Psychology 101

Let's talk about ... relationships.

Wait, come back! Yeah, I see you running for the hills. Hear you screaming.

This will be good. Promise.

I was thinking today about friends. I posted a while back about how grateful and blessed I am to have as many friends as I do. These are the people I spend time with, enjoy spending time with - long to spend time with. The ones I don't get to see that often but wish I could. The ones I see on a regular basis and can't wait to see again.

What's interesting, and what we're going to explore in class today, is how different these people are. Not so much from the rest of the world (although they are unique in that respect - after all, they chose to be my friends) as from each other and even from me.

The BF and I have known each other for over 30 years. For all intents and purposes, we grew up together. (Actually, we're probably both still growing up.) Personality-wise, we're very different. She's quiet, fairly reserved. Likes beer and gardening. She's a chemist and thinks very analytically. I am none of those things. We do, however, have a lot of things in common - we both love instrumental music, off-the-wall humorous movies, Monty Python and the Moody Blues.

When I first met the WMVR, we discovered very quickly how much we had in common - both military brats, both book lovers, both moms. We were finishing each other's sentences within a week. She was the one who said, "You wrote a book? Oh, oh, oh! Bring it in so I can read it!" And then kept after me until the dream became a reality. Over the years we've discovered a lot of ways in which we're very different. But we're still friends. She's still my first independent reader.

My other 'great' friends - the Georgia Peach and Angelina - couldn't be more different from me. They're both good Southern girls who have tried but failed to get me to drink my tea sweetened, try okra and say "y'all" properly. Ain't happenin'. But I love spending time with them because they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Laughter being the key element in most of our conversations.

And then there's JT. I never realized until I met her that there could actually be another person in this world who was so much like me it's scary. But we have our differences, too, just like you, your best friend, and the rest of the world.

See the lesson here yet?

Yep, you guessed it. It's that character thing again.

Here's an exercise for you. Think about the people you are closest to - the ones you spend time with or correspond with most often. Get a sheet of paper and write their names down if you have to. We'll wait.

** Jeopardy theme music plays **

Okay, done? Now, look at your list and think about each of those people. How different are they - from each other? From you? See what I mean?

This is what we as writers have to do with our characters. We're not taking the dough of our cast list and pressing out people with a cookie cutter. Each character has to be as unique as the people you know. And in the spirit of staying with the topic at the top of this page, we'll go a step further. Just as we have relationships with our family, friends, lovers, fictional characters have relationships with each other ... whether it be as relatives, friends. In the case of crime fiction, partners or associates. Lovers in romance novels. Whatever the relationship between our characters, it has to be as real as the characters themselves. We have to remain true to the personalities of our people in the context of their interactions with each other.

Just as conflict is the engine that fuels good fiction (quote courtesy of my pal Julia Spencer-Fleming), individuality is the substance of good fictional characters.

I mean, really. Think about how boring the world would be if we were all the same. Vive le difference!

Read a book. And when you do, take an especially close look at the characters. Do you see them as real people? Are they different enough that they stand apart from each other? Has the writer succeeded at making them as unique as they can be?

This can be a discussion topic if you'd care to chime in - of your favorite writers, whose characters stand out in your mind as unique? What quirks does your favorite fictional hero have that set him/her apart from the rest of the world of which they are a part?

There are no wrong answers here ...

=) JB