2. Inside a Character

 

Why do we sometimes dislike a character at the beginning of a story and admire them by the end? Writers know that readers form opinions quickly – but they also know how to change them.
When a new character appears, readers immediately begin to form an impression. The way the character speaks, behaves or reacts to other people can make them seem friendly, selfish, careless or understanding. But first impressions are not always accurate.
A character’s attitude towards other people can reveal a great deal. Someone who treats others with respect may seem trustworthy, while a character who behaves badly may create a negative impression. A very competitive character may always want to be better than everyone else, while a determined character may refuse to give up even when things become difficult.
A character’s belief can also affect their decisions. They may strongly believe that success is more important than friendship, or that people should always tell the truth. These beliefs can have a powerful influence on the choices they make.
Writers also pay close attention to a character’s intention. What does the person want to achieve? Are they trying to help someone, protect themselves or hide the truth? Sometimes readers misunderstand a character because they do not yet know what that character is planning.
Then comes the reaction. What a character does when something unexpected happens can reveal more than a long description. A calm response to danger may show courage, while an angry reaction may reveal fear or insecurity.
This is often where a character’s real strength becomes clear. Strength does not always mean being physically powerful. A character may show strength by admitting a mistake, changing their opinion or helping someone even when it is difficult.
The most interesting characters are rarely simple. They may surprise us, disappoint us or make us question our first impression. And that is exactly why readers remember them.

attitude — [ˈæt.ɪ.tjuːd] — the way a person thinks or feels about someone or something, often shown in the way they behave; attieksme;
belief — [bɪˈliːf] — an idea or opinion that a person believes to be true; uzskats, pārliecība;
impression — [ɪmˈpreʃ.ən] — an idea or feeling that you form about someone from what you see, hear or learn about them; iespaids, priekšstats;
influence — [ˈɪn.flu.əns] — the effect that someone or something has on the way a person thinks, feels or behaves; ietekme;
intention — [ɪnˈten.ʃən] — something that a person plans or means to do; nodoms, iecere;
reaction — [riˈæk.ʃən] — what a person does, says, thinks or feels because something has happened; reakcija;
strength — [streŋθ] — a good quality or ability that a person has; stiprā puse, priekšrocība.
careless — [ˈkeə.ləs] — not giving enough attention or thought to what you are doing, so that you may make mistakes; neuzmanīgs(a), nevērīgs(a);
competitive — [kəmˈpet.ɪ.tɪv] — wanting very much to be more successful or perform better than other people; sāncensīgs(a), tāds(a), kurš(a) vēlas pārspēt citus;
determined — [dɪˈtɜː.mɪnd] — having firmly decided to do something and not allowing difficulties to stop you; apņēmīgs(a), neatlaidīgs(a);
understanding — [ˌʌn.dəˈstæn.dɪŋ] — able to understand other people’s feelings and problems and willing to be kind or forgiving; saprotošs(a).

 

Revise character traits that you have studied in Form 9: Personality in Focus

 

