When I was young (like, elementary school), I spent an almost-outrageous amount of time on character development when I wrote stories. I drew pictures of what I thought the character looked like, ripped images out of magazines that reminded me of her, made lists of her favorites (food, color, TV show, band). I sketched her house, her neighborhood, her school. I named her cat, even though the cat may not even appear in the story. This was the fun part for me–delving into a new world, creating someone(s).
Recently, I was talking to a friend about my current novel-in-progress and I mentioned that I needed a new last time for my main character, Jonathan. She said, “Well, what’s his ethnic background?” I said, “He’s white.” And she said, “But what are his roots? Where does his family come from?” And I had no idea. “Europe somewhere?” I said, vaguely, pretending like I’d thought about it when I hadn’t.
How could I overlook such a key detail? I could blame it on being busy, but I think it’s more laziness. I don’t take as much time with stories and characters as I used to. I’m chasing after the end, the accomplishment of just completing the novel. But, really, I know the story won’t be as good, or won’t feel as real, if I don’t really know the characters. Like, know know them.
So, when I came across this quote, I knew it had to be a “quote of the month.” It’s just so appropriate:
“A writer should know how much change a character has in his pockets.”
– James Joyce
So true.