Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

U is for Understand (Our Characters)

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Join me as I blog through the alphabet. We post every day in April except Sundays. There are many others participating in the 2014 A to Z Challenge too, which is the brainchild of Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. I’d like to encourage you to visit their entertaining, informative blogs. I’m amazed at the many talented people who participate in the A to Z Challenge.

How important is it for us to Understand our characters? To know when they were born, what kind of grades they made in school, if they were troublemakers, pranksters or popular with their schoolmates? As their creators, to what extent should we know them?

I’ve read books that had such well-rounded characters that I’ve wondered if they were real friends of the author and she just slapped them on paper, the way she knew them. Other authors are as challenged with character creation as I am. Of course, sometimes I think I’ve done a good job but an editor or critique partner will yell, “More, more! You need more …” And I wonder how many “layers” I have to add to make these fictional people real.

The answer is several layers. I need to address and Understand their psychological, emotional and physical make-ups. I need to evaluate Understand their motivations, their relationships, their needs. And so much more.

Do you fill out character sheets for each character? I usually let each character write me a letter or essay (stream of consciousness) telling me all about their lives. I may not use all that info, but I enjoy getting to know them.

I have a character in one of my books that is too perfect. All my critiques, editors, contest judges commented on her being way too good and perfect. It took me awhile to realize she was supposed to be perfect, that’s part of the problem. Remember that student in your class that was the golden girl/guy? Everything good happened to them? Teachers loved them, they got most likely to succeed or most popular? Those people exist! But how do we write them to make them real, and likable? I’m still struggling with this character. She’s made one bad mistake in her life that haunts her, but it’s not until the end of the book that she’s slapped in the face with it.  I have no idea if this book (or her character) works.


Some of my friends use Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs when working out their characters. Maslow explains how we’re motivated by our needs and our most basic needs are inborn. We must satisfy each need, starting with the first, which deals with survival. When those lower needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied, we move on to the higher order of influence and personal development.

Do you always Understand your characters or do you give them free rein? How do you create well-rounded, real characters? Where do you start? With character charts, their basic problem, the story itself? Share your characterization secrets!

B is for BOOKS! and IWSG Day!

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Day 2 of the A to Z Challenge and of course, B has to be for Books. Nora Roberts’ books. That’s what I’m reading right now. All my books are boxed to the ceiling so daughter loaned me a fun Nora R. series called The Inn Boonsboro Novels. I’ve laughed myself silly at some of the fantastic scenes with a mom and her three sons.

I’ve finished Book 1 called The Next Always and just getting started on Book 2, The Last Boyfriend. Book 3 is titled The Perfect Hope.

Now, I know what people say about Nora. She breaks all the rules, she head hops. Well, yeah, she does…but she’s Nora Roberts so she can do what she wants. Even though WE can’t get away with head-hopping and switching POV at random, we can learn from her. Her characters are fantastic. They’re REAL. And, does she ever know how to tell a story! It’s been quite awhile since I’ve read anything that was so excellently plotted. And it’s been twice as long since I’ve read a Nora Roberts book.

The Inn Boonsboro trilogy is about three brothers who are renovating a historic hotel in Boonsboro, Maryland.  And of course, there are three beautiful women–all best friends. Each book belongs to a brother and one of those heroines, but what I like best about these books is that all six characters are in each, with major roles. They’re family and friends and we see them involved in each others lives in major ways. I get to live with these wonderful characters through three whole books! You don’t have to tell me it’ll be hard letting them go. I know.

Most trilogies I’ve read don’t handle their series characters like this.  Each character has his own story, then appears briefly in the other stories, or he’s just referred to in the others. That’s not nearly as fun as the way Nora does it.

Nora Roberts is an expert in storytelling, plotting and characterization. I know many of you don’t read romance but if you ever get an itch to write a trilogy, I suggest studying The Inn Boonsboro Novels. You’ll meet some characters you’ll never forget. And isn’t that what we strive for, as writers? To make our readers love our characters and come back for more?

If you have tips on how you make your characters real … or have a favorite author you study, share with us.

Hope you’re having a great A to Z day 2!

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I can’t keep up with the days here lately, and was thinking it was Tuesday. Almost missed Insecure Writer’s Support Group. As you probably know, it was started by Alex Cavanaugh. It’s a great encouraging group. While this blog post will serve as an A to Z/IWSG combo, I wanted to share a guest post Alex did for me. I think you’ll enjoy it.  Check it out on my other blog, BE A REAL WRITER.

FYI: DIGITAL INK — Best of the Best

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If you have problems with characterization, show vs. tell, POV, deep POV, then Digital Ink: Writing Killer Fiction in the E-Book Age by Bonnie Hearn Hill and Christopher Allan Poe is an eBook for you. Even if you don’t think you have problems with these things, you probably do. I wish I could hand deliver a copy of this book to each and every one of you. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say, this eBook should be mandatory reading, given to every writer by every publisher–instead of a rejection slip.

Last week, I finished my line edits. My editor pointed out problems I didn’t know I had. I’ve always spotted POV switches and show vs. tell glitches in manuscripts I critique and felt confident I didn’t exhibit those problems. Was I ever wrong! And dangling participles? No, you’d never find one of those in any manuscript of mine, and certainly not two of them!

Digital Ink: WritingKiller Fiction in the E-Book Age has every answer a writer needs to make his/her manuscript stronger and cleaner. My editing would have been so much easier had I read Digital Ink first—before doing my line editing. Even before I’d ever completed my novella. This book pin-points problems we don’t even know we have.

Best of all, there’s no fluff—no unnecessary rambling.  Just the facts, ma’am!

