49 thoughts on “Characterization”

1. Morning, Garry. I had to look up the quote. It’s “Law 2” from Matt Bird’s The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers. Not a bad quote, but I think I’d never buy a book with “perfecting your fiction” in the subtitle. Silly.

   • Oh, as for my characters, I get to know them as they grow in the story. Like anyone else, they’re “complete” when I first meet them, but I know nothing more about them then than I know about anyone else when we first meet.

   • I must have got that quote from another quoter, Harvey. I’ve never heard of this book just like I’ve never heard of perfection in writing, fiction or otherwise. Speaking of perfection, there’s a parlor game about finding the one editing/spelling/grammar mistake in John Grisham’s The Firm. I’ve read the book twice and couldn’t pick up on it but, then, that shouldn’t surprise aanyone.

2. Happy New Year, Garry! Thanks for the great post in general and that list in particular. I think I went to law school with Harry.

   When you were paired with her, did they call you “Harry and Garry”?

   • And Happy New Year to you, too, Joe. I was up much earlier and was outside shovelling out from a foot of overnight snow which is rare for this part of the country. Harry – everyone called her Harry, even the lawyers. As for me, I never had a nickname so, yeah, we were Harry & Garry. No one mistook us for twins.

3. Another meaty post, Garry.
   I generally focus on one or two traits/quirks for my characters. And, like Harvey, I meet them and learn about them as we travel the story together.

   • Good morning, Terry. I like yours & Harvey’s character-building style -let them unfold as you go. I did my last series with a Writing Into The Dark approach which was thoroughly enjoyable. This new one I’m on is much more structured and outlined. Sue will be happy to hear I’m back to plotting after my experiment in pantsing.

4. Great post, Garry. Thanks for all the information and the link to the character quirks site. I think you have just described one fantastic character that readers would “embrace” in your next detective series “When Harry was Sally.” Humor Detective Fiction. I would certainly read it. And that would make a great TV series.

   What I like to do with characterization is take a trait or quirk, and then exaggerate it. You wouldn’t need to do that with Harry.

   Have a great day. Happy New Year!

   • Thanks, Steve. Harry is a main character in my based on true crime series. I didn’t have to invent anything. I just let Harry be Harry and that was good enough. There are a couple Harry stories I held back, though 🙂 Enjoy your year!

     • What does Harry think about starting in tour based on true crime books? Has she offered any kudos or suggestions?

       • I of course mean “starring” in your true-crime based novels?

5. Garry, this is such a sweet tribute to Harry. I feel like I already know her from your books. 🙂

   Great list, too. When I create a character, I only have a basic idea of who they are. They come alive while writing. The only exception is if a character pops in my head for no reason, not for the book I’m working on but for a future book. A character I created, oh, gotta be four or five years ago by now, still haunts me. One of these days I’ll write her story. She won’t let me rest till I do.

   • “Morning, Sue. I was thinking of you when I was out shovelling snow this morning – wondering if you ever had to do that at your place 🙂 When it gets light, I’ll take a picture from our kitchen window and post it on Facebook. (Yes, THAT kitchen.)

     You know this so well – when you tell a non-writer about how characters just pop up and start talking to you, they give you that look that can only be described by a writer. In my last book, I had a character – Joyce Platt is her name – interrupt me out of nowhere and demanded to be in the story. She was so persistent that I gave in – she made for a better story

     • Have I ever shoveled snow? Are you kidding? Of course! I live in New England. Truth be told, it’s been years. Even when Bob was out of commission (hernia surgery, if memory serves), I still managed to avoid shoveling by fixing my hair and makeup and waving down a plow truck.

       “Excuse me, sir. Can you help me?”

       Works like a charm. 😉

       • If I tried that with a snow plow operator I’d probably get bladed.

6. Garry, I can see why you were a good detective with your sharp powers of observation. Thanks for that great list.

   Harry had already made a lasting impression from your prior mentions about her in earlier posts. She sounds like the perfect lead character for a TV series. I’d tune in every week. BTW, you should be executive producer. 😉

   Like Harvey and Terry, I get to know characters as they act and react in the story.

   Like Harry, my male lead burst on the scene and made a huge splash. He intimidated me so much that I didn’t dare go into his POV until the fourth book in the series. He still springs a surprise on me with every new book.

   Looking forward to reading more about Harry in Beyond the Limits.

   • No one ever said I was a good detective, Debbie. I was just smart enough to find a partner like Harry and let her do all the heavy lifting. Speaking of intimidating, that was a regular complaint about Harry is that she was intimidating. She’s 6 feet tall and tips the scale at about 230-240. Once she came to the staff Christmas party dressed as a Viking.

