Dreame Writing Guides

Part 17 How To Write A Good Character And Scene

A character cannot be created until a scene is constructed, and a story cannot be told until the characters begin to act. Characters and scenes are the two most critical elements of a novel.

I. How to Write A Good Character

Summarize the character description with a simple formula: Good characterization = Details + Whatever drives the story.

Let the characters' words and deeds tell the readers who they are, rather than using an adjective to leave the readers with an abstract impression. Let the characters' speak for themselves and use details to show the characters' characteristics.

One principle must be adhered to when writing: No matter how impressive the description of the characters is, it will not make much sense if it cannot drive the story forward.

1. Appearance

Your characters need details, but not too many. Three or four is enough. Scientists point out that our brain has a database that contains the descriptions of various characters, and three or four details is all it takes to awaken this database and form an impression of a character.

An example from Atul :

Not long ago, the morning in Boston was cool and pleasant. At about five o'clock, Elizabeth Rock, with thick dark brown hair, fair skin, and pregnant forty-one weeks, stretched her arms and pushed her husband, Chris.

There are not many details, and those that are there do not interfere with the reading rhythm. There are enough details, though, to awaken the part of the brain that forms impressions, and readers can easily imagine a pregnant woman in their minds.

2. Action

Every action should have a purpose. Every detail must promote the development of the story or the development of the characters. It must not blindly pursue unnecessary details or hinder the rhythm of the story.

When you describe the plot climax or the protagonist, rich details can make the novel come alive. When you describe daily chores or add too many details, your novel risks becoming tedious.

In other words, the stronger the emotion you want to convey, the more detailed the description should be.

a. His father took off the man’s head with a single sure stroke. Blood sprayed out across the snow, as red as summer wine.

b. Lord Eddard stood on the High Septon’s pulpit outside the doors of the sept, supported between two of the gold cloaks. He was dressed in a rich grey velvet doublet with a white wolf sewn on the front in beads, and a grey wool cloak trimmed with fur, but he was thinner than Arya had ever seen him, his long face drawn with pain. He was not standing so much as being held up; the cast over his broken leg was grey and rotten.

...

Ser Ilyn drew a two-handed greatsword from the scabbard on his back. As he lifted the blade above his head, the sunlight seemed to ripple and dance down the dark metal, glinting off an edge sharper than any razor.

These two paragraphs about beheading are from The Game of Thrones. The former is the execution of a deserter by Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, and the latter is the scene where Eddard is executed. The former only uses a few words, but the latter spends most of the chapter describing the event. 

The reason for this is that the death of deserter does nothing more than a foreshadow an event that will take place in the future. At this stage, it is neither important nor useful to add too much detail. The death of Eddard, though, is a crucial turning point in the series. Up until this point, he has been one of the main protagonists, but by the end of the book, he is dead. Moving forward, the focus shifts to his daughters. As they mourn the death of their father, they must learn to navigate the new political climate.

3. Identity Symbols

Sometimes you can use specific items and features to enhance a character's characteristics. When describing a character, pay attention to the logical.

For example:

In the Harry Potter series, Harry's lightning scar appears repeatedly. This is to emphasize the identity of Harry's savior. This identifying mark does not appear out of nowhere. Rather, it was given to him when, while still a child, he defeated Voldemort.

In the 007 series, James Bond always drives an Aston. This is to show that he is a wealthy gentleman.

These things all depict a primary characteristic of the character in some way and reinforce the readers' impression of this characteristic through repeated appearances.

4. Dialogue

People with different personalities and backgrounds will have different speaking habits. If you want a character to be worth your ink, you must develop a unique speaking pattern for him. Does the character speak the standard language or have a local accent? Is the vocabulary used of a written or spoken variety? Are there any particular idioms to consider?

"Miss Elizabeth, I have struggled in vain and can bear it no longer these past months have been a torment, I came to rosing only to see you, I have fought against judgment, my family’s expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank, I will put it aside and ask you to end my agony."

In Pride and Prejudice, there is a moment where Darcy confesses his love for Elizabeth. He says, "fought against judgment, my family's expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank." By examining the words Darcy uses, the reader should understand that he still has a prejudice against the status of people like Elizabeth. He is an arrogant man who considers himself extraordinary.

II. How to Describe A Good Scene

A good scene requires:

1.) Scenes that lead, reasonably and smoothly, to the next scene.

