-d while technology is made by man, and paints a frog in the Amazon rainforest.

    They are transported to a rainforest on another world (or another plane of existence) where Andrew learns to appreciate nature, this is his primary arc.

    Andrew's secondary arc is his desire for 'color' and adventure which he find in abundance in the 'Color Realms' (which is the name for the parallel world I created for the story).


    What I need is some ideas to flesh out both characters more, and to provide Katy with an arc of her own. Any assistance much appreciated.

    edit - for Katy's last name perhaps I will write Silvamans which is a contraction of Silva Amans, Greek for forest lover.
     
  2. Catriona Grace

    Catriona Grace Mind the thorns Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    Maybe Katy develops a disease or sustains an injury that requires advanced medical technology to cure after remedies derived directly from nature fail? Her arc could be the realization that G-d has a hand in everything, including technology.
     
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  3. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

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    My guide to writing characters. It tended to work well for me.

    One of the things I want to do is establish my three pillars of character development: Goals, motive, and conflict. What do they want, why do they want it, and what is keeping them from getting it. This will lay out the entire foundation of each character, help establish their individual personalities, and assist in how the character will grow and develop. Now, there's no particular part in your writing process where you have to establish these. Usually I run through a chapter or two or three before I even start to see where I could build these things. Just as long as you found these things before the final draft.
     
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  4. lorinda woener

    lorinda woener Member

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    Hello Ohr,

    I agree with the character development that Kalisto provided but I feel like that is a bit basic and probably writing 101. For my characters, whether it is part of the story I am telling or not, I create a back story for them. I investigate their weaknesses and strengths even if my story isn't going to be a part of that. In real life, we are emotional beings. So I investigate how my character would feel about things, both in the writing, and independently of it. For instance, I have a very minor character who is rude, a liar, and difficult to deal with by all standards. This is what you see in the book. But I have created a backstory for her. She had an abusive childhood where she had no control, so as an adult she feels she must always be in control and thus tries to take control from others and because of this, she doesn't get along with anyone. In the book, her arc is brief. Something happened that, for a brief moment, made her question the way she treats others and she makes a strong effort to change herself. But, real people don't usually make drastic changes. even with traumatic situations happening to them. And since my book isn't about how she came to this brief moment of clarity, her sudden calm demeanor seems "out of character" for her.

    Don't be afraid to make your characters feel conflicted about things. Real humans don't always act the same way in every situation and have ever-chaging POV. There is moderate predictability, but there is also a chance that in any given situation a person may act differently than everyone thinks they should act.
     
  5. Louanne Learning

    Louanne Learning Happy Wonderer Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Contest Winner 2022

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    That's an extremely interesting theme you have chosen—technology vs. nature.

    What Andrew and Katy can come to learn:

    Technology is made up of man-made tools. They require maintenance. They malfunction. They require energy inputs. They grow obsolete.

    Nature is eternal. It is self-sustaining and self-regulating.

    You might be interested in researching the Gaia Hypothesis.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    Nature is basically made up of plants and animals. The individual units require constant energy input in the form of food, water, air—they require shelter etc. And they definitely become obsolete with age or injury or sickness. It's only the sum totality of them that's eternal and self-sustaining.

    The arc of the characters could be from a rather one-sided view that technology and nature are opposites and that one or the other must 'win' (a simple black-and-white dichotomy) to a more balanced understanding that they needn't be enemies, that in many ways technology can be used to foster and care for nature, and that we must respect it rather than heedlessly destroy it.
     
  7. evild4ve

    evild4ve Critique is stranger than fiction Supporter Contributor

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    I'd suggest to experiment with thinking of characters as needing to be revealed, rather than fleshed-out.
    Pushing increasingly complex storyworld baggage onto them is usually counterproductive. What reveals them is conflict - particularly with each other, but there can be internal conflict too or conflict with the storyworld. One of the only real things about fictional characters is the way they show who they are when they are placed under pressure. As writers our craft is to apply the pressure - as if with a chisel.

    I'll attempt a faith-based perspective, picking up one of the ideas of the OP's characters:
    Only G-d can create, we merely portray. Our characters are portrayals of our souls, and when we share them in writing we help readers to see the craftsmanship which has been placed inside them too.

    What the OP is missing is conflict - where it has technology vs nature, it should have Andrew vs Katy.
    Conflict needn't be grave and severe and polar: it could be that Andrew wants his mother to look after the cats so he can go fishing, but Katy wants to take her for a coffee and tell her about the baby.
    Geopolitical stuff like nature vs technology is often harder for readers to relate to. It's not what makes real humans tick, unless they're protestors, and we can read about those in the news. What's the motive? Why does Andrew like tech? Who is Andrew?
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2022
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  8. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    And don’t rely on the meanings of names… most readers won’t read anything in particular into people called Andrew and Katy .

    if you’re giving them Hebrew surnames are these people Jewish ? ( if so g-d is more likely hashem). If they’re not what is the reason for the surnames?

    if Andrews mission is to unite the colour realms whatever they are shouldn’t the plot and subsequently conflict revolve around that?

    what does he want? Why does he want to unite these realms? Why does that mattter and to who?
     

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