Readers remember books primarily because of the characters they meet within the pages. Many times have I sat in a seminar or book group listening to heated arguments about characters who have had such a powerful influence on their readers that they seem to be as alive as any of us!
So how can you describe or ‘construct‘ a character against the clock, in an examination situation?
Tip Three ‘Constructing’ or building your character.
Don’t overdo the detail-this overburdens your narrative/storytelling. BE THRIFTY!!!!
‘Mrs Whitaker found the Holy Grail: it was under a fur coat. Every Thursday afternoon Mrs Whitaker walked down to the post office to collect her pension, even though her legs were no longer what they were, and on the way back home she would stop at the Oxfam shop and buy herself a little something.’ ( Neil Gaiman, ‘Chivalry’ in Smoke and Mirrors 1999.)
This is a very surprising opening and Mrs Whitaker’s ‘find’ in the Oxfam shop leaves us laughing from the first moment! Who can resist the combination of Oxfam and the Holy Grail-with the throwaway detail of the FUR COAT! Super writing!
1) Mrs Whitaker is given a HABIT. This habit is linked to TIME and PLACE.
2) Mrs Whitaker is given a PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC. We know her mobility is a problem, probably of age and so her habits are important and thus we get a sense of her DAILY LIFE and ROUTINE. This makes her real.
3) The ordinary quality of ‘Mrs Whitaker’ as a name we can recognise as everyday and ‘normal’ is JUXTAPOSED to the ‘HOLY GRAIL’- a detail far from ordinary and normal!
So to summarise a speedy means of character building:
A) Give your character a HABIT.
B) Link the HABIT to TIME and PLACE.
C) Perhaps introduce through JUXTAPOSITION something ODD!
‘Sam would cycle to his grandma’s on the 25th of each month carrying a small bag of liquorice sticks and a tin of paint. The liquorice was for Herbert his grandma’s cross mastiff dog, the paint was for the mural they were painting together so they could buy back grandad’s car. Even years later, Sam could never smell paint without detecting the faintest whiff of black liquorice and his mouth would water just like Herbert RIP. ‘
Janet Lewison