     • 🙂 🙂

7. Pretty cool way to start the morning. But man, police officers are terrible workers – you must have had a busy HR department. Reminds me of my world of Industrial Construction – a lady who works for me can’t stop swearing if her life depended on it.

   • It is cool here this morning, Ben. Cool for Vancouver Island, that is, with a good foot of heavy, wet snow. My wife had to start work at 5:00 am so I was out mighty early with the shovel that normally sits in the shed over our “winter”.

     I don’t know what it is about female police officers, but most swear more than the males. It’s not a learned, on-the-job thing from what I’ve seen. I think it’s the base personalities of women who are attracted to police work.

   • Tourette’s?

8. A picture of my favorite breakfast, Garry. Now I’m going to try it as a “large mangled mess.”

   As for characters, I need to see and hear them before I can start writing. I find a head shot that jumps out at me, and do a voice journal to get a sense of how they talk. Then they begin to show me who they are.

   • Make sure you use the “Harry Technique”, Jim. Fork in right, knife in left, and use the knife to load the mangled mess onto the fork. Oh, I forgot that before mangling, Harry always did a full circle of ketchup and HP sauce which was mixed into the mash like entropy.

     I like how your characters show before telling. Also, I like the idea of starting with a headshot. Happy ’22!

     • Here in SoCal I prefer a healthy dose of Tapatio. Can’t wait!

       • I gotta admit – this dumb Canuck had to Google Tapatio. If you had have said Franks, well, I have three bottles kicking around.

       • I like a splootch of Tabasco on my eggs. I usually cover my eyes and let the cook apply it, so it will be a surprise when I reach it. Wooooo!

9. Good morning, Garry, and thanks for another wonderful blog post.

   You had me completely captivated by Harry. Who wouldn’t want to meet such a fascinating character?

   One of the main characters in my books is Cece. She’s an actress who is cute and snarky, but in a fun way. She occasionally goes into disguise, and she’s so good at it that the reader often doesn’t know it’s Cece until later in the story.

   Btw, what are lightly steamed eggs? Down here in Memphis, we fry, poach, scramble or baste. I’ve never met a steamed egg, but I’ll give it a try in honor of you and Harry.

   Have a great year.

   • You’d like Harry, Kay. In fact, I don’t know anyone who didn’t like Harry – except for criminals – but even some criminals liked Harry. We used to do the good cop-bad cop routine. You can guess which part Harry got.

     I think there’s a culinary name for “lightly steamed” – it’s not over-easy which my wife likes and I hate making – it’s where you regularly fry an egg sunny-side up and then, at the last minute, you cover the pan so it stream-coats the yolk. I don’t know why anyone would want to ruin a nice and sunny yolk but Harry had her way and Harry got what she wanted (most of the time).

     Happy New Year and say Hi to Cece from Harry & me.

10. Fantastic post as always, Garry. I’m waiting for the story entitled When Garry Met Harry. 🙂

    My characters are like my children. When I first met my three, I didn’t know anything about them. I can still visualize their completely unlined faces, clear eyes, and first smiles. They grew and developed into three distinct personalities. And they are still distinct.

    My characters allow me in when it’s necessary (just like my kids nowadays), and shut me out when I probe too deeply (also just like my kids).

    For me, it’s the journey of discovery that is so enticing as an author. I don’t think I dream these people up . . . they walk into my head and say, “Hey, what’s up, Deb? Got a story to tell you.”

    Love it. 🙂

    • Thanks, Deb. When Garry Met Harry was that bull pen scene. I didn’t catch the brunt of the joke but, whatever it was, it had the harness bulls laughing. Harry and I had an old sergeant who was our boss. He’d always say, “There’s a story that goes with this.” And we heard the same story over and over and over…

      By the way, what’s up, Deb? Got a story to tell you.

      • I’m waiting . . . (fingers drumming). 🙂

11. Good morning, Garry, and Happy New Year, my friend. Your first KZB post of 2022 is another terrific one, packed with information and color. Harry sounds exactly the kind of person you’d want alongside you as a detective, and someone who would be there when the chips were down.

    Years ago, I took a writing workshop from fantasy author Charles De Lint, on creating deep 3rd person POV. Charles mentioned that the way he develops his characters is very organic, he starts out meeting a character as if you were introduced to them by a friend, and that’s helped me frame how I get to know my characters. I conjure roles and images, but don’t really know them. I don’t do detailed character sheets, instead, I need to write about them in the story or novel, and get to know them better. It’s taken me forever to do that.

    A favorite new character of mine in my mystery series is “Aunt” Dorothy, an elderly friend, neighbor and mentor to my librarian-sleuth Meg, who helps her with mysteries, and who has lived a long and colorful life Meg is only starting to learn about.

    Thanks for yet another fantastic post!