2.) Characters that lead, reasonably and smoothly, to the next scene. Two adjacent scenes should have a certain degree of correlation. These associations can be causal, personal, temporal, or even geographical. Everything that a character does should be for the sole purpose of driving the story forward. Describing a scene that has nothing to do with the story is harmful to the story, and will slow down the pace of the novel.

For example, when a first scene describes a handsome actor driving a luxurious car, the second scene could be:

a. The leading actor is making a business plan in a stylish office (A causation might explain how the leading actor could afford to drive a luxury car)

b. The leading actor is doing personal hygiene in the morning (Character correlation: it's about the leading actor)

c. The leading actor arrives at the leading actress' company and asks her to go out for dinner (Time correlation: described in chronological order)

d. The leading actor and actress have s*x in the car (Locations correlation: they are all over the car).

In the abcd scenes, 

c. and d. can obviously be used to promote the development of the plot (the relationship between the leading actor and the leading actress). 

a. is also likely to help support the story (The career of the leading actor is successful or temporarily frustrated). 

b. is unlikely to be helpful to the plot. Unless you plan to attribute the reason why the leading actress falls in love with the leading actor, the description of scene b will negatively affect the story and delay the plot.

1. The sense of space in the scene

If you want to immerse readers in the scene, you must let them and the characters share the same scene. Let the readers feel the spatial sense of the scene and allow them to explore every dimension of it.

Generally speaking, when the scene is described, the largest details should be shown first, and they should get gradually small, as it is done in the wedding scene described in Coming Back as a bad girl:

It was a beautiful sunny day. Blue sky dotted with white clouds. The water, clean and calm, sparkling in the sun.

A wedding ceremony, simple yet solemn, was being held on a luxurious cruise ship. The older daughter of the Carters, Laura Carter, was getting married to Ben Johnson, the man who she had been dating for two years and loved dearly.

The deck was covered with snow white lilies and red roses, with a long red carpet cutting through. The fresh fragrance filled the air. Happy guests stood along the carpet, all smiles and sending their best wishes. What’s more romantic than having a joyful and dignified wedding on a cruise on the beautiful blue sea?

Delightful wedding marches were playing. Ben, wearing a clean white suit, looking tall, smart and gentle, stood in front of the priest and watched the bride gracefully walking towards him. A smile lit up his face and there was love and affection in his eyes.

The paragraph starts from a distance and depicts the view from a great distance. Then the focus of the moves closer and a cruise ship is described. Finally, the scene focuses on the newlyweds, describing their actions and images. The paragraphs are progressively layered, from far to near, to build a very three-dimensional view, and the change of focus increases the dynamic sense of the scene.

2. The atmosphere of the scene

The atmosphere of the scene is essential. The atmosphere is to the scene, as the filter is to the photo. It can help better convey the feelings the author wants to express.

In most cases:

Bright, warm, soft, thick, quiet, and colorful scenes correspond to relatively positive emotional feelings.

Dark, wet, cold, dry, frivolous, noisy, and gloomy scenes correspond to relatively negative emotions.

In the use of adjectives, focus on color, texture, predetermined symbols, and other words that can be used for describing feelings. When building an atmosphere, there should be less discussion, less abstraction, and more use of concrete nouns—simply displayed images can be used as symbols.

As an example, take a look at the scene description when Dali met the dementors in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

Dudley gave an odd. shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water.

Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless - the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them.

For a split second Harry thought he had done magic without meaning to, despite the fact that he'd been resisting as hard as he could - then his reason caught up with his senses - he didn't have the power to turn off the stars. He turned his head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on his eyes like a weightless veil.

Dudley's terrified voice broke in Harry's ear.

'W-what are you d-doing? St-stop it!'

'I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!'

'I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I - '

'I said shut up!'

Harry stood stock still, turning his sightless eyes left and right. The cold was so intense he was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up - he opened his eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around, unseeing.

In this passage, the author used figurative and imagery words such as icy water, bitingly cold, and silent darkness to describe the scene. These words set off a tense and strange atmosphere and helped express the fear that Dali and Harry felt when facing the dementors.

Have you encountered any bottlenecks when describing a character or scene? Or do you have any better writing skills that you would like to share? If so, you are welcome to leave a comment below the article. Let's discuss it together!

                                                                                                                                                                               BY Bishop