I have said in this column before that your novel when you write it must have conflict, the hero or heroine against the villain or against serious obstacles, climbing a mountain or solving a crime for example.
It also helps to understand what makes people tick and to work interesting character traits into your characters, their quirks and weaknesses (not just strengths).
I don’t want to seem cynical but in a novel, happy and well-adjusted, if that’s all there is—that’s boring. Misfortune, anger, violence, recrimination, greed, the need for revenge, all the human vices including abject failure—-let’s face it, those are more interesting.
I’m not saying you can’t write a feel-good book like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, those are perfectly legitimate and the book you will write likely could have a happy ending.
All I’m saying is that some sort of conflict is the basis for most novels.
I’ve always considered myself an amateur psychologist. I have an interest in how people behave and why they behave the way they do.
Let’s start with myself. I believe myself to be somewhat of an idiot savant. This term is now considered outdated and offensive because of the word “idiot.”
…In other words, a person who seems stupid in many areas but exhibits brilliance and talent in a narrow sphere of activity.
I think in my case rather than “idiot” I have something of an “attention deficit disorder,” particularly regarding things that bore me or are mechanical in nature. I flunked high school math and my wife does our taxes and manages our finances.
Or to put it another way, recalling an old often-used put-down, a former boss once said of me, “The lights are on but nobody’s home.” Another boss said, “Sometimes you seem so smart, and then other times….you.. just.. don’t.. get it!”
You can tell I haven’t worked out too well in regular jobs. I’ve done better as an independent writer.
My other quirks are I’m left handed and do everything backwards. I always drive the wrong way (direction) in the parking lot until I see the painted arrows on the pavement. I can’t operate a cash register (computer) in a store. I make a mistake, get confused and a line of angry people waiting to make their purchases loudly complain. The boss tells me afterward he has to let me go.
It used to be called getting fired.
Or…
I’m in a store to buy something. I’m told to tap my bank card on the pay computer. I do this but it won’t register. I do it again and again (tap) and it won’t go through. The cashier takes the card from me, taps the computer and it clears okay.
It works for her but not for me. It’s like the machine can tell it’s me and refuses to recognize me. It reminds me of a vampire who looks in the mirror and there’s no reflection. I often like to joke to the cashier by saying, “This wouldn’t happen to anyone else.”
Where am I going with this?
You can use your own quirks or the quirks of real people that you know to make the characters in your novel come alive, to become more interesting. A person who is right all the time who never makes a mistake or has no weaknesses is boring.
I’m currently writing a novel about a marine biologist who is required to scuba dive and is secretly terrified of the ocean.
Let me give another example of a quirk that is real-life that can be used to flesh out a character:
A man is a manic depressive who has bouts of despair and anger, who has a figurative dark cloud over him, who is often rude to people and a naysayer, who runs down everything and everyone. Nevertheless, this sort of man is also romantically attractive to some women, who apparently feel the need to cheer the man up.
Is this considered a protective ‘mothering’ complex?
Whatever, there are people like this, and if you work these traits into a character in your book, they are bound to become interesting. In books or movies an “anti-hero” is a hero who lacks traditional virtues like nobility and generosity but who still manages to achieve heroic goals.
One last thought. If you work traits into your book for characters that are based on real living persons, make sure that if they read your book they can’t tell you’ve written about them. That can get you sued for liable (damage to someone’s reputation), and no, simply changing their name to a fictional name in the book is not full protection.
John Sammon is a freelance writer and the author of 41 books, many of which can be found here on Amazon. He is a resident of El Dorado Hills. His commentary is the first in a series on the trip of self publishing.
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