People are Such Strange Creatures...

I get a lot of inspiration from people. Let's be honest here- we, as a rational race, are very interesting. Some of us are pessimistic, others optimists. Some are funny, others serious, or introverted/extroverted, or wild/tame, or brave/cowards, and the list goes on and on. And that's not including mood swings. That puts the picture in a whole new light.

We all have different tastes and different reactions to the world around us. Different strengths, appearances, past, opinions...

But why is it so hard to put all that in a story? Why are deep characters so few and far between?

 So many answers exist. Writers don't put in the effort. Some blame it on talent, or ignorance, or a lack of creativity. All of these are valid, to be sure. Everyone can come up with another answer.

I blame the human nature- so utterly complicated and like a labyrinth, how can anyone put such depth on a page? In a novel? In a series?

But yet those gems- those characters who have seared their image in our mind- still exist. They are out there! So why can't the rest of us show the same depth? And, most importantly, how the heck do the masters do it?

I don't know.

I know a little about characterization, and one fact startled me the most.

Characters should change.

It's so simple, yet so profound. People change, right? Our experiences morph our character. If we want to make our characters real, they should change. They should be like real, live people.

Sterotypes are the bane of the reader- and the writer. Everyone knows that. Who wants to read a story about, say, a vain supermodel? Or a pius nun? What about a suicidal billionaire? Or a murderous doctor?
People want to read about interesting people. Period, the end.

One of my absolute favorite characters EVER is Murtagh from the Inheritance Cycle. Most people think I'm crazy for it, too. Why? He's only a vengeful, angry, seen-as-evil dragon Rider who seems to enjoy tormenting others. I don't want to give anything away, but he nicknamed his best friend Thorn and his sword is named Misery. How cheerful, right?

But he's beautifully crafted. His backstory is a horror story, and that's not even talking about his own life, which is a bloody nightmare. He's been though SO MUCH, and let me tell you, I love him for it. Why? I may be reading too much into his character, but I have this gut instinct that he hates himself too. He hates what he's done. He hates his life, but he is physically incapable of suicide. And he's too proud to do that anyway. He's not the main character (by far in a way), but all the same, he is so much deeper than Eragon (the protagonist).

Who else?

Peter Pevensie! Though this is more evident in the movies rather than the books, his experiences in England and those in Narnia changed who he was. He went from being a rather frightened, doubtful boy to a proud, over-confident King of Narnia. The change was so obvious and well played that many argued against it, but I think it strengthed not only his character, but the movies.




You get the picture! Your characters should change. Period, the end.

Who are your favorite characters? Why?