Think About It: Why You Like Your Favourite Character

As if you couldn’t already guess by the title, this entry’s intention is to get you to think about your favourite character. Or a favourite character if you have multiple. (I’d be damned if I met someone who didn’t.)

Why are they your favourite character? What about them sets them apart from everyone else in whatever book / movie / game / TV show / comic / etc. they come from?

Share your reflective findings below or by @’ing us on Twitter with the hashtag #MyFaveC3 in it. You don’t have to write a lot, or you can, the content is entirely up to you. I strongly encourage you to respond to others’ posts. In fact, if I were a teacher and y’all my students, I’d require it as homework. But obviously that’s not the case, and this is meant to be a good reflective and fun exercise.

As for my favourite character? You’ll have to wait until the next blog post to find out!

Character Exercise: Writing Short Scenes

A few days ago, you may have read an entry about how to use dialogue to craft compelling characters. How about applying what you learnt?

Below are a few short but sweet dialogue prompts, courtesy of Bryn Donovan. Your goal is to pick 1-3 of the below dialogue prompts (or more!) and write short scenes—how “short” is defined is entirely up to you—between two or more characters based on the prompts.

If you’d like, you can share your exercise pieces here or via email, Facebook, or Twitter, or you can keep them to yourself. The point of this exercise is to strengthen your ability to write dialogue, as well as explore characterisation through it. Of course, you’re also free to use and share other prompts found in the previously linked blog post or from elsewhere.

Now, without further ado, here are twenty prompts:

“Ah yes, come in. Close the door behind you.”
“I know this may be hard to believe, but I’m on your side.”
“Never heard of that being used as a murder weapon before.”
“You found it on the beach? You know, when most people take a walk on the beach, they pick up seashells.”
“You think you’re so good-looking, but deep down, you’re the kind of ugly that PhotoShop can’t fix.”
“I don’t really think of myself as a thief…”
“Dude. It’s 3 in the morning.”
“She’s evil, but she does have a point there.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve got a blowtorch around here?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen y’all in church.”
“I told you not to read that.”
“Put the turkey down.”
“Are you banned from all Taco Bells, or just that Taco Bell?”
“Sometimes being a total geek pays off.”
“Why is that your password?”
“Please don’t use sarcasm. It confuses me.”
“If you were logical you would’ve killed me already.”
“Yes, it’s a questionable line of work, but I’m good at it.”
“I’m cured. I swear.”
“The next time you shoot a guy, don’t do it on national television.”

Characterisation: CCC Through Dialogue

Dialogue is a pain in the butt to write. I struggle with it, I have friends who struggle with it—it’s definitely a learnt art. However, it’s an essential part of characterisation. No two people speak exactly the same (okay, that could be an exaggeration). From word choice to verbal tics to even physical cues (also an important part of dialogue), there are a variety of elements present in speech that can make a character more colourful.

Compare these two sentences:

“I went to the store today. I found everything I needed and went to the checkout line. After I paid for my stuff, I went home.”
“Oh, I was able to go to the store today! Took a bit of time for me to find everything I needed, but I did it! Checkout went smooth and before I knew it I was back in the car, on my way home.”

First, a disclaimer: Maybe the first sentence sounds a bit mundane, like someone reciting a technical report. However, there are people who speak like that. Not everyone is as buoyant and detailed as the second speaker. There are even people who might end up in the middle. (e.g., “I went to the store today! I found everything I needed and went to the checkout line!”) That’s the beauty of using dialogue for characterisation: There’s an infinite number of ways to make your characters speak.

So, you’ve been shown an example and given an explanation on how dialogue can exhibit character. But now how would you go about implementing it in your own writing? Here are a few methods:

Accents and Regional Colloquialisms: Definitely a vital part of characterisation if trying to write for someone who lives in a certain region or embraces a specific trope. For example, if you want to have a southern belle, chances are they’d say “y’all” instead of “you guys” or something along those lines. As for showing off their accent, you can either stylise their speech (e.g., “Ah kent find mah boots.”), or simply state that they’re speaking with a southern accent if you don’t want to go through all that trouble. Pygmalion playwright George Bernard Shaw started writing Eliza’s dialogue with all the inflections that came with her Cockney accent, then stopped shortly in because it was too much of a hassle.

Physical Cues: Is your character very animated when they speak? Do they perhaps give the occasional fist pump when excited or head shake when disappointed? Or are they still as a statue? Though not actually included in the dialogue, it can be mentioned before or after.

“D-Did I stutter!?” (Verbal Tics): Stuttering, slurring, slang, unintentional mispronunciations, et cetera. Not only can these display character personality, they also can show emotion. If a character who normally doesn’t stutter suddenly stutters up a storm, it might be a sign that they’re nervous for whatever reason. If they stutter on a regular basis, they might have trouble socialising or are generally a nervous person. Try and play around with these.

If you have any questions or feedback about this information, or you wish to contribute your own insights, feel free to drop a response in the comments section below or send a private message!