The Edge Of Glory - Part I

[Deleted member 604]

Greetings Fellow Writers,

I’m a Cheater...I admit it...I do it on a daily basis and at any chance I get. Because the first step in creating strong characters is knowing them. You need to know your lead characters intimately. Better than you know your best friend. Better than you know your boyfriend/girlfriend, wife/husband. You need to know their dreams and fears, their memories and thoughts, the itch between their toes, the longings in their hearts, even, the way they spit out their toothpaste in the morning. That is where Character Profiling comes in and we have covered that in an earlier Brainpick of mine, we won't be revisiting that one, not today.

Although, knowledge is power and the most important part of Characterisation, it's by far not the only part. We can create a Character we know inside and out - Who is still as dull as dishwater - that's where the fairy (washing up) liquid comes in

What do these characters have in common?

​

THE ANSWER: Edge, they add edge to you story others would say a USP - Unique Selling Point. ​

HOW?

Through turbulence your character brings with them, as they walk through the door to the house you built. It complicates things - they force change - they create unpredicted responses and twists. All reasons to make your book a page turner, is it not? Basically they make your story stand out, above all the rest.

FOR EXAMPLE -

Susie Salmon (4th Pic) - Susie is as normal as you can get. Expect she's dead.
(Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold)

Bridget Jones (2nd Pic) - She creates change aka turbulence by aspiring to be more higher class than she is. Bottles of wine, cigarette ends, the occasional set of bunny eyes and blue soup.
(Bridget Jones's Diary By Helen Fielding)

And the greatest thing is their attributes connect to the plot. Do they not?

I'll leave Christian Grey and Patrick Bateman to you and please add your own examples ​

 

[Tim James]

I think I get what you are saying. A character with edge is a character with a hidden flaw. Damaged goods, you might say. Someone who although on the outside seems nicely rounded, has a certain flaw running through them that is central to the story.

Christian Grey, successful businessman, polite, attractive, generous - but he has a dark disturbing background, he's flawed to his core.

My example from classic literature would be Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre. On the outside he's a rich, handsome, powerful man. But he hides a deep dark secret in a bedroom in his large house. A secret that haunts the whole novel.

Make your characters seem real, bring them to life, give them passion, strength, desires. But to really bring fire to your book, give them something special, something unusual, some dark secret that comes out later. Give them an edge.

 

[Deleted member 604]

Bella Swan - Is an ordinary teenage American girl. Who loves a vampire.
(Twilight By Stephenie Meyer)

 

[Deleted member 604]

@AgentPete an example from you would be fab, if you have time to spare

 

[Deleted member 604]

@Carol Rose I think we would all love an example from you too

 

[Dan Payne]

I thoroughly, seriously dislike an author giving his character an "edge" just for the sake of it. What, you want to sell me Silence of the Lambs, only the lead detective has Tourette's? A Harry Potter-like novel where the young mage-in-training is a kleptomaniac?

The character edge has to be relevant to the plot. Ideally, it forms part of why this character is experiencing these things. In some of the examples above, the character flaw is integral to the story: Patrick Bateman is deeply flawed, because he is a psychopath, and him being a psychopath is kind of fundamental to the plot. Christian Grey, much the same. I've not read Bridget Jones and I'd almost be inclined to argue that she doesn't have a real edge: I mean, what human being or fictional character does not aspire to being better than they are?

Examples of "edge" characters I could bring to the table might include Thomas Covenant from Stephen R Donaldson's Lord Foul's Bane. He's a leper, and his character edge (and it's a harsh one) is that he doesn't believe that what he's experiencing is real, so he can act however he likes without moral qualm. But this part of his character is absolutely integral to the plot, and Donaldson spends thousands of words dissecting it and how it affects the character's travels through the books.

If your character is "dull as dishwater" that's probably not a problem with the character. More likely it's an issue with the plot. Every ordinary human can be fascinating if you give them the right stimuli. A story is about a character experiencing plot. What makes a dull character? One written as an archetype or stereotype? Stereotypes exist because they work. No, I think a dull character is one that doesn't make interesting choices in the story, and that's a plot issue.

If you have a good plot but a forgettable character, you've likely got a forgettable story. If you have a scintillating character but no plot to put them in, likewise. If your character can't inspire plot just by being there, there's something very wrong with your story and giving the character a dark secret isn't going to save it.

 

[Deleted member 604]

@Dan Payne you are spot on

I thoroughly, seriously dislike an author giving his character an "edge" just for the sake of it. What, you want to sell me Silence of the Lambs, only the lead detective has Tourette's? A Harry Potter-like novel where the young mage-in-training is a kleptomaniac?

I can't argue with that and I won't because I totally agree with you. Your protagonist and the plot must work together, compliment each other. And, for me such characteristic must be forever present even subtly and it's got to be persevering throughout, that's the whole point of the enchantment, is it not?

