Writing: Character Flawchart

[AenaonDusky]

The following is part 1 of a series of "articles" on the topic of Writing.

 

Writing: Character Flawchart

 

 

Hello, hello, "Jason" here with a "guide" some weird hobo relayed to another weird hobo who in turn read it out loud to a man living in a jar-turned-barell, who was a relative of the former hobo. You wanna know what the heck this is all about? Well I actually met that weird dude once. He forced me to relay this ...uh.. whatever this is to you. I met that jar guy when I had finally decided to take a shower, because obviously, I never shower in my house since I don't even have a shower, (I always use public showers) and when the time had come to finally shed 5 years of invaluable layers of hygienic resistance, I had to listen to this weird jar-living man narrating this "article". Whatever.

 

Weird Jar-Living Man's Character Writing Guide: Writing Methods pulled from one's ass (ewww) - Part 1 of a series of strangest advice ever.

============================================================================================================
 

 

Weird Old Man: "The most frequently adopted approach to writing characters centers around their qualities,both negative and positive, tied together by a particular strong characteristic and thematic element describing both the uniqueness and the general personality of the character in question. Cool right? Yep. But not that cool. That's why the method my distant relative proposed, although unorthodox, has an interesting side to it which if followed, can lead to a better understanding and presentation of character progression. What? You don't believe such a thing exists? You just write and write and whatever happens happens? Yeah, that's what I do too. (**Jason's note: he then proceeded to vehemently scratch what appeared to be a fossil from a long bygone age of bacterial conflict close to his armpits - it seemed as if that particular skin location had seen countless wars of immense scale, wars that words cannot properly describe - wars crystallized in the density of the critters now inhabiting the area**) Now, my fellow hygiene-oriented friend, I would propose, instead, an approach that many do not wish to follow, for it induces a certain amount of uneasiness and unpredictability to the writer - a thing that can however be utilized for good, if carefully approached."

 

Jason: Okay, weird man. Can you elaborate on your source of wisdom some more, 'cause taking a shower while listening to you can be more of a pain than what I had expected at first...I mean, aside from the fact that the way you speak sounds totally incoherent.

 

Weird Old Man: "Shut up, and pass me the shampoo. There. Ahh...finally, clean again. Alright, let's move on. Where was I? Oh! Yeah! Well, let me tell you this secret straight away: You begin by actually writing the negative aspects, the flaws of the character you wish to build."

 

Jason: The heck dude? This shampoo smells... weird....

 

Weird Old Man: "Let me finish and I'll comment on your lack of taste in bathing products later. Now, let's concentrate on this: No matter what kind of personality you wish to focus on, you'll have to think how this character would cope with their flaws, or even better, how they would utilize those flaws and turn them into flows. Yeah. Flows. Turn them into strengths, actually.

That doesn't necessarily imply that these negative traits will turn into positives in a manner which will portray the character as having achieved perfection. Far from it. In truth, it's how the character utilizes these negative attributes, weaknesses, problematic behaviors, emotional instability, mistakes - how they 1) work around these problems, 2) accept them and try to minimize their impact on others [which can lead to partially overcoming them] 3) use them as an internal example of leniency towards people who are going through the same (or similar) situations [which can lead to accepting and assisting others, and warning them against making mistakes - another great way of partially overcoming one's own faults].

Now, why "partially"? That's 'cause its difficult to portray a character's state of change by using a "switch" - boom, now they're a different human being. It's not that this stuff can't happen, but it makes said character portrayal feel quite forced. Also, keep in mind that change is a state, not a button, and it requires staying on the same path (and failing all the time) to maintain that state. (A state that is moving? How is that possible?)

Modern times have a weird fascination with character perfection (which as a phenomenon has almost never existed and probably never will) and as a result, character portrayal remains unapologetically unrealistic. People pull out "MAH HIDDEN POWAS" from nowhere, insta-develop because of a single event (doesn't happen that easily) and generally act in a linear fashion. In truth, progress is not something that happens in a linear, upwards way, it is more akin to my ridiculously well curved chest hair which looks more like the Labyrinth of Knossos rather than my other well-trimmed line that finishes right on my...belly button."

 

Jason: SHUT UP, THIS IS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND THE "A" RATING!

 

Weird Old Man: "Okay, your loss, man. Have you ever heard of 'one step forward two steps back' "?

 

Jason: Is that a lame Country song or something?

 

Weird Old Man: "Wow, how rude. This is simply an example showcasing how progress (in almost all areas in life) is made...When a character struggles to overcome X or Y, or is discovering themselves, or is attempting to socialize properly, things aren't always gonna be that easy. Failures and time are needed in order for that person to actually develop. And remember, development doesn't necessarily imply positive or linear development. Of course development needs to have a direction, but the road leading there is usually a long, hard, two-way, curved, road. Filled with diversions and the such. Kinda like my -"

 

Jason: No, please no...

 

Weird Old Man: "Uh.. anyway, let's say we've got a character named Flora. Flora is almost always overwhelmed with anger. Anger at every corner. Flora cannot easily defeat this. It's a trait that has always been with her, for as long as she can remember. Flora could use this to further her character development when needed: Use it against herself, against her own errors, and against the choices that she wishes she'd never made. So a negative trait that could be harmful to both her and others, can be turned into a positive trait, used against her own mistakes. It could even serve as a sort of catalyst in order to achieve something, a motivator. She could very well be angry at either herself or someone of the evil kind, and use this "fuel" to discipline her sorry self- though that could leave her with emptiness once her journey is complete.

