Dynamic Characters- How to create personalities that keep readers captivated

by Nancy Kress

  You get down on your knees and tear open the bag. The smell of warm dough envelops you. The first bite sticks in your throat and you almost gag. You will have to go slowly. You will have to learn everything all over again.

  The book ends there.

  To make the change in your character genuinely convincing to readers, finish your story with one or two validating actions. These may be as simple as mailing a letter or closing a door. In an action-oriented novel, the character may have larger and more dramatic actions to perform after he changes, in order to undo whatever chaos existed before he changed.

  Readers enjoy watching characters grow. To give us that pleasure, dramatize the entire change process: preparation, pressure, realization, validation. Then we'll believe what's happening inside your pro-tagonist—and inside us as we discover her. This is the very heart of successful fiction, the lifeblood of most novels. In the next chapter, we'll look at it in even more detail.

  SUMMARY: CHARACTERS WHO CHANGE

  • Not all protagonists need to change. Exempt are the protagonists of satires, series action novels, outrageous romps, and books whose point is that human beings are hopelessly stuck.

  • If your character does change, give us evidence beforehand that he is capable of being more than he is.

  • Put sufficient pressure on him to change.

  • Dramatize the moment of change through what he does, not just says or thinks.

  • Give us some reason to believe the character change will last once the immediate crisis is over.

  In the last chapter we rushed through the complex process of character change, a process important enough to label it ''the very heart of successful fiction,'' in less than 3,000 words. That's quite a sprint. Hearts deserve more time. So in this chapter, we'll look again at the four steps of effective character change, this time in considerable and concrete detail. We'll do this by examining how one recent novel intertwines character, change and plot: Higher Education, by Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle.

  This novel is science fiction for young adults, but the techniques it embodies apply to other types of fiction as well. Whether characters change on Mars, in Regency England, in contemporary New York or deep in the heart of Texas, the four basic steps apply. Let's see how.

  Higher Education is the story of Rick Luban, a sixteen-year-old troublemaker in a future public-school system even more beleaguered

  than inner-city schools are now. Academic standards have been watered down to the point where most kids can barely read; between voice-activated computers and other media entertainment, there's little need. Rick doesn't see the need to prepare for a meaningful job because few jobs are available, and they don't go to people like him. At home, his parents don't exhibit much concern about him. Rick gains prestige among his peers by being obnoxious to teachers, sexually predatory with girls and cynical about life.

  In short, not a candidate for Most Likely to Succeed.

  But Rick does succeed—because he changes. To make the change believable, Sheffield and Pournelle carefully and unobtrusively take Rick through the four steps discussed in the last chapter.

  PREPARATION: THE CHARACTER BEHIND THE CONDOM CAPER

  The way to prepare us for a character change is to show us that either at some point in the past the character behaved differently, or in the story present he possesses the qualities necessary for change. Rick, at sixteen, does not possess much past. Therefore, Sheffield and Pournelle concentrate on the second approach.

  In the novel's opening scene, Rick and his two buddies are engaged in a favorite occupation: harassing teachers. Rick sneaks out of the auditorium during assembly, ducks back into the classroom and arranges a water-filled condom over the door to drench the teacher who unlocks it. What do we learn from this introduction to the character?

  That Rick Luban is obnoxious, contemptuous of authority, willing to lie and to humiliate others, a show-off among his peers. All that, yes. He also gets into fights and callously ''scores'' with girls. But Sheffield and Pournelle also show us that Rick is capable of planning, of attention to detail and of a certain perverse discipline:

  He stayed in his seat until everyone except Mr. Preebane had left the room, then he moved out and held the door for the teacher. Preebane nodded his thanks. Rick closed the door; was careful not to lock it; and hurried after the rest of the class.

  First he headed away from Room 33, keeping his eyes open for working videocameras. The contraceptive dispensers were down by the cafeteria entrance. They needed a student name and ID code before they would operate, but Rick was prepared for that. He entered ''Daniel J. Rackett'' and "XKY-586," waited as the valedictorian's ID was confirmed, and took the packet of three condoms. He did it twice more.

  The corridors were deserted as he hurried back toward Room 33, opened the door, and slipped through. The tricky piece now was to disable the classroom videocamera without being seen by it. The cable ran along the ceiling, well out of reach. Rick scaled the open door and balanced precariously on top of it. He had no knife on him—anything that might form a weapon would never get past the school entrance—but his nail clippers were enough for this job. He crouched on top of the door, reached up, and delicately snipped the thin gray cable.

  There is intelligence behind this stupid prank, but not enough to save Rick. The water bomb hits not the teacher but his aunt, a visiting congresswoman on the board of education. Rick is expelled.

  A kind teacher takes the time to talk with Rick on a bench outside the school. The conversation propels plot; the teacher urges Rick to take application tests for the apprentice program of Vanguard Mining, which mines asteroids in space. However, Sheffield and Pournelle also use this long conversation for more preparation for later character change, by showing us several more latent or underutilized aspects of Rick's character. We learn that he has a natural aptitude for math.