Some characters stay almost the same from beginning to end. Others change throughout the story, and those are often the ones readers remember most.
At the beginning of a story, a character may give the impression that they are selfish, nervous or unfriendly. As readers learn more; however, that first impression may change. A character who seems rude at first may later become more understanding, while someone who appears confident may become less certain after facing a serious problem.
Characters are also shaped by the people around them. A teenager may be influenced by an older friend, a parent or a teacher. In some stories, one person can have a strong influence on another character, affecting the way they think or make decisions. Friends, family members and even rivals can influence a character’s behaviour in important ways.
Attitudes can change too. At first, a character may have a negative attitude towards a classmate, but after sharing an experience, they may change their attitude towards that person. This kind of change often helps to develop as a character rather than simply move through a series of events.
Intentions are just as important. A character may have the intention of helping a friend, winning a competition or discovering the truth. They may also be determined to reach a goal, even when the situation becomes difficult.
However, character development is not only about success. Characters often make mistakes and then learn from experience. Their choices show readers how they react to failure, criticism, danger or disappointment.
Difficult situations can also reveal whether a character can show strength of character. Admitting a mistake, protecting someone else or continuing after a failure may require more courage than winning a fight.
As a result, characters can also make an impression on other characters inside the story. A brave decision may earn respect, while a selfish one may destroy trust.
The most believable characters are rarely perfect. They change because of what happens to them, the people they meet and the decisions they make. That is what makes character development feel real.
be determined to do something — to have firmly decided to do something and not allow difficulties to stop you; būt apņēmības pilnam kaut ko izdarīt;
be influenced by somebody / something — to have your thoughts, feelings or behaviour affected by someone or something; būt kāda / kaut kā ietekmētam;
change throughout the story — to become different as the events of the story continue; mainīties stāsta gaitā;
change your attitude towards somebody / something — to begin thinking or feeling differently about someone or something; mainīt attieksmi pret kādu / kaut ko;
develop as a character — to change, learn or grow as the events of a story continue; attīstīties kā tēlam;
give the impression that … — to make someone form a particular idea or opinion; radīt iespaidu, ka …;
have a positive / negative attitude towards somebody / something — to think or feel positively or negatively about someone or something; būt pozitīvai / negatīvai attieksmei pret kādu / kaut ko;
have a strong influence on somebody — to strongly affect the way another person thinks, feels or behaves; spēcīgi ietekmēt kādu;
have the intention of doing something — to plan or mean to do something; būt nodomam kaut ko darīt;
influence somebody’s behaviour — to affect the way another person behaves; ietekmēt kāda uzvedību;
learn from experience — to change what you think or do because of something that has happened to you; mācīties no pieredzes;
make an impression on somebody — to affect the way someone thinks or feels about you; atstāt iespaidu uz kādu;
react to something — to do, say, think or feel something because something has happened; reaģēt uz kaut ko;
show strength of character — to show strong personal qualities when dealing with a difficult situation; parādīt rakstura stingrību, rakstura spēku.

 

 

Inside the Writer’s Mind
How do famous writers create characters that feel real? Read what three successful authors say about character creation. Then summarise each writer’s main idea in your own words. You can also follow the answer model. Revise summary phrases you studied earlier this year: Challenges and Opportunities of Living Abroad

 

Hilary Mantel — British writer, author of "Wolf Hall"

 

Mantel explains that characters come partly from the writer’s own imagination and experience. For her, creating the main character of a novel means becoming deeply involved with that person and trying to experience the fictional world through them. She describes this connection as both mental and physical. While writing "Wolf Hall", for example, she became extremely aware of Thomas Cromwell’s physical strength and energy. Her comments suggest that creating a believable character requires much more than deciding what the character looks like or listing a few personality traits. The writer has to understand the character from the inside and imagine what it is like to live through that person.

 

Kazuo Ishiguro — British writer, author of "Never Let Me Go"
“I do feel I have to get to the point where I could … hold a fairly long conversation … in the voice of the character.”

 

Ishiguro describes his approach to first-person narrators as a form of “method acting”. Before he feels ready to begin the narration, he wants to understand the character’s voice so well that speaking as that person would feel natural. He does not want to stop at every sentence and ask himself how the character would express a particular idea. Instead, the character’s way of thinking and speaking needs to become familiar to him. Ishiguro also believes that people are not always completely reliable when they describe themselves. We may misunderstand our own behaviour, remember events differently or present ourselves in a particular way. He therefore tries to make his narrators imperfect in the same natural way that real people can be imperfect.

 

Ian McEwan — British writer, author of "Atonement"
“It’s rare to have an entire character in front of you when you start a novel. Characters walk towards their creators …”

 

McEwan explains that writers do not necessarily know everything about a character when they begin writing. When he first started developing Briony Tallis in "Atonement", he knew relatively little about her. He initially gave her an interest in writing plays and a desire to become a writer. From that starting point, the character gradually developed. As events became more complicated around Briony, McEwan observed how she reacted to them, and those reactions helped the character take shape. His description suggests that character development can be a gradual process: actions, experiences and reactions can reveal who a character is and can even change the writer’s original idea of that character.

 

What do these three writers suggest about creating believable characters?
Summarise the main ideas from all three source extracts. Do not repeat whole sentences from the texts. Select the most important information, paraphrase it and show the connections between the writers’ ideas.