She could even use it as a (unstable) device for sensing when people are jerks against someone she cares for. That way, her flaw becomes a flow which can be redirected or built upon. Now, assume flora meets an indifferent main character. Her anger is not answered with anger.

She gradually loses the "steam", surprise feels her heart, because some strange JRPG writers decided to make evey MC a mute - because the main character is unresponsive to such anger bursts. After some back and forth and spending quite some time with the MC, she is starting to see that negative trait for what it is. She still has to live with her flaw, her scar, her passion, but this is holding her life hostage no longer - anger does not define her, she cannot overcome it, but she can use it.

This approach here works even if you have no idea about the setting, the general progression, or the direction of the story. Were there predefined strengths in place, it would have been more difficult to build a progression that does not feel forced. Now, however, progression is more realistic; it doesn't solely exist to balance out the negatives - the latter are part of the process, her own process to become a better person and overcome those flaws. Or better, transform them and move forward.

Besides, flow is flow, right? I mean, it's something fluid not concrete. That's how flaws are as well."

 

Jason: Can you please stop with this? I'm getting bored already...besides it makes little sense.

 

Weird Old Man: "Here take this used toilet paper -"

 

Jason: GAH! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MANIAC!

 

Weird Old Man: "I see. *proclaims in oriental cartoon mannerism*. Let's talk about Jake. Jake is a weird boy, according to others. He rarely leaves his house, he prefers the company of books to people (no internet yet- sorry peeps) and he fantasizes about being a warrior, yet he is physically inept. He is very shy, but also bears resentment against those who are social, pretending to snob such things as if they're negligible activities - yet secretly wants to be the one in the spotlight, the center of attention, the soul of the party. Jake in reality thinks much more of himself than he should, resulting in a kind of man that is oblivious to the feedback of others - perhaps as a defense mechanism, or perhaps because he simply is a jerk (not everyone needs to have a dramatic past for their dramatically presented bad behavior). Jake has to reach a development point.... where his perceived superiority in his fantasy-martial prowess is shattered by a real life event, or even better, a series of events. Jake has two choices: either feign indifference and convince himself that such a thing never happened, (he still knows the best techniques after all, right?) or ask himself the following question : “Maybe, just maybe... I wasn't right?” The latter of course, will be the decisive one. Portraying Jake as the kind of loser that will just retreat back home is not only cliche, but also ignores the potential of humans for change (although weird obsessions about the self are a difficult yoke to throw off). There are of course, obstacles that can never be overcome and flaws that can never be fixed – but to discern between those, experience, age, and a good understanding of human behavior, as well as a varied social life is required on the writer’s part. This is actually an interesting topic for another time. Anyway, in the case of progress, Jake would still have been humiliated and would probably have suffered for a while, but after a period of true self-reflection, and the inevitable feedback of society (with all the negatives and positives that come with it), he would gradually recover and realize that admittance of ineptitude is the first step to progress, gratitude, and then happiness.

By making that decision, Jake has already undergone 50% of his progression - or at least, he's started striving towards that percentage. Naturally, he won't reach that point overnight, and he will have to deal with all the ups and downs. However He becomes more humble, listens to others, and even if some degree of pretentious elitism resides in him, he can use that as a way to identify that trait in other people who pretend they are great and honorable, while they are not.

That way, Jake could prove himself very useful in distinguishing cult leaders from plain influential people, for example. Also, Jake comes to a realization: Physical strength is not what defines his identity: the same kind of strength and bravery can be found in non-physical accomplishments, in respectfully defending his or others' way of life, in refusing to give up when confronted by nasty people who wish to destroy X or Y or Z etc.etc. The exact process can be ironed out depending on the setting and the overall plot.

Of course, not all people can change, or are willing to, but we're talking about development here, and you can always have static characters included in, if you so wish."

 

Jason: Weird dude, I had enough. I don't care about your crappy character development procedure. Although, you're kinda cool I guess.

 

Weird Old Man: "Wait man, let me finish with this: When the relationships and the humanity of the characters is great, the setting and the general story will be far greater than anticipated by the players originally. The other way around seldomly helps. I will talk about that in my next shower thought analysis."

 

Jason: Wait, "players"? I thought we were talking about writing.... You mean videogame players? And how the heck do you even know what a "player" is? You live in a jar!

 

Weird Old Man: "Well, some things are experienced differently when the medium is interactive. Want me to do a live demonstration of such interactivity?"

(**proceeds to throw curly chest hair at poor Jason**)

 

Jason: Nononononono.... and I won't be here to hear your next bull. Next shower thought analysis? Get lost! Shoo! Ugh, I'm out!

 

=========================================================

This... unique encounter had come to a halt. I had to get outta there no matter what.

I put a towel on me and proceeded to run away as fast as possible. Nightmares of this incredibly awful interaction still haunt me to this day.

However, I was definitely not prepared for the dreadfully inevitable recurrence of this event, when another 5 years had passed me by....