Saturday, October 16, 2010

The Crux of Character

Recently I've read a few contemporary realism books that I found myself unable to truly get into. Now, mind you, these are big-name YA books, books that have been raved about for months by a vast majority of the blogging community, awards panels, librarians, book review publications, etc. They are also "issue" books--more specifically, books about the death of a loved one.

I don't know about you, but I always feel compared to give "issue" books a higher rating than contemporary realism that deals with less objectively serious subjects. But the thing is, it frustrates me when an "issue" book receives accolade after accolade when it cannot convincingly answer an extremely important fiction question for me:

Can the main character exist without the book's "issue"?

realbollywood.com
Look--I know that most books are written about an exceptional moment of the character's life, such as a life-changing event or period of growth, or both. There's got to be something that makes that particular slice of the character's life worth writing a whole book about. The death of a loved one is life-changing, definitely--traumatic, tragic, heartbreaking. But I get really frustrated when the character development reads like the character did not even come into existence until this tragic event occurred to them. Surely you must've had a personality before the death? Hobbies? Interests? Worries? Crushes? Then why do you sound like, without your Significant Event, you would be a totally unrealistically simplistic boring non-person?

I used to think that bland protagonists existed only in guilty-pleasure paranormal romances, hidden behind the romantic appeal, okay-ed through the editing process because of the flashy premise. But now I know that they can exist in realistic fiction as well. This time, they're masked behind a sad, sad event that screams "PITY ME", otherwise you will be considered a horrible, insensitive person.

thenexttrain.co.za
There seems to be this misconception that giving your protagonist as few definable traits as possible makes him or her more relatable to the audience. Because they are a blank slate, deeply, irrefutably, life-changingly in love with the love interest, and we are supposed to focus entirely on the transformative, obsessive, all-consuming power of the romance and how neither character can live without the other. They are, supposedly, the everyman or everywoman.

But this is a misconception, because the way to get people to relate to your character? To make your character as specific as possible. Little mundane quirks that bring out the human in your character. Because I am still constantly being surprised at how related so many of us are in our thoughts and experiences. Yeah, human beings are unique creatures, but they also share a whole lot, particularly in adolescence. Everyone feels lonely. Everyone feels misunderstood. These feelings of isolation, frustration, and fear are what differentiate us, but also what draw us in solidarity when we find someone else who feels the same way we do.

Some of the best contemporary realistic YA fiction I've read deal not with serious subjects like death or abuse, but rather with the completely, absolutely, totally, terrifically ordinary everyday concerns of being a teenager: friendship fluctuations, romantic worries, school, body image, adults who just don't get them. I like a serious, thought-provoking, and eye-opening read myself, but I also love it when a more so-called "lighthearted" or "frivolous" YA book really gets what it means to be an average teen. Because--and let's not delude ourselves in the name of sensitivity and empathy--many of us just want flawed, rebellious, and tetchy screw-up characters that we can read about and go, "Oh my God, I am totally like that." And on the rare occasion where I can find a book with a strong premise and a truly well-developed protagonist, well, that's just incredibly cool and wonderful.

I think that writers should ask themselves as they're writing, "Can my main character exist without the catalyst for their story in this book?" Take away the tragedy and what remains? If you draw a blank--if you can't describe the character beyond the embarrassingly basic facts such as living arrangement, primary extracurricular activities, tentative career ideas, etc.--then you really should rethink your character. YA readers are becoming sophisticated enough to notice when a premise remains only a premise. A novel does not truly take flight on a flashy or sympathy-inducing premise alone. That's why some of the best books--or at least some of my favorite books--can have seemingly little or no plot at all. An attention-grabbing premise can garner the pre-hype and release week bestselling status, but only thorough and relatable characterization can make a story memorable across both one and many lifetimes.

14 comments:

  1. This is a fabulous post, Steph, and I totally understand what you're saying. I've had a few times where I've felt like I should give an "issue" book a higher rating, because I liked the point the author was trying to get across. At the same time though, the characters are sometimes bland and unrealistic.

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  2. Great post! When you talk about quirky, specific characters being the kind of characters you like to read about, it makes me think... these are the kinds of people that I like to hang out with, too!

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  3. great post Steph! i completely agree, sometimes issue books are too much issue and too little character, when i would much rather read about character growth/development than death and abuse. Bland personalities usually bug me, but sometimes i miss is with all the issues in my face :p

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  4. I absolutely agree with you; those 'everywoman' characters (*coughBellacough*) don't draw me in or help me relate--it really *is* the specifics of a fully fleshed character that make me like them and enjoy their story. Some of the best writing doesn't have a particular plot or issue because the character *is* the story. Good post!

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  5. A very useful and well-thought-out point. Definitely going to keep this in mind as I revise my next ms. Thanks! - Stasia

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  6. Really good points. Good characterization certainly does seem to be lacking in some of today's more popular titles.

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  7. Wow, you are such a great writer. I love that last paragraph best.

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  8. This is such a thought provoking post and I absolutely agree that often issue books become overwhelmed by the issue du jour and lose sight of the person suffering from it. This not only makes the books pretty flat but they seem to become preachy as they lose the all important human aspect. Having said that, I have read some really impressed issue books where the characters are so beautifully written that the issue being discussed becomes incredibly vivid and often heart-wrenching. Thanks for writing so eloquently about this!

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  9. I agree completely with your post! One of my favorite series, which I began reading in elementary school and still love today, is the Sammy Keyes series. It is juvenile fiction, but I know college students who still love Sammy, and she most definitely has personality :).

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  10. SO true! This is something my students and I talk about: what was your character doing before the story started? You never want your readers to feel like the character only exists because of the problem - the whole point of reading a story is to forget that it's fiction! Great post!

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  11. I am so happy you wrote this post. I feel the same way only could never express it like you have. So, thank you. ;)

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  12. Love this post. You are so dead on! Now, if we could just get some of those authors to read this (and take it to heart) we'd be good! :)

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  13. this is such a wonderful, wonderful post. as an aspiring author i really love reading articulate and spot-on articles like these, by worthy and capable bloggers, which make me want to make sure i avoid stuff like that in my novels.

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