Creating Characters by Lauther Howard

Author:Lauther, Howard [Lauther, Howard]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: McFarland Publishing
Published: 2004-05-14T06:00:00+00:00

8.

What Is the Character's Background?

What is there about the character's background that is important for the reader or viewer to know? What purpose will be served by presenting it? Put another way, would anything be lost, or would the nature of the character be rendered less clear, if nothing at all was written about some of the things that have happened in the character's life prior to the beginning of the story?

Or look at it from your side: What could possibly exist in the character's background that would help you, the writer, to better understand him or her, and which in turn would possibly allow you to convey that character to your audience more effectively?

If it is in fact important for the reader or viewer to learn something about the character's background, how should that information be presented? Should it appear in the form of one or more flashbacks? Should it be revealed through a casual first-or third-person narrative? For the sake of suspense, would it be better to merely hint of the past and not get into specifics? Should insight into a character's background be limited to only a throw-away line, or should it consume one or more chapters? Only you know what's best for your characters and your story. Only you know what kind of imprint the past has left on a character's psychology.

If you wish to delve into a character's past, either for the benefit of your audience or because you have a need to know as much as possible about someone before committing him or her to paper, what follows are some background categories that you may wish to review. Among the questions presented within a particular category, there may be something that could lead you to a truth you might have otherwise overlooked—or to further questions that will eventually point you in the right direction.

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