Golden-Globe winner Gerald DiPego has a system to create believable characters.
By Gerald DiPego
We are honored to host a Golden Globe winning screenwriter on the blog this week! Jerry DiPego has written over 40 feature and television films including Words and Pictures, the Forgotten, Angel Eyes, Message in a Bottle, Instinct, Phenomenon, and Sharky’s Machine. He has won awards for his teleplays I Heard the Owl Call My Name, One More Mountain, and A Family Upside Down.
Mr. DiPego is also a novelist who has developed a system for teaching writing called “Emotional Realism” which is detailed in his new book, WRITE! Find the Truth in Your Fiction. More on this below. So take it away, Jerry!….Anne
We start with:
The Idea
So I have an idea for a story. It begins with the death of an old town eccentric who was known to be wealthy, but never used a bank.
For years people have told stories of him roaming his eight weedy acres during the night, carrying a shovel. He buries ‘things’ here and there.. then shuffles through the darkness back to his gone-to-seed home.
The Protagonist
The protagonist of my story is a young police officer, new to the town’s police force.
During the investigation of the old man’s death, this young cop is posted to guard the eccentric’s property every night to keep away the people who want to sneak onto those weedy acres and dig for the old man’s wealth.
The Supporting Cast
I decided to add the young cop’s parents and sister and the woman he is falling in love with, who is also a police officer – his sergeant. She’s former military, tough, and as experienced as the young man is new.
Other people in town, friends, enemies, ex-girlfriends will offer the cop deals, favors if he’ll only turn his back and let them dig. Some of these people threaten him.
Ok. I have my premise and my protagonist, got the small town setting and good possibilities for conflict and danger, and for a love story, too. Shouldn’t be too difficult: typical new young cop in over his head.
Ready? Time to Write?
Nope, not ready. Not even close. These are only the pieces of my tale.
They need to be assembled and carefully glued together. What’s the glue?
Emotion. Emotional Realism, I call it. Making it all…FEEL REAL.
So far I know only WHAT my protagonist is. I don’t know WHO he is. How is he different from any other young cop with a first mission? How is he different from anybody else in the world?
I haven’t yet made him SOMEBODY – somebody the reader has never met before. That’s our goal.
Avoiding Stereotypes
If I start writing now, I face the danger of writing a ‘typical’ young cop, a flat character, a stereotype who does only what the readers expect him to do and says only what the readers are expecting to hear – what they’ve heard before in stories about other ‘new young cops.’ No, not this guy, not my guy.
Now is the time for me to pick up MY shovel and dig deep, unearthing all the pieces of human possibility for this character.
If you DO find yourself writing a character as a one-dimensional device – oh, he’s the mean manipulator, or she’s the sexy, knowing temptress – stop and hit your head on the desk, not too hard, just hard enough to shake off all the flat characters that are always hanging around us saying, “Hey, use me, I’m easy, everybody knows what I stand for. I save you time.”
There’s a whole chorus of these throwaway characters shouting at us like street vendors, handing us sheets of paper, saying, “Check it out. I’m number 46, the-cop-who’s-brutal-for-no-reason. Hey, I’m number 23, the-nice-person-who-dies-first-in-your-thriller. Look, here, 97, use me for body count. I just show up and fall down. Wanna see? Check it out, number 78. I’m the shallow-husband-she-never-ever-would-have-married-but-did.
We have to bang our heads and then step up and do the job right and not take the easy road, because it leads nowhere anyway.
The Quiz to Create Believable Characters
I use a brief quiz to test the depth of my characters (really testing myself, of course.) I ask each important character in my story:
1) “What do you, really, really want – at your core. What do you want?”
And I have to go deep to find the answer.
Once I have it, I ask the second question:
2) “What are you most afraid of, way down in the pit. What frightens you in the deepest sense?”
Now I know them, even beyond their history and level of education and way of speaking and way of walking down a street.
I know them in the pit of themselves, and can make them richer on the page, mixing their light and shadow because they can’t be all bad or all good.
We need to mix our colors like a painter and render people as truly human as possible.
Assembling the Pieces
So, in this case I do the same with my young cop. I dig down for the pieces and study them and choose and assemble this fresh, individual person out of quirks and habits, likes and dislikes, a mix of personality that establishes in him the precious feeling of human truth that will stamp him as one of us – an individual.
For instance: here is MY young cop now.
- He’s hot-tempered, has a bull riding scar above his eye and a nose broken more than once from fights he’s won and lost.
- He’s a loner except for his autistic sister who can drive him crazy, but she trusts only him, and he cares for her.
- His older brother died in a hunting accident for which he feels responsible, and this inner scar can turn him stone cold at times.
- He studied psychology for two years at a city college, and he has a good singing voice and a poor sense of direction.
- When he takes on a job, he is determined to do it right and abashed when he makes a mistake.
- He’s a mixed-race man. One of his grandfathers is an African American.
- He can shoot a fly off the wall with a rubber band from ten feet away.
- He’s just short of six feet tall, fit, and a little self-conscious about his new mustache.