Thomas Covenant from Stephen R Donaldson's Lord Foul's Bane. He's a leper, and his character edge (and it's a harsh one) is that he doesn't believe that what he's experiencing is real, so he can act however he likes without moral qualm. But this part of his character is absolutely integral to the plot, and Donaldson spends thousands of words dissecting it and how it affects the character's travels through the books.

I'm reading this at the moment. It was a Christmas present, buy me a book for Christmas or for my Birthday. I'm made up. I have read a fair bit of it so far and I've gotta say, I'm enthralled and I couldn’t believe it when he raped Lena. That was definitely a shock, horror moment for me, one of many as you know. And, a great example of Edge in one of its most finest forms Dan, so thank you for that and for your great contribution as always.

 

[RK Wallis]

Donaldson was my first fantasy, around 15. They were my dad's. My brother and I were reading it at the same time. He started, but I caught up. He'd hide the next book so I couldn't overtake him. But I found his hiding spot and finished first. Haha! Loved all 6 of them

I've started my older son on fantasy even younger. He'd finished Magician last year (at 11). He had to write an 1000 word fantasy for school last week and I was surprised, there was plenty missing, but the flow and bones were there. Now to get him off the computer games

 

[Deleted member 604]

He had to write an 1000 word fantasy for school last week and I was surprised, there was plenty missing, but the flow and bones were there. Now to get him off the computer games

And so he should, exercise his mind, make him work a little because not like computer games, books only give you a few pieces of lego and the mind has to make up the rest. But fair play to him for having a crack at writing. A Writer in the making perhaps? like his Mum

 

[Carol Rose]

Katniss Everdeen comes to mind. Not because of what she ends up doing by the end of The Hunger Games trilogy, or even because she volunteered as tribute for her little sister in the beginning. Those acts alone would take her dangerously close to the kind of perfection we’d have a tough time relating to in an older teen. It’s because of her indecision and sometimes stupid rebellious acts that we grow to love and admire her. We enjoy watching her grow as a person under extraordinary circumstances. Circumstances she rejects at first. Who wouldn’t? Her bravery and humanity make her an unforgettable character.

 

[Deleted member 604]

BTW..This is only Part I of this Brainpick - Stay tuned for Part II, which will include an exercise. But, for the time being keep your thoughts and examples coming...

 

[Rich.]

I'm not sure I agree with the premise, or at least I'm not sure it would be a helpful way for me to create a character. I'm wary of importing business terms -- like USP -- into creative writing. Unique selling point is a marketing term, something devised after the fact, and in that sense the idea may have a place in the marketing of a novel, but I'm not convinced that it's universally helpful in the creation of one. I'd worry that focussing too heavily on my characters' USPs would lead me to write one-dimensional story people.

For example, Kell and Lila from VE Schwab's Shades of Magic series, he's an adopted prince while she's an abandoned street urchin; he wants for a family of his own while she's afraid of commitment; but they're united in being outsiders. It's this complex interplay that makes them compelling characters. He has a magic coat and she's good with knives -- a good image for the marketing team -- but those aren't the details that glue readers to the page.

What I'm saying here is related to what I've said over in Craft Chat. Pithy rules can be unhelpful if applied superficially. At least, that's been my experience. But! And it's a big but. What works for me may not work for others. Neil Gaiman, having finished the first draft of American Gods, was talking to a writer friend who told him, "You never learn how to write a novel. You only learn to write the novel you're on."

 

[Deleted member 604]

Kell and Lila from VE Schwab's Shades of Magic series

I've read it and I loved it but they only kissed once throughout the whole story, I was a tad bit gutted about that one LOL. I like how she sailed away at the end, but you could still feel that so called 'Unspoken Thing' between them and somehow you know it won't be the last time they will see each other and as you know there are two more books after the first. I have purchased them but I haven't read them yet but I will at some point, I'm sure. So @Rich. don't give me any spoilers LOL.

but those aren't the details that glue readers to the page.

I totally agree. For me, it was the fact they are opposites and in more ways than one, as they say opposites attract and they do in this story.
Even though they are from completely different backgrounds. Kell and Lila are very similar, more than they realise. I love how VE Schwab uses them as foils to bring out both the good and bad in each other.
Kell's coat is pretty cool, to be fair. I like how it helps him travel between the different Londons but it's not the coat itself as such, that is the most interesting but the person who wears it. Is it not?
Both Kell and his coat are the edge but only when used together, they become decisive to the plot. If Kell didn't have the coat, we wouldn't have such a layered story. And, if a different person wore his magic coat, we would have a completely different story and outcome. Would We not?

American Gods,

Read the book and I love the TV series. But, I'm still not sure about the second series, yet.

"You never learn how to write a novel. You only learn to write the novel you're on."

I love this advice and you know what, I agree with it. A very striking truth indeed.