Creating Characters (13 page)

Doesn't want: to remember.

From whom or what does the character seek freedom? Incarceration? A social class? A marriage? A commitment? An unsatisfactory job? Guilt? The past? Or does he even know? If he does know, will he continue to endure an intolerable situation because he does not have the courage to actually pursue this freedom? To what lengths will he go to secure this freedom? Will he fight alone or seek someone's help? For a story to focus upon a character who does
not
want freedom would be unusual, although certainly not unthinkable.

Doesn't want: confinement, dependence.

If the character is in pursuit of good health, is it because he has been deprived of it or because he is afraid of losing it? If he is sick, does he seek a cure? If he is healthy, does he attempt to keep illness away by exercising and eating nutritiously? Is he afraid of pain? Of dying before "his time"?

Doesn't want: poor health, death, pain.

In what situation will the character be placed where he finds the need for (and, indeed, will pray for) a little good luck? This luck need not be logical; it need only come at the right time. Thus the farmer may wish for rain; the gambler may dream of a royal flush; a player on a losing football team may pray for the other team to fumble. And what will happen if the good luck doesn't come? On the other hand, what if it does?

Doesn't want: bad luck.

What kind of help does the character want or need, and who is capable of providing it? Does he want help for himself or someone else? Is he too proud to ask for help? Is the character in trouble? Incapacitated? Lost? Confused? Is he trying to improve himself? Does he need, perhaps, someone to exert a little influence in his behalf? And what if he does not get the help he requires?

Doesn't want: rejection, indifference.

What kind of justice does the character want, and does he want it for himself or someone else? Is the character driven by ethics or retaliation? If he achieves justice, will it benefit a great many people or only him? To what lengths will he go to achieve justice, and how long is he willing to wait to get it? In his search for justice, is he being impartial? Fair? Realistic? And what will he do if he fails to get the justice he desires?

Doesn't want: acquittal, injustice.

What is the nature of the knowledge sought by the character? And why does he want it or need it? Does he want to acquire broad information, or is he pursuing something quite specific, such as the cure for a disease, the truth about what happened on the night of the murder, or the latest tidbit of neighborhood gossip? If he acquires the knowledge, what will he do with it? And if he doesn't get it, what will he do?

Doesn't want: ignorance.

Does the character want leisure because he is essentially lazy, or does he wish to take a respite from what he has been doing? If he is lazy, does he have a penchant for sleep, or for watching television and sunning himself on the beach? If, however, his desire for leisure comes after a grueling period of work, does he want an extended break or just a brief interlude? Whether he is lazy or not, what will happen if the leisure he wants is not forthcoming?

Doesn't want: exertion, stress, strain.

From whom does the character want loyalty? Why is it so important to him? What position does he hold that allows him to demand or expect it? And what will happen if he does not get it?

Doesn't want: disloyalty, double-dealing, faithlessness, mutiny, sedition, treachery.

It is entirely possible that a character may actually
need
misfortune to visit him. One who is inflated with his own sense of superiority, for instance, may need his perspective changed by a situation where he not only does not get his own way but is forced to endure the same kind of indignities that others have suffered at his hands. But mostly, characters want misfortune to befall someone else—a desire almost always bred from such emotions as envy, jealousy, and anger. But what will the character do if this desired misfortune does not occur? Indeed, what will he do if it does?

Doesn't want: good luck, prosperity.

Not wealth
(see
Power)-just enough money for a certain situation. If money becomes a priority for a character, how much money does he want and why does he want it—or need it? Is he broke? Did he lose it? Is he being bribed?

Does he want to help someone out of trouble? To get what he wants or needs, what options does he have? Will he, for example, borrow it? Steal it? Beg for it? Dig into his savings? And what will happen if he can't get the money?

Doesn't want: indigence, nonpayment.

If a character relishes peace, does he wish it would descend upon his own life, or does he want it to be broader and affect the lives of many? Who is preventing the peace from occurring, and what steps can the character take toward it? Does he seek harmony in general or in a specific sense? Does he want peace to simply satisfy his own life, or is he being altruistic? And what if peace is not forthcoming?

Doesn't want: agitation, antagonism, commotion, conflict, contention, disaccord, friction, infringement, interference, opposition, turmoil, violence.

If the character seeks perfection, does he already assume that he is perfect and that others are not? Or does he restrict this high level of idealism to those things that only concern himself? Does he see imperfection everywhere but in himself, or does it depress him to know that he too must be included? Does he, perhaps, accept imperfection in all areas, except one which is vitally important to him? In striving for perfection, will he antagonize others? And what will he do if perfection eludes him?

Doesn't want: mediocrity, imperfection, blunders, negligence, thoughtlessness, carelessness, haphazardness, procrastination, oversights, recklessness.

How does the character define power? Is it being wealthy and having the means to buy what he wishes? Is it owning something and being recognized as the boss? Is it influence, in which he is able to get others, or at least one other person, to do what he wants them to do? Is it fame or reputation, which, as a result of what he has accomplished, automatically opens doors for him? Does he want people to be dependent upon him? Does he want to control their lives? Does he thirst for the favors that accompany power? And what if he does not acquire this power? On the other hand, what if he does?

Doesn't want: defiance, disobedience, helplessness, impotence, ineffectualness, refusal, resistance, weakness.