  ''So now what happens to you?'' ''I don't know. Sit around and watch the tube, I guess, until they throw me out. Mick's goin' to kill me. The education incentive was nine-forty a month and we only get sixty-two hundred altogether.''

  ''So your education is a good part of the money. Of course you don't get it yourself.''

  ''Naw. Mick takes it. He's gonna hate losing that nine-forty. Fifteen percent—''

  ''It is that. You do percentages in your head?'' ''Sure. That's useful, you need it to play the numbers.''

  We are also shown that, unlike many teens, Rick is able to control his temper when it's to his own advantage, even in the face of direct insult:

  Rick stood up. . . . "Why are you doing this for me?''

  Hamel paused. ''Certainly it's not because I like you, Luban. I do not. As I said, you are a fool. And you are—'' ''Ignorant, cynical, amoral, and unthinking. I heard you.''

  Rick is also capable of such softer emotions as gratitude, although he has trouble expressing it:

  He wanted somehow to thank Mr. Hamel, but he did not know how.

  This ability to recognize another person's actions and motives will become critical later in the book.

  Finally, when Rick goes to take the application tests for the mining job, we see that he has a street-smart ability to size up a situation, rather than act on his first impulse:

  There was a temptation to lie, or put things in a way more favorable to Rick. Some instinct warned him that would be a mistake. He recounted the whole episode. . . . After the fact it sounded so stupid and pointless and unfunny. Rick was sure that any hope of employment with Vanguard Mining was evaporating with every word he said.

  Finally, that Rick goes for the job interview at all—and, when he passes, goes first to New Mexico for training and then into space— dramatically illustrates that he possesses courage, initiative and some degree of adaptability. Sheffield and Pournelle will build on all these qualities later, as Rick changes.

  It's important to emphasize that each of these qualities is shown more than once. Throughout the first six chapters, Rick reveals aga
in and again that he can assess reality, face it bravely and react with self-preserving intelligence. These qualities are convincingly mixed in with his macho fights, predatory attitudes toward women, suspicious anger, and disregard for any rules he thinks he can get away with breaking. He is still a punk. But he's a punk that his creators have endowed with qualities upon which change can be convincingly built. The authors are preparing for the next developments in their plot.

  It can also work the other way. If you start with a character (many writers do), you can use her complexities to generate plot ideas. Ask yourself:

  • What qualities does this person have that her current circumstances don't allow her to fully express?

  • What circumstances might allow—or even force—her to express them?

  • Does that indicate where my plot should go?

  Adequate preparation is critical to our believing your character can change. Next you need to show us why he does so.

  PRESSURE: THE FACTS OF LIFE IN SPACE

  Rick Luban is already under powerful pressure as soon as he gets expelled from school: He has nowhere to go. If he goes home, his stepfather will beat him because he has lost the supplementary welfare that the government pays households with children attending school. He applies to Vanguard Mining out of desperation, a convincing pressure. It's also a common one in fiction. It drives characters as different from Rick Luban as Scarlett O'Hara, Robinson Crusoe, Mitch McDeere, Becky Sharp and Oliver Twist.

  A need for somewhere to go is not the only pressure that Sheffield and Pournelle bring to bear on Rick. If it were, the novel would be over as soon as he signed up with Vanguard Mining. Instead, as soon as one pressure is satisfied, the authors introduce another. And another, and another. . . . This makes sense because pressure is plot. Pressure is things happening that tighten the screws on your character and force him to fight back. In other words, conflict plus action plus trouble equals plot. No pressure, no plot. Many pressures, much plot.

  One pressure on Rick is macho competitiveness. From the first moment he arrives at the Vanguard training facility, another recruit, Vido Valdez, is determined to show up Rick and eliminate him from the program. Their competitiveness is reinforced by the trainees' discovery that not everyone recruited will actually be offered a job with Vanguard. They are in competition with each other for a limited number of job slots.

  A second pressure is death (always a good motivator). Space mining is dangerous. The recruits are told to learn their training material, and learn it well, whether or not they object to the hated terms school and rules.

  ''So let's agree that this isn't a school. Let's say it's a survival course for off-Earth mining operations. The Belt is a dangerous place. You can screw up bigtime out there, eat vacuum, O/D on radiation, blow yourself up, get flattened by an ore crusher, get stranded and starve to death. No legal liability for Vanguard Mining—read your contract. But Vanguard doesn't want you dead, because we already have an investment in you. You think all those tests you took don't cost money? So it's my job to make sure that by the time you leave here you know how to avoid killing yourself. That means learning a few new rules. Anybody object to the idea of surviving?"

  No one does. Effective pressure to change one's attitude.

  A third pressure on Rick is also survival-related, and deemed necessary in dealing with a bunch of tough adolescents. An instructor explains to a recruit named Gladys:

  ''These are meal vouchers. You need one to obtain food from the cafeteria service system. When you complete your assignment satisfactorily—by this evening, or tomorrow morning, or tomorrow midday, or whenever—you will receive one voucher. But if you fail to complete your assignment to my satisfaction, you will not.''

  "You can't do that to me!''

