THE WRITER’S COOKBOOK
(Part 2 of 4)

by James Lincoln Warren

This week we continue with my nauseating analogy between cooking and writing while I’m off fishing in northern Minnesota. You should be aware that “cooking the books” is an entirely separate subject from what is discussed here.

Part II: Flavoring Characters

The first thing you have to start with is a good entrée. Inferior ingredients will always yield inferior results. Adding other flavors must bring out, never disguise, initial quality.

So how do we choose a good raw character?

What you wind up with at the checkout counter depends a lot on what you’re going to use it for. Writing teachers are fond of defining characters by the function they serve in the story. Common roles are protagonist, antagonist, sidekick, foil, mentor, obstacle character, helping character, and so forth. These can be combined with mythological archetype: hero, trickster, child, mother, virgin, saint, and so forth. Third, you can use a traditional character as a model, e.g., King Arthur and Robin Hood, both used as models for Chief Rabbit Hazel in Richard Adams’ Watership Down. (N.B., some fictional characters are so well drawn that they’ve become traditional characters, like Scrooge, Superman, or Sherlock Holmes). Finally, you can have a real-life model for a character, especially when it comes to defining small characteristics.

So the first thing we do is define the character in terms of his function, meaning, history, and behavior. This is the easy part. In defining Alan Treviscoe, for example, I had a Protagonist Hero/Trickster Sherlock Holmes-type who shares various negative and positive characteristics taken from various people. (For example, he shares my tendency to pedantry and viewing things too literally to the exasperation of my friends.)

But it doesn’t have to be done quite so cold-bloodedly. As you develop a character, his consistencies will start to assert themselves and his personality will become better defined. This is done by stirring the pot and taking the time to let things mature in the fullness of time, or until they reach the proper temperature, whichever comes first.

Now let’s talk about spices.

There are essentially two kinds. Flaws and strengths are the salt and pepper of character.

Common wisdom tells us that a character must have flaws to be credible and sympathetic—bearing in mind that perfection is boring, whether the character is a perfect gentleman, a perfect asshole, a perfect bore, or a perfect beauty. There are big flaws, like hubris, and little flaws, like cracking your knuckles. Adding a dash of flaw to your character takes taste and discretion. The one thing you want to be sure to avoid is the gimmick flaw, which is just another avatar of High Concept, very common in television, you know, the outrageous irritating habit like an addiction to junk food. Gimmick flaws are two-dimensional by their very nature.

It is important that the flaw be subtle enough in its expression that the character is unaware of its existence, at least as it manifests itself. When people become aware of their shortcomings, they will usually try to correct them somehow. This is true even of big flaws.

Also bear in mind that “flawed” is not synonymous with “damaged”. Damage to a character can manifest itself as a flaw, but it can also manifest itself as a strength.

Strengths are the characteristics that make characters admirable. Intelligence, integrity, prowess, courage, heart—these are all strengths. Again, they can be big or little. The character may or may not be aware of their presence—smart people may know they are smart, but brave people don’t know they are brave until they are tested. The important thing to remember about character strengths is that they should be human in terms of their consequences. It’s OK to have Superman fly, but his ability to fly should illustrate or represent something else about him—for example, in the Richard Donner film, Superman’s aerial date with Lois Lane tells us that he’s romantic and sensitive.

So to review. Choose a role for the character and use characteristics from mythology, folklore, and experience. Add flaws and strengths according to taste.

Next week: Kitchen Techniques