Using the panel discussions of the most
recent World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, August 2015, I will jump
off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION
given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. This is event #4615 . The link is
provided below…
Characters with
“Character” in YA Fiction Not all characters are created equally. Some are made
for moving the plot along, some are created for comedy relief, and some crafted
to inspire. A book is created around characters readers can get behind, love, hate
or empathize with, laugh at. From heroes to villains and more, authors share
some of their favorite YA fiction characters and what makes these characters so
interesting. Find out what characters work and what characters don’t for young
adult readers. William Campbell Powell (m), Gail Carriger, Deby Fredericks,
Rebecca Moesta
Ugh – building believable
characters is a real weakness of mine…
So, how does the
panel qualify?
William Campbell
Powell (m) – a solid SF book under his belt. Check.
Gail Carriger –
commented earlier, she wrote the Parasol
Protectorate books. Check (again!)
Deby Fredericks –
a few Kindle books in fantasy. Check.
Rebecca Moesta –
no comment needed! A spectacular writer whom I respect and love to read! (For
those of you NOT in the know, she’s written more than a “few” STAR WARS books
with her husband Kevin J. Anderson.)
There’s some real
fire power here and I’m sure the discussion was fascinating.
How DO you build
believable characters?
RM first: “YA and
middle grade fiction has been my favorite to read since I was about ten.
Somehow, I never outgrew it. There’s a magic in YA: it’s the literature of
transformation. Something essential always happens to the main characters. The
journey from childhood to adulthood presents challenges and rites of passage
that are social, emotional, physical, and moral. Our protagonists confront
issues like first love, conflicting loyalties, losing a family member, false
friends, uncertain values, leaving home, poverty or violence, idealism vs
pragmatism.” (http://www.rowena-cory-daniells.com/2011/10/01/meet-rebecca-moesta/)
GC: “…my favorite
kind of character to write – practical to a fault, capable in a crisis,
frustrating to the other characters around her, and all too often getting
herself into impossible situations out of sheer nerve. It can be a little
annoying trying to write myself out of the corner they have gotten the plot
into, but they are so rich in friends, they have help in times of dire need.” (http://gailcarriger.com/about/never-ending-interview/)
WCP: “…told
through diary entries from the main character with a couple of other things
thrown into the mix. I was strongly reminded of The Testament of Jessie Lamb
while reading Expiration Day, since most of the book deals with the day to day
adventures of a teenager in a world that is collapsing out from under the human
race.” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/814967264?utm_campaign=reviews&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com)
OK – so I know I
CAN built characters, but I don’t know the formula yet!
How do I do it? I’ve
read books and I’ve tried to reduce my own successes to something I can use
more consistently. People seem to like Emerald. I think they’ll like Zechariah
in HOTSS: Zechariah of Venus the new
book I’m working on now.
But if there’s a
formula here, I could pull this from the three observations above:
1) “Something
essential always happens to the main characters…”
2) “…practical,
capable, frustrating to the other characters, sheer nerve…”
3) “…told through
diary entries, day to day adventures…”
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