  ''I'm afraid I can. Read your contract. Vanguard Mining, in loco parentis, decides the manner and extent of trainee nutrition. Now, Gladys. Are you going to leave? Or would you like to stay here with the rest of the trainees while I explain today's assignment? Dinner is lasagna with mushrooms, peppers, and garlic bread. The choice is yours.''

  Not all the pressures on Rick Luban come from the mining company. In addition to the competition for jobs, there are social forces from his peers. Rick has been used to intimidating girls into responding to him; he considers this a courtship technique. But the females at Vanguard Mining all receive training in handling male intimidation.

  His first counterattack from a woman—a painful and nearly crippling knee in the groin, followed by a kick to the jaw—is sufficient pressure to change his approach to girls.

  Finally, Sheffield and Pournelle show an important internal pressure on Rick—the desire to complete a job well. This pressure can't kick in until Rick actually has some real-world, meaningful successes, something his old school never provided. But once he discovers that school subjects he once scorned actually have important adult uses, he is driven by the human desire for practical mastery:

  ''So what do we do?''

  Rick did not answer. He had called up a section of the ship's manual onto the display. More than anything he had ever wanted in his life, he wanted to read that manual. And he couldn't. The words were too long and unfamiliar, the sentences seemed too complex. He strained to understand, willing the words to make sense. And still he couldn't read them. The ship was drifting along, but CM-2 was not directly ahead. Their present course would miss the planetoid.

  Again, pressure to learn to read well comes about as a result of plot developments (the training ship is rotating wrong) and in turn fuels more plot (intense studying—a new phenomenon for Rick Luban).

  So the pressures to change are many for Rick Luban: a need for somewhere to go, competitiveness, physical danger, obtaining food, negative responses to sexual overtures and—eventually—a desire to succeed for the sake of success alone. As with showing us Rick's initial capacity to change, the authors of Higher Education don't merely mention each of these various pressures once. Each is dramatized over and over. Such dramatizations, along with Rick's responses, make up the plot.

  What pressures will you bring to bear on your characters, driving them toward change? The list of possibilities is endless, since it includes everything a human being wants to obtain, wants to keep, wants to avoid, wants to conquer or wants to eliminate. Some common pressures in fiction follow.

  • Someone wants to harm the protagonist.

  • Someone wants to harm a loved one of the protagonist.

  • A pressing need for money, or more money.

  • A pressing desire to be loved.

  • The ravages of war (from either civilian or soldier POV).

  • The human need to explore.

  • Internal pressure to avoid being alone and unconnected.

  • Parental pressure to achieve or to be something specific.

  • Desire to please God.

  • Fear of displeasing God.

  • Peer pressure to belong.

  • Pressure from the boss to do something (or not do something).

  • Pressure from a spouse, ditto.

  • Pressure from the need(s) of one's child(ren).

  • Pressure to conform to one's society, religion or subgroup.

  • Pressure from internal guilt over some action one has taken.

  • Pressure from the law.

  • Internal pressure to look good through impressing others.

  • Pressure from one's conscience or ethical values.

  • Etc., etc.

  You can also play these pressures against each other, creating even more pressure on the protagonist. For example, Rick Luban is under pressure from Vanguard Mining to avoid fistfights during training, or he'll be tossed out of the program. He's also under pressure from fellow recruit Vido Valdez to get into a fight, in order to establish the adolescent-male pecking order and not be thought a wimp by his peers. Whatever Rick does, he thinks, will be wrong—a good definition of pressure.

  And a good generator of pl
ot incidents.

  REALIZATION: TESTS AND GIRLS AND STAYING ALIVE

  In addition to creating plot, pressure also serves another purpose. It's a reason for a character to do something differently than he did it before. If what he did before was working, he wouldn't be in trouble. But he is in trouble (or you don't have a book). Therefore, the protagonist will often respond to pressure by trying something else. If the something else works, the stage is set for the character to realize he must change.

  There is another version of this, in which the realization precedes

  the change. Characters who are self-aware, used to intellectualizing, thoughtful about themselves and others—such people sometimes perceive on their own that they need to change what they're doing. So they do. Change is conscious and self-chosen.

  Rick Luban, however, is not an introspective guy (nothing in his environment has ever even shown him the possibility). But he is intelligent, and he can adapt. When all the pressures detailed above act on Rick, he acts differently (he has little choice). And when his new behaviors prove effective, he naturally continues them. Thus, his actions change.

  In what specific ways?

  He's careful to follow mining-company rules—because he wants to avoid accidents. He studies hard—because he wants to stay in space. He cooperates with the other recruits in studies and assigned projects—because there's no way he can complete them if he doesn't. He keeps his hands off the girls—because they'll take him apart otherwise.

  These changes are all motivated by selfishness. Rick changes his behavior because it's in his own best interests to do so. But then an interesting thing occurs. His changed behavior causes others to respond differently to him. He in turn changes his behavior toward them a little more—and out of these second-order changes comes a different internal attitude toward other people. Rick finally learns to see them as real, separate individuals with their own agendas and feelings, which should be respected.

  For the first time, Rick realizes that his actions impact others—and he accepts responsibility for that impact: