Creating and keeping track of characters
I admit to finding this an insurmountable task.
My novel has dozens of characters. My first problem wasn't keeping track of them, but creating them.
Modern Day:
My 20th century characters were easy. I tweaked ages, genders, names, and family configuration a few times, but they were mostly set in a few days and fully set after a week or two.
Ancient Egypt:
Impossible! Seriously, months. Months of not writing a bleeping thing because I couldn't move forward without knowing my family units and having it all together. I couldn't just make it all up because this is based on a Bible story. There are multiple existing characters and I had to research every last one of them (much harder than you think as the source material is not as clear as one might like). Then fill in the gaps (which is mostly the women and girls).
I didn't post for help with this process because I knew the answer: Just make yourself do it!! So I did it.
And. It's. Done.
Tools for creating and tracking
Word: I started off in Microsoft Word. I'm still writing my chapters and doing all my notes on different topics there. But for lists of characters and their attributes, nope.
Excel: I love a good spreadsheet. All of my family charts are in Excel and it's still the tool I use for them. But it wasn't helping me move forward with creating my new set of characters and dividing them up into living units.
Family Tree Maker: My other hobby is genealogy. One thing I'm especially good at is making family trees (with well-cited sources of course). I figured my best bet was to go through the Torah (starting with Exodus), some other Biblical books, and commentary, and boom, I'd at least have all the named people, then I could add in missing wives and kids. Except...no. It is not straight-forward and there is no existing genealogy that is uncontroversial (don't say Flavius Josephus because he made choices most commentators think are not right). After creating entries (and facts and relationships) for 242 people, I gave up.
Index Cards: My husband's a writer who is finally starting to get published. Index cards work for him (complex soap opera comic series) and he pushed me for weeks to give it a try. I tried it. I've now got 2 dozen mostly filled out index cards buried under the clutter of my desk. It would be great for keeping track of individual existing characters who have scenes with various other characters, but did not work at all for me to create characters within large families.
Paper: Paper tears. Paper gets lost. Paper becomes kitty beds. But wait, I have a wall.
I started off with my modern characters and their lineage (parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents). Two pages for the genealogy, 1 more page for the grandparents, another page for the grandchildren. Printed. Taped to the wall. I reference this all the time! As in 2-12 times per chapter. Much more helpful than having to open the right Excel file/sheet and find the info.
I have 43 modern characters, many of whom you never see or even hear about; they're for my own use. My Egyptian characters were a lot more complex. I've got 65 of them and every single one is present in the story. I won't use most of the names or show most of the people, but I needed to know who they were.
This was the part that was like pulling teeth. First getting the known characters, then adding more, with names that worked, with characteristics that worked. But done.
Color-coded. Printed. On the wall. 10 pages.
After that, diving them up by household (who is in which hut) was pretty easy. As was deciding which of the 18 time-traveling children was staying with them. That last bit went on the wall today. 3 pages.
Wall Logistics:
Scotch tape to attach pages to each other when needed. I had originally used scotch tape to attach to the wall, but it was hard to move pages and I was worried about damaging the paint. I used blue painter's tape but hated the look. Now I use the painter's tape rolled up and on the back of the pages.
It all looks like this:
My Question:
My question is not "what is the best method/tool for creating and tracking characters?" That is a very individual thing. What works well for one person will be awful for another. And what worked for me for this novel may not work for my next one. Besides, it's an opinion-based list, which isn't something we do at Writing.SE.
Instead, my question is:
What is the best process for figuring out the methods and tools you need to create characters and keep track of them while you're writing?
3 answers
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I know this is a short answer but I've started to organize characters using Charahub. I think your wall-method may even be more advanced than that!
Please don't worry about being 100% crazily consistent; I promise that the majority of your genealogy (and its mistakes) will not be a focal point to readers. It's more important to give emotional and psychologically development into the central characters (or families), and then just plunge right into the interwoven plot. Best of luck!
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I use Scapple by Literature and Latte, the makers of Scrivener.
It's basically a storyboarding tool, much like you have created on your wall, only you can't run out of wall space or damage your walls!
The way I use Scapple to develop my characters is roughly through the following process:
Each character gets a place on the board and lines link them to characters they are related to/interact with. For families, each character can have their place in a family tree structure.
I add photographs of how I visualise their appearance, and other photographs of people I may be basing their personality on (I often create characters as composites of people I know).
I give them a brief description, then a deeper outline of their needs, desires and motivations.
As the story comes together, I add portions of dialogue and descriptions and inspirational photographs for scenes and settings (e.g. rooms in their home, things they own, etc.). And if a setting is a crucial part of a story, I give it its own place on the board.
I assign colours and styles to different notes for clarity, and that makes it easier to zoom in and out on specific areas of the board. And, when it comes to the actual writing and I use up portions of dialogue or scene descriptions, I colour them pale grey, so they no longer stand out.
My WIP looks like this:
The great thing about Scapple is that it can just keep growing, moving and changing, without rewriting index cards or reprinting spreadsheets and documents. You can quickly zoom in and out, even when your board is huge. You can pick up all the pieces for one character and move it around on the board, create space for new characters, quickly delete things you no longer want, etc. etc.
You can download a free trial from Literature and Latte.
I can't imagine starting a novel without it now.
HTH.
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Logistics and Blocking
What you are describing is logistics and blocking:
Colonel Mustard is in the Observatory with the Revolver.
Adding the who-where-when details to a scene is no different than plotting the current location of a MacGuffin, or pacing the reveal of a plot twist. This information belongs on the main timeline with the other narrative elements and story beats.
What hasn't been mentioned is that characters are living and dynamic. They have chemistry between other characters, and have internal motives and sympathies that change due to the events in the story. Each individual has an emotional state that is constantly in flux, and a receptivity to the events and people that are around them. This evolution is their character arc and they must shift from an opening status quo, through an interpersonal conflict with other characters, and finally resolve the conflict by ending on a new version of the status quo. Without this development arc they are not characters just plot devices.
Character Arcs, Temperament, and Motivation
Colonel Mustard is frustrated by his wife's irritability, and prefers the quiet company of his loyal horse.
This character detail has nothing to do with plot or logistics, but he will be a completely different man when he is around his wife compared to when he is around his horse. In order to show, not tell these facets of his character, he (logistically) needs a scene with his wife and a scene with his horse. Both scenes need to present him with a conflict (however minor) where he reacts differently. This contrast will make him appear to be inconsistent. Is he a simple man with a "frustrating" wife? Or is he an emotionally stunted man who thinks his wife ought to be more like an obedient animal: under his control? Both might be true, but as the reader resolves this apparent dichotomy she fills in the gaps of his personality. It's not really about contrasting a bad wife and a good horse, it's about his temperament and his fundamental viewpoints on the world.
The character is presented with 2 contradicting traits – his receptivity changes depending on who is in the room. This type of dynamic detail will probably not be spelled out for the reader, but it profoundly effects him in every scene. He is 1 person filtered by 2 different relationships, both need to feel realistic for this to register as a character flaw or handicap (in writing, a flaw can be "fixed" if the character chooses, a handicap cannot be "fixed" and requires a workaround). There is no inherent conflict to who-where-when, that's just moving chess pieces around the board. But there is inevitable conflict with volatile interpersonal relationships. The "chemical reactions" between characters will drive the motives and personal development arcs even more than the plot.
For example: a young man joining the military to defend his country has no internal conflict, he is doing the expected thing for external reasons. But if he joins the military to be more like his older brother and to impress a sweetheart, he has a start-state with internal motives and preconceptions. He is much more interesting because there are so many ways these interpersonal relationships can fail him that will impact his character arc and receptivity. How he reacts is more important than stuff that happens.
Character arcs are dynamic
You need a way to track every interpersonal relationship, the motives and conflicts between all the dynamic characters, over the course of the story. It is less important to plot relationships between non-dynamic characters who don't change, but it's still helpful to sketch in their general impression towards all the other characters even if it is superficial. What do these characters want/need, and how do they require the other characters to get it?