Has the character done something quite specific for which he seeks approbation, or is he on the prowl for any kind of praise he can draw his way for practically everything he does? Is he one to wallow in flattery? Does he always seem to be saying, "Look at me"? If he receives one compliment, does he try to do something to get another? Does he want praise from one person, a few, or a great many? And what will happen if he does not receive the praise he is seeking?

Doesn't want: contempt, disapproval, disrespect, fault-finding, lampooning, rejection, reproach, ridicule, vilification.

If the character wants to preserve something, is he attempting to
prevent
something as well? What does the character want to preserve? A way of life, perhaps? His reputation? Possibly something that he believes is not only important to him but to everyone? Does he feel it is something that is in danger of being lost forever? Why is it so important to him to engage in the act ofpreservation? And what will happen if he fails?

Doesn't want: damage, destruction, neglect.

If the character wants to prevent something, is he attempting to
preserve
something as well? (For example, an environmentalist may want to prevent a redwood forest from being cut down by loggers; in doing so, he is also engaged in act of preservation.) What does the character want to prevent, and why? Is it something that affects him personally, or are his efforts on behalf of either one other person or several? Does he need to enlist the assistance of at least one other person, or does he have the power to do it all by himself? And what will happen if his act of prevention fails?

Doesn't want: change.

What is the nature of the property desired by the character? Is it land? A factory? An automobile? Diamonds? What tangible thing does he have his heart set upon obtaining, and what meaning does he attach to its possession?

Do others attach the same meaning or importance to it? How long has he wanted it? And what will happen if he doesn't get it?

Doesn't want: forfeiture, relinquishment.

Does he desire recognition for himself? For those he represents? For someone he loves or likes? What is the nature of the recognition desired, and from whom does he want it to come? Does he want one or more people to appreciate that he, or someone else, has noteworthy skills? achieved something? performed a good deed? deserve sympathy? And what will happen if this recognition doesn't come?

Doesn't want: anonymity, disapproval, indifference, inattention.

What kind of relief does the character want or need? Does he want it for himself or another? Is this desire for relief a result of his (or someone else's) having suffered psychological or physical discomfort over an extended period? If he wants relief from (for instance) heat, drought, cold, pain, discrimination, or accusation, and it doesn't come, what will happen? want: continuance, prolongation.

If the character wants or needs to be responsible for something, or someone, why does he? If he
needs
it, will his being held accountable help to change him for the better? But if he
wants
responsibility, will it show determination? Conviction? If, on the other hand, he desires that others accept responsibility for their actions, is he passing the buck or placing a moral obligation upon them?

Doesn't want: avoidance, irresponsibility, unaccountability,

What secret does the character want or need to keep? Is it in relation to him or someone else? Who will benefit by having the secret maintained, and who will not? Is the information important or entirely frivolous? Will keeping the secret force the character to lie? How many people know the secret? To what lengths will the character go to keep the thing concealed? What will happen if the secret is disclosed?

Doesn't want: publicity, disclosure, confession, acknowledgment.

Does the character want security, or does he need it? or does he both want and need it? If he wants it, does that mean he has absolutely none? How, in fact, does he define security? Is it money in the bank? An excellent job? A good medical report on his physical condition? The support of friends and family?

What will happen if his security, or the security of someone he loves, is threatened?

Doesn't want: doubt, exposure, vulnerability.

If a character desires to be sophisticated, it means he isn't—at least by the guidelines he uses as a measurement. What are those guidelines, and in what area does he see himself as lacking? Does he wish he could talk better? Dress better? Exhibit impressive knowledge? But is his notion of sophistication a misguided idea? Whom is he trying to impress? And what will happen if he fails to reach his goal, or if others see his effort as fruitless?

Doesn't want: inelegance, vulgarity, coarseness.

If a character wants or needs stability, is it because his life has been regularly yanked first one way and then the other for far too long? Does he feel that its underpinnings need shoring up? Does he have a
need
to experience a sense of permanence, which he might discover within a religion or a good marriage? Or does he simply feel comfortable with the status quo and want to keep it, thus spurning any notion of change? Do interruptions to his life send the character spinning? Does he hate ups and downs? Unpleasant surprises? Things that ruin routine? And what will happen if he cannot have stability?

Doesn't want: instability, change, discontinuity, disarrangement.

How does the character define success? Does he frame it in terms of career? What he owns? What he achieves? Or possibly by the way other people value his friendship and his positive involvement in their lives? If success is a priority, will he be satisfied after reaching the plateau he once desired?

And what will happen if success eludes him?

Doesn't want: adversity, demotion, failure, frustration, hardship, hindrances.

(See also
Power)

If a character wants to be superior, who does he wish to surpass? Will he do it through achievement, or will he simply assume himself to be better? What steps will he take to prove that he is better, or will he just arrogantly say that he is because he
wants
to be? Will his desire to be superior make him a competitor or a bigot? And what will happen if his superiority is challenged, or if he finds it does not exist?

Doesn't want: inferiority, integration, mediocrity, subordination, subservience.

If a character wants the truth, is he placing a high priority on honesty as a trait, or is he pursuing it through a situation that is otherwise teeming with lies or inconsistencies? The difference is crucial. The former case would show that honesty is a virtue that he values. The latter case may involve investigation and presents numerous possibilities—among them, that he desires to prove a point, or to defeat slander, or to find what would otherwise lie hidden. Does the character seek a truth that is pure and undecorated? Does he just want to find out what happened? Does he view acknowledgments and admissions as victories along the way? Is skepticism his weapon of choice? And what will happen if the truth can't be found?