Digital Ink isn’t your traditional how-to-write-a-novel book, but one that points out the common problems all writers make and shows how NOT to make them.

“Problematic manuscripts almost always begin with a flimsy protagonist.” This is so true. Who knew? The authors actually prove it.

“…your character must be proactive, and your character must be sympathetic.”  Of course, we know this. Always have, but this book shows how to make our characters BOTH.

 “Your readers may not know the difference between and adverb and dangling participle, but they can spot a bad story instantly. That usually begins with poor character development.” This is fascinating stuff! I promise you.

“POV glitches are responsible for most of the problems in your manuscript. Book too short? POV. Plot too thin? POV. Problems knowing where to end a scene? POV, honey. Every time.” 

If you purchase this eBook, please, please, please do not skip one word. There’s not a boring chapter in this book. It’s a fast read and one you’ll read over and over again. Highlight the good parts, and I promise every page will be yellow!

I bought this book one evening, downloaded it to my iPhone, read into the night and finished it the next morning. It’s worth every penny.

“Learn deep point-of-view. Doing so will make you a better fiction writer. It will bring the reader closer to your characters, which is what authors should always strive for.“  Deep point of view has always been a little fuzzy in my brain. Not anymore.

Digital Ink: Writing Killer Fiction in the eBook Age by Hill and Poe is THE BEST book on writing I’ve read in a long, long time. There’s something to learn on every page.   The authors write in their last chapter, and it’s certainly something to think about:  “Great authors and terrible authors share the same virtual bookshelf.”  Yes, definitely something to think about.

To improve your writing and make your books stand out from the crowd, read and study Digital Ink:Writing Killer Fiction in the eBook Age. What have you got to lose?

What’s the most difficult part of writing to you? Do you have a writing weakness? Share!

Characterization and Charlaine Harris

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Since my dream and my daughter’s reference to the Lily Bard books, I’ve read two in the series: Shakespeare’s Landlord and Shakespeare’s Champion. Now I know why daughter thought Lily Bard had inspired my dream. Lily Bard is a maid because it’s a mindless job she can do alone. She’s always getting involved in dangerous cases, inspite of her desire to remain invisible.

Author Charlaine Harris is excellent at characterization. I like to imagine her sitting down at the kitchen table with pen and paper, writing the name Lily Bard at the top in bold letters, listing all the Lily traits. Lily is tough. No, she’s harder than tough. She can kill with her bare hands–even her feet. She seriously studies and practices martial arts.

The theme of Lily’s life is that she’s emotionally damaged and determined she will never be a victim again. She lives in small town Arkansas (chosen because it’s name is Shakespeare, and her last name is Bard) with the intentions of reinventing herself; and she has. Every action is weighed carefully, and is totally in character of one who wants to remain alone and socially unincumbered.

Landlord is first in the Lily Bard series, and though I’ve only read the first two books, Landlord is my favorite of the two. I like getting to know Lily, seeing her weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I like watching her struggle to protect herself emotionally. I like seeing her hesitantly let go, get involved in someone else’s life–always against her better judgment. 

In Lily Bard, Harris has created a strong female character that is independent, blunt, solitary and very intelligent. Admirable is the right word.

How did Harris do it? What questions did she ask herself? What came first–Lily Bard or the story? What came first–the name or the dark past? Lily Bard was perfectly constructed, and not too different from Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. If you ever want to study the growth of a series character, start with Charlaine Harris’ Lily Bard.

When you create a character, what comes first? How far do you plot a character’s life? Do you create an elaborate backstory that explains why s/he’s like s/he is? Do you examine how s/he will act/react to friends, family, threats, pets?  Do you believe taking characterization to the highest level will make your book a richer more satisfying read?
So many questions–looking for answers.

What A Character!

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I have a character in one of my books that’s mean as the devil. When I enter this particular manuscript in contests, there’s always a judge or two that tell me he’s too mean–on the basis of a chapter or two–and that I need to give him a redeeming quality. Sheesh, you’d think there’s no such thing as pure evil in this world! Just watch the news, will ya?

Okay, okay, I understand the need for redeeming qualities, though I’m not sure this guy has any. He just doesn’t have a good heart. I also understand that if more than one person tells you something, you need to pay attention. So, I’m paying attention.

As a test, I put myself in the heroine’s point of view and I watched him for awhile. He’s her brother–quite a bit older. He moved away long before she got out of high school. Lord only knows what he’s been doing. Up to no good, I can assure you. He’s popped back into her life because their mother just passed away so yeah, he’s there for his inheritance.

Anyway, I jumped into her skin, stood at her front door and watched him. He slouched off the front porch not using the steps, walked across the dead grass, stopped and looked around, eyeing the neighborhood as if he had big plans for it. I kept watching, wondering what he was thinking. He looked down and there beside the tire of his banged up car was a little orange and white cat. I was surprised when he scooped it up, held it to his cheek. I could hear him talking to it but I couldn’t make out what he said.

So the guy does have a heart, I thought.

Wrong!
Right before my eyes, he took the cat in one hand and threw it as hard and as far as he could. I’ve never been so shocked–I mean, me the writer, his creator, was stunned–on behalf of his sister too! Believe me when I say his actions put a little fear in his sister. I didn’t cause him to throw the cat; he did it all on his own.

I was searching for some goodness and I saw pure meanness. I told you this character is evil, useless as a human being, and he plans to get what he wants one way or another. What redeeming quality can I possibly give him?

Do you have any characters that are completely void of decency? Do you think it’s necessary that ALL cruel, hateful, evil characters have a redeeming quality? Teach me something about redeeming qualities and evil characters.