Character Development in Writing

I've been meaning to write down everything I learned as a writer at San Francisco State. This will take a few blogs. This one has to do with, well, what the title says. First some quick theory.

Since I live in the land of bumper stickers and Jimmy Hendrix posters, this thought came to me which is loosely based on character development (it's a stretch). The thought occurred to me how stupid it would be to buy a poster of Neil Young (who I love) or any other face for sale to put on your wall. I love my family and I don't post giant mass produced posters of their faces on my wall (that would be creepy). Beyond celebrity worship, it's just plain stupid. If you like Neil Young, listen to his music. Gandhi, be nice to your fellow human race. Frank Sinatra, throw someone out of an airplane in motion.

To expand more on this thought (I think I had two shots of espresso in my coffee that day) I was thinking of a character and the person as a whole. It pigeonholes the person as a certain belief or idea and ironically, half these living celebrities are trying to avoid just that (Neil Young being the best example). So this theory ties into what I learned about character development because people are too complex to write about with purity. But let's try.

I've always said that people like Tarantino for the wrong reasons. It's his dialogue, Shakespearean format, and character development that make the film and writing critics love him so dearly. Not his 'coolness' (which I've been meaning to write a blog about). So I'll use one of his characters to start with as a good example. The film Jackie Brown and the character played by Samuel L. Jackson: Ordell Robbie. This character was stuck on a certain drink: vodka and orange juice. He was tough but had principles and a certain patience. I'd say that this character was deeply developed. His diction was unique. So I'll show you how to do that as best as I can.

Generically! Well, we had a ditto that helped us to refine our characters. What do they drink often? What does this character love most? Their smell, do they smoke, what color is their favorite, do they like comics, video games, ect. And the only way to take something beyond a love for screwdrivers is to write and write and write about them. Here is a good way to do that.

Take a picture and spend AT LEAST 25 minutes (for starters) on what is behind the picture (of the character in your head). After 25 minutes you reach a breaking point where your mind produces stuff past the crap on the top of your brain. Do this often, but in spurts and highlight what fits the character in your head, then write more to expand.

Then simplify. Remember we are talking about the human brain so you can get as vast and creative as you want. Does the character speak other languages? What books would they read? Their level of morality, etc. After you highlight, then pear down. Get an idea of who you are dealing with before putting them in your story. To me, a character makes the story good, not the action. But later I'll talk about how action can define a character, after you get down all their habits and lusts.

This is one of a few blogs I'll write on what I know about writing. One of my favorite fictional characters in film (and I have blogs about characters in literature) is the film Bottle Rocket with Owen Wilson's character, Dignan. My next blog (and I'm lazy, which is why I don't write often) will be about creating a background for your characters to live inside. The third will be how to move them around, followed by how to complete a story. Start with your characters. And have fun with this.