crafting-unforgettable-characters

what your characters are planning to do. Theyonly care when they actually do it.“If your novelseems to bedragging, one ofthe first placesto look is at theheart of yourlead character.Is he giving uptoo easily? Hasshe been takingit too long? Arethere too manyscenes where he’sthinking and notdoing?”—James Scott BellThis is so for a couple of reasons. Reason #1is easily the most obvious, since it doesn’t takea trigonometry professor to figure out thatwatching soldiers fighting in a battle is farmore interesting than watching the politicianssit around in a boardroom discussing thebattle. Action is always more attentiongrabbing than inaction. This isn’t to say thatscenes in the boardroom or periods ofinaction are unacceptable—only that theyneed to be recognized for what they are andappropriately rationed.The second reason is probably even moreimportant. When we show our characters inaction, we move beyond simply telling ourreaders who these people are (“Joe was a niceguy”), to the much more powerful plane ofexhibiting the characters’ actions and allowingreaders to draw their own conclusions (“Joeemptied his wallet into the hand of the beggaron the corner”).Readers find it affirming when what they’vebeen told about a character is proven by thatcharacter’s actions. When we give our hero theopportunity to exhibit his bravery (or hiscowardice), his empathy (or his selfishness),his brilliance (or his stupidity), we are doingmore than just imparting the facts. We’rebringing this character to life on the page.We’re making him a living, breathingpersonality, who acts and reacts in a palpableway, just the same as the rest of us.18