For me, this starts with plotting my main character arcs individually, everything they should experience in the logical narrative order to tell their story. Before this process, I typically have a loose plot outline consisting of Mary Sue characters and their flattering "power moments". I also have an idea of the obvious personality clashes (A___ is quick to act, B___ is over-cautious), but this is general and not yet dynamic.
I use a pseudo-Snowflake method to define the start and end states of the most important characters, then I fill in with various beats and conflicts needed to define their arcs. It's like Snowflake because it starts with broad generalities, but as I add specific story beats it starts to feel more like a subplot. There will be a call to action, try/fail cycles, a mid-story crisis, and a resolution that isn't really what the character wanted or expected. This is strictly character building, I do it individually for each character, and at this early stage the arcs don't align with my main story plot or each other. The arcs need to be outlined independently for each main character. I'll repeat what I said at the start, each character needs their own arc (beginning, middle, and end) or they are not characters just plot devices or supporting roles.
Once I have their character arcs I have a better idea of who each is as an individual. At this point, the Mary Sue moments look out of place so I will rework my main plot outline until the motives and actions make sense. I also have a better idea of the situations I need to support each arc, so secondary characters are emerging and being consolidated, as well as worldbuilding and backstory to frame them. I don't merge the main character arcs, instead I try to cross-pollenate them: a story beat in one triggers a story beat in another. Getting the arcs to influence each other isn't difficult, everyone is effected by the main narrative, meanwhile the interpersonal moments are where characters show individual motivation and arc development. One character's momentary outburst leads to another character's self doubt. Main characters de-rail each other leading to distrust and consequences. Likewise characters make sacrifices or misrepresent themselves creating unsustainable house of cards. The more going on in each character's personal conflicts, the easier it is ripple the effects to the other character arcs and have it all feel organic, not contrived.
Characters are like tent poles that lean away from each other
The final phase, which is the actual story-writing, is to approach each scene with a clear idea of where each character is on their arc, and what is currently motivating them. Their dialog and actions will come overwhelmingly from their personal arcs. Even characters who are working together for mutual benefit will not entirely agree. They will have different approaches, and set different objectives. Even in friendly situations they will be advocating and negotiating in support of their own individual goals.
In nearly all scenes at least one character is proactively trying to influence the other characters by logic, charisma, dominance, or subterfuge, and this is where the other characters' receptivity comes in. They will agree or resist based on their own receptivity and motives – every scene with character interaction involves this negotiation of goals and personalities. These character differences are like tent poles that lean away from each other to create space between them. Characters never just state an objective fact, everything gets filtered through their subjective realities, everything. When each character is advocating for their own motives, there should never be a situation where the reader is confused about who is speaking. It should be obvious by what they say. The objective "truth" of the story lies somewhere in the space between the characters's differences.
Putting it all together
For each scene, I refer back to my Snowflake character arcs and make sure each character signals their progress. If the beat signals a lack of progress or stagnation, the arc is still progressing even if the character isn't. Sometimes the point of an interaction is so the arc beat is observed by another character (with or without comment) just so the reader feels the change.
In a longer work I'll have a half-dozen main characters with fully developed beat-for-beat arcs, and at least as many supporting characters who have backstory and an evolving arc but don't take up as much space in the actual narrative. They still act according to their own dynamic motives, which must progress in every scene they are in.
The lowest tier of characters are essentially plot devices to aid or impede the protagonists, or who act as a Greek chorus to provide context and worldbuilding. They also receive a status quo or starting state, but they don't have much room to evolve. Nevertheless, they will still negotiate for their own goals, but are completely unaware of the plot. Rather than create forgettable throwaways, this frees them to be more selfish, more transparently themselves, because they don't need to negotiate in good faith or compromise with the main characters. They are free to over-react, to insult and provoke, and essentially to lean in opposition to the main character(s) to represent all the things the MCs can't be. They still act as a tent pole to define space between for a larger story.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41922. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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