- He’s 26. His name is Alan Vitter.
FEEL it!
Now my cop is someone with darkness and light and shades in between and has the ability to surprise a reader, do the unexpected, be human, feel real.
I will not write him, not even page one, chapter one, until I can see him, hear his voice and know how he crosses a room.
Of course there are infinite choices for each of our important characters, and their traits should not be randomly attached, but selected because they will help us tell the story the way we see it – the way we FEEL it.
He’s now the singular young cop I have imagined and assembled, but you would create a completely different young cop. Go ahead. You envision YOUR young cop. In fact, since I made up this story, and I’m not going to write it, YOU write it. Use it as a prompt, an exercise. Write the opening pages or the whole damn story. It’s yours now.
Here’s your shovel.
by Gerald DiPego (@jerdipego) August 21, 2016
How about you, scriveners? Have you ever quizzed your characters? Do you know what they want: what they really, really want (apologies to the Spice Girls there.) Do you know what they fear?
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This week on her book blog, Anne talks about poisoning people with Visine. And no, it’s not as hilarious as it seemed in the movie Wedding Crashers.
And many thanks to Frances Caballo for her piece at the Self-Published Author the new publication from Bowker®, the ISBN people. She named us one of the Top 10 Blogs for Today’s Indie Authors! Thanks Frances!
Gerald DiPego
Gerald DiPego studied journalism and literature at Northern Illinois University and spent his twenties as a high school English teacher.
He shows his love of language in the delightful 2013 film Words and Pictures, starring Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen. Clive Owen’s character, an English teacher, says, “Words are your gods. And somebody has insulted your religion.” I think all writers can relate to that! Mr. DiPego is also a closet poet and used his own poem as a plot device in the film.
In 1970, he followed his dream and moved Los Angeles to work as a screenwriter and novelist. He’s had a remarkably long and successful career as the author of over 40 produced screen and teleplays and five novels. He is married to Christine DiPego, a singer and artist, and has two sons. He now lives in California’s beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Write! shows that the inspiration for a new work is not reducible to rules, the mechanics of plotting, or finding a “hook,” but largely rests in the emotional journey of the characters, so readers are personally engaged and live the journey as they read.
It’s like a one-on-one tutorial from a master!
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Please note: I try to vet all the contests and opportunities I list here, but I may miss something, so always read the fine print, especially when it comes to copyright. Don’t enter a contest that takes rights for non-winning submissions, or asks for ALL rights, rather than first rights. More on this at Writer Beware.…Anne
OPPORTUNITY ALERTS
“Dear Lucky Agent” Contest FREE! Judge is Andrea Morrison of Writers House, Category: contemporary or literary YA. Submit your first page. 3 winners get a critique of their first 10 pages. Deadline August 24th.
THE SUNDAY TIMES SHORT STORY AWARD NO ENTRY FEE Any story under 6,000 words. Five shortlisted runners-up get £1,000. First prize worth £30,000. The Society of Authors is the sponsor. Author must have previous publications in the UK or Eire. Deadline September 29, 2016.
Bartleby Snopes Dialogue-Only Story Contest. $10 FEE for unlimited entries. Write a story under 2000 words, using only dialogue–no tags. No other restrictions. Prize: minimum of $300, more with more entries. All fees go into the prize pot. Deadline September 15th.
Call for anthology submissions! Wising Up Press is accepting submissions of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction for their “Kindness of Strangers” anthology. Prose: 5,000 words or fewer. Poets may submit up to five poems. They accept simultaneous submissions and previously published work. Deadline Sept. 1st
Verbolatry Laugh-a-Riot Contest 2016 Win £50 and publication, no fee. Seeking Humorous essays and cartoons about writing/publishing. Two categories, free and paid. (Pay £5, win £100) Judged by Moira Allen, Leigh Anne Jasheway and Geoff Tristram. Sponsored by Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat. Deadline 31 August 2016.
MYSTERY AUTHORS! We found a list of 15 small presses that specialize in mysteries and do not require an agent for submissions. It’s compiled by Authors Publish Newsletter.
ROMANCE AUTHORS! Here’s a list of 31 small presses that specialize in romance and do not require an agent for submissions. Also compiled by the Authors Publish Newsletter.
25 PUBLISHERS YOU CAN SUBMIT TO WITHOUT AN AGENT. These are respected, mostly independent publishing houses–vetted by the great people at Authors Publish. Do check out their newsletter
Too complicated for me. I just toss characters into the story and stuff wanders in at random points that turns out to be important. Character questions are one of those writing techniques I’ve never understood–always felt like outlining the character, when I actually discover who they are as I write. I trust that what I need is in there where I need it.
Thanks, Linda. Yes,as far as writing our characters there is the deepen-as-you-write approach or the close-study-and-invention approach, and the winner is…. Whatever works for you. Jerry
I’ll have to pick up your book, Gerald.
I do look for goals and fears. I probably didn’t learn to dig deep enough until I came across an exercise where you write down what the characters think of each other. That’s also very revealing.
