THE WRITING ASYLUM

Are you plotting or writing a novel that’s giving you the shits? 

— Yes

Do you have story pieces that just won’t come together no matter how hard you try jamming them?

— Yes

Are you ripping your hair out? Or your partner’s?

— Yes

Does this sound like a bad late-night commercial? 

Ha, maybe I should give up blogging and be a YouTube star… or not.

If you answered yes to the above questions (except the last one), try looking at your character dynamics. And yes, I’m going to hold your hand through my process. Although who knows where my hand has been? 

Those who follow me religiously know I am working on a novel series called, “The ImmorTales”. Story pieces come to me at random because The Muse wants to send me around the twist. Don’t ask me about Book 1, it’s a taboo topic (I wrote about it in detail here). 

Anyway, the next part I write, whether it turns out to be Book 1 or Book 50, is basically “Charlie’s Angels” meets “Indiana Jones” with immortal characters. Everyone wants to rule the world. I’ve picked this instalment because it’s the story piece I know the most about. But there are gaps in the plot. 

Over the weekend, I sat in the winter sun and meditated about it. Hey, don’t knock it, it’s work. I started by thinking about my main character, Lucy. She’s been through shit and is a no-nonsense hard bitch. Her three, let’s call them “angels” for now, are lacking in terms of character development. 

I like to feel up my characters before I write. Personalities determine plot choices and add interpersonal sparks. Character dynamics can make or break a story. I started thinking about “Sex in the City”. As if you didn’t know, the TV show is about four different friends who get a lot of bone. Carrie, the main protagonist, writes a column called, and you’ll never guess, “Sex in the City”. She’s a stand-in for the audience and is rather middle ground on different relationship spectrums, while her friends are more extreme. Charlotte is the romantic princess, Maranda is the sensible “emotionless” lawyer, and Samantha is the adventurous sexpot — no sex-shaming here.

Each one of these character traits causes conflict from time to time. The prude vs the crude. The emotional vs the emotionless. The committed vs the non-committed. The dreamer vs the cynical. Big cock vs little cock. You get the deal. Each friend offers Carrie different advice on her dating life and shares their own. The group dynamic fuels story conflict along with the weekly romp or man of the week. 

Any TV show/movie/book starring a group of friends can be analysed. Break the characters down to their core traits and compare and contrast. It might be a gross stereotype but the princess, the jock, the nerd, the thug, the weirdo come to mind… Think of them as archetypes (stereotyping is so 80s, awesome 80s).

For extra credit, consider a show that flopped. A while back, I watched the unaired original “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” pilot on YouTube.

A different actress played Willow. The result is flat. The Willow we got in the series was quirky, nerdy and upbeat — strong in her own unique way. The one in the unaired pilot was an average shy wallflower. The group dynamics between Buffy, Xander and Willow lacked chemistry. Buffy needed a happy Willow to counter the darkness.  

How characters play off each other is an important element to consider. So grab a pen and paper, or a device. We’re going to play a game. Actually, no, I’m just going to run through how I uncovered my character dynamics, and you can do the same if you want.

Writing Exercise: Discover Your Character Dynamics 

Step 1

To start boil down your characters to their most domineering trait. If you don’t know the main traits of all the characters, fill in what you can, and move on to step 2. 

My Story

• Lucy: The Reserved Realist
• Runa: The Dreamer
• Isis: The Extroverted Charmer
• Webby: Playful and impulsive

Step 2

Identify your character differences

If you don’t know a character’s domineering trait, look at the main traits you’ve already assigned to characters. What are some opposite traits? You’ll find your answer here. For example, Mickey Mouse is a softly-spoken, placid type dude. His opposite is foul-mouthed arsehat Donald Duck… These differences can drive story conflict. 

My Story

• Lucy is a realist and cautious. This puts her at odds with Webby’s impulsive nature. This is the major source of conflict. 
• Runa’s optimism and absentminded ways clash with Lucy’s level-headedness. 
• Isis loves to socialise, but Lucy would rather be by herself. 

Step 3

Ask yourself how are your characters alike? Can the likeness cause any friction?

My Story

• Lucy and Runa are introverts.
• Isis and Webby are extroverts.
• Lucy and Isis are most alike. Lucy sees her past self in Isis and they agree on most issues. But, their likeness can cause friction too, as they both want to take control.  

Step 4

Identify the pinky in the middle. Many stories have a character whose role is to play the peacekeeper. In “Sex in The City” the role mostly belonged to the protagonist, Carrie. Sometimes the peacekeeper role is determined by the storyline rather than by character. 

My Story

• Isis spends a lot of her time playing the peacekeeper. Lucy and Webby clash the most. 

Confession:

I didn’t know a lot about Isis and Runa before this exercise. In my mind, they blurred a bit in terms of their story roles. But I knew Runa lived in her own world and Isis is more average. I looked for missing traits within the friend group. There was a lot of bouncing around between step 2 and step 3, comparing and contrasting against Lucy. Had I not bothered looking at the group dynamics Runa and Isis would have been too alike. Now both angels are distinctive. I also needed a peacekeeper. Isis is the logical choice.

Options

You could contrast and compare each character against each other. This would uncover more potential conflict. For now, I’ve mostly compared the girls to Lucy because she is the protagonist. I will ponder more while I am doing chores or something. Hello, shower magic. 

If you get stuck, think about the TV shows or books you love. How do the characters play off against each other? How are they the same? Can you use any of these traits? FYI, porn is not going to help you with this exercise. 

Takeaway

This character dynamic experiment of mine has helped me uncover how the characters work together. We need to make sure characters are unique and a lot of that is comparing and contrasting them to the other characters in the story. Knowing group dynamics will help with dialogue and plot. I’ve read stories where the characters sound the same — terrible. I rather stare at the sun. 

Understanding group dynamics isn’t diving deep into characterisation. Think of it as a safety net against characters who are too much alike and checking for potential conflicts without necessarily knowing plot details. Characters need to spar. Many stories flop due to bad character dynamics. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some daydreaming to go back to. YES, IT’S WORK!

Have you thought about your character dynamics?