Getting Into Your Character's Head/Mindset
Characterisation
is important if you want to create believable characters, and character
development is a way for writers to achieve this. The phrase ‘getting into your
character’s head’ means the writer needs to have a fundamental understanding of
the main character’s background, motivation, beliefs and goals – the very
things that can influence the what the character does in the story, how they behave
and how they act and react.
It means
that everything is written instinctively. In other words, you
don’t ponder how your character will act in one situation or what he would say.
Instead you just write it, because you automatically know exactly what the
character will do and say.
The reality
is that the character is in your head; your creation, but the
strength of characterisation is such that you can get into his or her mind at
any moment, without losing focus, to feel his or her emotions, thoughts and
feelings.
How do we do
it?
Firstly, ask
yourself how well you know your main character. If your characterisation isn’t strong
enough, you won’t be able to get into the protagonist’s head; you’ll struggle
to understand many character elements.
Character
development, unlike characterisation, is an ongoing process throughout a story,
because of the situations they face, obstacles they overcome and the traumas
they endure. Characterisation, however, starts at the very beginning, before you
commit even one word to the story, so it’s vital to characterise. You have to
know what they like, dislike, love, hate, their beliefs, passions,
relationships etc. Understand their physical, psychological and sociological characteristics,
and how they see themselves in the world and with other people. Know their
personality, what makes them tick.
Know who
they are and what their backstory is – this is vital to how they behave in the
story. Everyone’s past shapes how they behave in the present. What are the
events that have brought them to the present moment?
Know what
the character wants – what is their motivation? Why are they undertaking their
journey? How do they feel about it? What will they accomplish and how would
they feel if they failed? Something important must be at stake for them to do
what they’re willing to do in order to achieve their goal. If you understand
the character’s motivations, then it’s easier to understand his or her thoughts
and feelings.
Make the character
relatable. The vital connection for this is emotion, which in turn creates empathy
with the reader. Emotions are universal
to all of us – we feel pain, joy, sorrow and hate. Some things make us angry,
some things make us laugh. But we can all relate to emotions, so as writers we
tap into that, because we know readers will understand all these feelings; they
will empathise with the character.
The one
thing writers do to get into their character’s head is to echo their own
feelings and thoughts and emotions. For instance, when you failed at something,
how did you feel? Did it hurt deep
inside? Were you angry? Disappointed or bitter?
When you
lost something dear, did you feel distraught, sad or maybe depressed? And if something amazing happened, how did you
react? Did you celebrate, did you get
drunk or did you simply smile to yourself?
If you know
your character well enough, you’ll know exactly how he or she would act and react
or behave in any given situation.
To summarise:
- Characterise before writing.
- Know their backstory and past.
- Know what the character wants, and why. Know exactly what motivates them.
- Make the character relatable to the reader – what are their goals, what’s at stake?
- Know their thoughts, behaviours, traits, emotions and feelings.
Next week:
Using body language (kinesics) to characterise.
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