Good tip.
Good advice. I suppose if you’re relying on plot alone to get you through the novel, you can give short shrift to character development but it’s at your own peril.
Thanks for yet another brilliant blog
Many thanks!
Gerald, I’m so happy to meet you. I loved your film, Words and Pictures. Great dialogue topped by a terrific cast. You’ve given writers an excellent writing prompt here. We do need to make our characters real and finding what motivates them, what they want, what they fear, are the key to writing believable characters, a little weird and wonderful–just like us. 🙂 I use a similar technique before I start writing a story or novella or even a novel. I need to know who these fictional folks are. I think there will be more of us picking up your book this weekend. I know, I will. Thanks for this great post. Paul
Thank you, Paul – appreciate your words.
Gerald, those two questions are exactly what I ask my students, in Crafting a Novel! (I have a character sheet they need to fill in for their protagonist and main characters.) I relate closely to your way of building a story. I do the same thing: figure out the main character, the plot, and then let the character stew in my head, often for several months, until I can see him clearly, know how he will react to every event – in fact, until he *lives* for me almost as a real person does.
Great post!
It’s a fresh perspective Gerald and I appreciate how you shared it. People who write for the screens have the knack, no wasted words there!
I’m guessing some folks write lit-fic as thinly disguised autobiography because they know this depth of feeling and detail is what they need, and they either can’t or won’t create it on their own so they just think about Brian from math class. HIM they know, so now his name is Kevin and off you go.
I feel a strong connection to the heroic characters in my genre fiction, but I freely admit my villains are pretty stock, right off the rack at Wal-mart. I don’t like them, is all. If they ever do flash me something of interest I always relate it, but for the most part I chronicle how they rant and then swords out. It’s easier to kill characters when they deserve it: then the details tend to matter less.
I agree — it’s all about the oft-elusive inner life of the characters. I typically don’t interview my characters in a formal manner, but I sure do listen as they develop themselves. Often, a character will teach me something new in a later chapter & I’ll have to go back & buff up the earlier chapters to embrace that new bit of information. Thanks for the lesson, & thanks for pushing authors to think of the inner lives of their characters.
Thank you for this great post. I have a tendency to write everyone as pretty much a good guy. I’m working on that. I think your question idea will help me to develop my antagonist. I love it!
Most of the suggestions for writing characters don’t resonate with me, but THIS does. I’m going to do this from now on for the characters in my books. THANK YOU for a generously helpful post.
If the characters are flat for me, my mind bounces right off the page to another book. Your post was so intriguing that I am picking up your book, Gerald. Digging beneath of historical figures makes my writing historical fantasies fun for me, and hopefully it makes them fun to read. Thanks again for such an enlightening post.
Oops. I meant to say “digging beneath the STEREOTYPES of historical figures.” My meanings get lost in the butter-fingers of my typing sometimes. 🙂
‘butter fingers’. Isn’t that a great phrase? Such a clear and simple image. Be well.
Wow, Message in a Bottle and Phenomenon–two of my very favorites. Your tips are great. Digging deeply and watching people you meet, keeping notes on characteristics. Great stuff.
Thanks so much, bethhavey!
Hi, Jerry! Thanks for the neat distillation of your new book–which I loved. Reading your words, I found that I unwittingly have done what you suggest in writing my books. I sit at the computer and BECOME the characters while I write. I’m the author/actor and I play all the parts.
This post provided a very useful prompt. I’m writing a story about a witch for a Halloween event held by one of my friends. She’s a very unusual witch who wants something no one would guess. I know her well–but the rest of the emerging characters are new to me. My witch’s quest requires her to return to her ancestral castle and extended family, a gang of Euro-trash witches and vampires.
The Addams Family has already been written. I want something new. How to go beyond the stereotypes?
I’ll do as you suggest: I’m going to sit down down and flesh out the undead before writing them. That will be fun and new. I’ll ask Vanessa’s European relatives to come out of the shadows and give me something with a bite. Oops! Not from these folks! Their bites might be terminal.
Thanks for sharing!
Sandra–I’m sure Jerry will have something wise to say, but I just have to chime and and say…what a fun premise! Eurotrash witches and vampires! I can’t wait to read it. 🙂
The “Euro” part gives them some class – hope they reveal some gooood stuff to you!
Bookmarked, this is absolutely the kind of stuff I need to apply to my own writing. Gotta go deeper and find the unexpected. I’m also really digging (ohoho) this narrative framing with the old man and what Gerald is specifically asking us to do. Great post, thank you.
Thanks, Soren. Hope you find what you’re digging for!
Thank you for this! Just wondering…
Do you plan of the story at all before you build the characters?
Do your characters ever change from how you originally envisioned them as you write the story?
Gerald, thanks for your wise words and for sharing them on Anne and Ruth’s blog. I have much digging to do. I am learning how important it is to find out what your characters really really want. (Anne, I also thought of the Spice Girls correlation and your reference to them at the very end of the post made me laugh.)