Jan 09 2009
Engaging Secondary Characters: Socratic Characterization
Remember that list of things you needed to know about the character you were designing? And the set of features you compiled last time? It’s time to get some use out of them.
Begin by answering the questions you compiled, incorporating the trappings you put together. Figure out who this person is, why she’s here, and all of the things you decided you need to know. Here’s the catch, though—for every answer you put in, ask another question. And try to avoid answers like “Because it’s cool” or “Because that’s how the character works.” (You probably didn’t need me to tell you that, but it seems necessary.) If the questions or the answers to them create another character, so much the better; start developing that one in parallel to the first, as they’ll probably have more points of convergence.
For instance: Hoyt’s distinguishing feature is a long coat he always wears. Why does he wear the coat? It has deep pockets (okay, and maybe he thinks it looks cool). Why does he need deep pockets? So he can carry his research materials. What are his research materials? Paper and a writing implement, a few sticks of chalk, a few carving tools, some chunks of cythen he’s carving, a few finished pieces for his magic—Okay, hold it right there. How does he carry them all? [pause to look at the what I know of the magic system] Extradimensional pockets! Then why does he need a coat with natural deep pockets? Because he can attach the spell to the openings in said pockets, so when he removes something it looks like it was in the coat. (Aha!)
Of course, you don’t have to settle for one question per answer, or even one answer per question; there are often more. I could ask questions like “Why does he need all that?” or “What’s he researching?” for the contents of his pockets, “Why that coat in particular?” after the deep pockets explanation, “How do extradimensional pockets work?” or “How common are extradimensional pockets?” when those first come up (which start getting us to questions like where he learned that spell and how it works)–you get the idea.
Don’t be afraid to leave one sequence dangling and switch to another, or to let them join together. Question sequences that feed into each other are good for realism. If it turns out that a. a lot of people really aren’t too fond of magic users or b. the reason why Hoyt’s in the prison (another question chain) is because he has a habit of removing books from nobles’ libraries, reading them and putting them back, then you’ve got two reasons why the pockets would make sense.
Why are we doing this? There are several reasons. One is that the question stream gives us a lot of details. This both makes the character more real and logical (and helps us avoid contradictions and plot holes) and camouflages the Necessary Secrets, Emotion-Manipulating Details, and Obvious Shortcuts by making them just single details amid the layers of characterization.
Another reason is that it gets us closer to ultimate causes, while just slamming aspects together will only get us proximate causes. Proximate causes are nice, and they are the ones our audiences are likelier to pick up, but they’re shallow; they only apply to the situation for which they’re deduced. The ultimate cause of a feature or behavior, on the other hand, will at least partially explain the behavior, probably explain at least one proximate cause, and hint at other aspects of the character, providing us with yet more detail to be extrapolated.
Though this is the longest step, it’s pretty much the end; the rest is just filling in the gaps and dealing with the cosmetic details. Congratulations!
Want to do more with secondary characters? The site hub is here.
Excellent guide, Ravyn! On one hand I know about this concept of asking questions to clarify to yourself details of any character (not just secondary ones)… on the other hand I didn’t do much of that back in November. And it *is* time to dust the figurative dust off that draft and start working on it again… your tips here will certainly help -thanks!
Another reason is it makes me think. It improves my intelligence and imagining/thinking skills.
Ah, yes. The development of reasons why the reasons why the reasons why are. Sometimes fun, but to really cover even the important stuff, you’d need a book. I generally do about a quarter of the “necessary information” and leave the rest blank. It may be lazy, but oftentimes the work is, at best, barely necessary, and it has a certain advantage. Namely, if I want to later, I can make stuff up without having to redo the character in my head entirely. Maybe the character originally covered his bald spot with a wig because he didn’t want to look old, but perhaps now it’s to cover up some signs of a disease that he doesn’t want anyone to know he has. That’s a plothook I wouldn’t have let myself think of if I had this whole thing about why he’s insecure about his baldness already.
Of course, I need to get to the point where I know he covers a bald spot with a wig. I’m not saying not to do any work. But you really can do such a thing as too much (except for main characters. Anything you leave open should be entirely intentionally open).
Lynne: No problem; glad to be able to help.
Dratiffarid: And not only does it get you to think, it might get you to think like the character you’re playing twenty questions with, giving you a better shot at being able to get properly in character when portraying them.
Brick: You make a good point, and I should’ve been clearer about that. I don’t expect anyone to find out everything, just enough to make the character seem decently well-rounded; it’s better to ask other questions as you go with the character, and I plan on writing about that later.
And what’s to say your example character can’t do both?