OVERVIEW
Characters!
We humans
are teeny-weeny characters
wobbling and steering
the craft of our lives
carrying within us
oodles of personalities
and medleys of emotions
each, featuring its own
set of characteristics…
But we humans aren’t just these character
formations of life, but, astoundingly, we can also create our own characters
too. We don’t just find characters in our real and everyday lives, but we can
also discover new and interesting characters through our imagination,
storytelling and writing.
All it takes is imagination, practice and
understanding!
In this video show, you’re going to learn and
understand what a character is; what is the meaning of a characteristic; and
seven important points related to these concepts!
So, let’s go!
WHAT IS A CHARACTER?
A character is any form or appearance;
alive or
dead;
animate or
inanimate;
living or
non-living;
human or
non-human,
existing in
real life or only inside your head,
that takes
the role of “experiencer”
in a story,
plot, setting, scene or drama.
Characters
are the foundation
of any
creation based on the craft of storytelling...
In fiction,
characters are based on imagination & memory…
whereas in
non-fiction, the character is the main subject presented through the piece of
writing, sometimes the writer herself.
WHAT IS A CHARACTERISTIC?
The word CHARACTERISTIC comes from the word CHARACTER.
Etymologically,
the word CHARACTERISTIC has been derived from the Greek word kharaktēr which means ‘a stamping
tool’.
DIFFERENCE AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CHARACTER & A CHARACTERISTIC
Characteristic
= “The stamping tool of a Character”
Character
= “A set/group of two or more Characteristics”
SEVEN IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT THE CONCEPTS OF CHARACTERS & CHARACTERISTICS
#1 A character can be any appearance as long as it is viewed from the point of view of “experiencer”.
#2 Each and every appearance, irrespective of whether it is human or not, can be looked at, as a character, as long as it is provided the role or the position of being the “experiencer” in a scene, story, setting, or novel. That is, while writing about a character, you take the role of the subject pertaining to this character.
#3 Each character has some characteristic(s).
a. The more you focus on a particular character, the more characteristics you will be able to discover in it.
b. Free writing is the key to unfolding the characteristic(s) pertaining to a character
#4 No two characters are the same. If they’d be the same, then they wouldn’t be two. Just the very fact that they are two, illustrates the evidence that they are two characters. Two different characters.
a. Even if two characters are exactly the same, or the literal twins of each other, still and all, the very thing that they are two, makes them unique. One is number one. And second is number two.
b. This quality or these labels Number One, or Number Two is their ‘characteristic’.
#5 All characters have one common and fundamental characteristic – their source of creation – that is the writer’s mind.
a. Whether you’re creating a character by observation of real world or life, or whether you’re creating it from your memory or imagination, ultimately, its your mind that shapes and sculpts the character, that colours and paints it with a unique set of characteristics.
#6 Following the fundamental or the source characteristic, the characters have common characteristics – the characteristics that are common to two or more characters.
a. These characteristics are driven by the characters’ unique line of experiences and consequent memory matrix – it is embedded in the character’s DNA
#7 The writer is the character she is writing about or creating.
a. The depth of a character is determined by the scope of focus, exposition, magnification & clarity that you look through it within your own mind.
b. If you’re writing as a villain character, you must become a villain in that moment.
c. If you’re writing as a romantic character, you must feel the romance within yourself before it reflects in the character you’re creating.
d. If you’re writing for children, then you must become a child yourself.
That’s the key!
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