    • And good morning and HNY back atcha, Dale. It’s interesting reading this morning’s comments that everyone seems to develop their characters as they get to know them like real people. Where the characters come from is everyone’s choice and originality but fleshing them out seems to be very organic, as you say.

      I’ve never done any real deep POV but I see it’s a very popular storytelling technique. My style is 1st and 3rd omniscient and I write blog posts somewhat in the 2nd but it’s hard to hold an entire piece in 2nd. I wonder if anyone has mastered 2nd? What say you?

      • I’ve tried writing in 2nd person in short fiction, but the result wasn’t good. There are a few literary novels I know of written in 2nd person, like “Bright Lights, Big City” and “The Night Circus,” but I’ve never been able to make it through one.

        • Night Circus was in 2nd? I’ve always wanted to read it. Erin Morgenstern had a smash hit with that debut.

12. Gary,

    Glad to hear another Pacific Northwesterner is shoveling snow and ice!
    Fantastic post and great quirks list. Thanks for sharing.
    As for Harry, are you sure she doesn’t have siblings? I swear her twin brother worked as a Command Sergeant Major in one of my units. Had to pick up the book to make sure you didn’t miss something.
    Have a prosperous New Year.

    • Hi Larry – you’re more than welcome to my share of the snow. Harry had no brothers but she did have a sister who couldn’t have been more opposite. Her sister worked as a civilian interceptor / wiretap monitor in our office and took the secrecy thing so-to-heart that she wouldn’t tell us – the investigators – what was going on. They finally demoted her down to the cell block where she worked part-time as a guard (matron).

13. The Giant Quirk of the detective was a very golden age of mystery thing that reached the point of the ridiculous in later years and is seen to be annoying or bad writing in some circles. I am not a fan either when younger writers ask about it.

    An important character should have flaws, but they should not totally define the character. That’s just lazy writing when someone doesn’t want to do the work of writing a complex character. Quirks do work, though, in secondary characters with just a bit of plot space because they help the reader remember these people when they show up later.

    • The Giant Quirk (Gigantification) – I had to Google that, Marilynn. I can understand how the golden age of mystery grew their characters to levels beyond the suspension of disbelief and that led to a downfall in the genre. I agree that flaws help to keep characters real and I always remember a piece of advice that sometimes serial killers help little old ladies across the street.

14. Hi, Garry, and thanks for another helpful blog. I’m starting a new mystery soon and this was especially useful.

    • Good to hear, Elaine. I hoped the list would be a good go-to. When I went through the list, I think I’ve known people over the years that had many of these quirks. “Talks to themselves” – sounds like me.

15. I like to wind them up and watch them go. We still have the white pages here and I’ll flip the phone book open, select a last name at random, flip the pages again and select a first name at random and turn the key on them. They’ll start talking to me. Someone told me one time that when you throw them in the water there’s no telling where they’ll swim to. I do like JSB’s mind mapping exercise he talked about a little while ago. It segues nicely into developing a story and characters. TKZ is like an advanced class and I thank you all for it.

    • That’s an interesting exercise Robert. I haven’t seen the white or yellow pages around town for a few years now. They might have fallen victim to the times. I use the obituaries in the newspapers for ideas. They can be an information gold mine.

      • I used to read the LA Central Phone book. I can still recall a few names: Hyman Lipschitz, Suraphon Ngarmsomsup, Raul Wong, Tryphena Twinklepleck, Ricardo Zzyzz, and Boobpha Upathumpa. I also recall 2 Dings and 11 Dongs in the San Francisco directory.

        Some directories are here:
        https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-telephone-directory-collection/?fa=language%3Aenglish%7Conline-format%3Aonline+text%7Clocation%3Acalifornia&st=list&c=25

        There are other collections, but keep your expectations low.

16. Fantastic post Garry! I loved your description of Harry and the lists are going to be so helpful. I tend to give characters similar quirks etc. so these lists will refresh my writing. Thanks for making my morning awesome. 🙂

    • So nice to hear, Linda! Glad you can make use of the quirk list 🙂

17. Making up unique characters, especially for a genre with a hundred years of history, is increasingly tricky. (I recall a thriller movie that had a character who was a computer genius. He was black. And used a wheel chair. Oh, yeah, and he was blind, too, a bit of sarcasm re modern genre character creation.)

    I tend to put a character in place and let them run with it. My Mary Bancroft begged my MC to go with him on a dangerous mission. She begged her OSS boss. She begged the OKW contact. They all turned her down before I realized she was really asking me for permission. She went. (She da kine.)

18. Great post, Garry! I printed out the list so I could highlight the ones that fit the characters floating around in my head right now. Happy New Year and I’m sorry I’m late to the party.

    • Hi, cyber friend. Go forth, print, and multiply 🙂

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