| When I was sixteen, during the Civil Rights | | | | shoe, give her a critical flaw.) On the other |
| era, as part of a one-way student exchange | | | | hand, sometimes you can use the bad guy as |
| program (from the inner city of Detroit to | | | | the lead character. They seem to inspire a |
| suburban Traverse City, Michigan), I lived | | | | lot of admiration from ordinary, law abiding |
| with a white family. This was part of an | | | | citizens. Remember how in The Godfather, more |
| integration initiative. (For me, it was an | | | | people loved the Godfather than they did |
| escape from the drugs taking over my | | | | Fredo, his wimpy son, who was not a murderer? |
| neighborhood and some other demons in my | | | | So don't rule out using anti-heroes as your |
| life, but that's another story.) | | | | lead character. |
| | | | |
| The mother of the family was also an artist, | | | | 4. Things happen to people that can either |
| a sculptress, who encouraged me to write when | | | | build their character early in life or |
| she saw my love of the written word. Her name | | | | destroy them. One teenage mother can go on to |
| is Verna Bartnick, and when she prophesied | | | | become a lawyer; another will drop out of |
| that she saw a writing talent in me, I wasn't | | | | high school, become a welfare queen or |
| so sure. After all, if, at the time, I had | | | | substance abuser. One child can grow up with |
| told my family I wanted to be a writer, they | | | | a schizophrenic parent and go on to become a |
| would've laughed and said, "Go get you a good | | | | self-fulfilled adult; another can grow up |
| job." Well, as life rolled around, and I went | | | | with a silver spoon in his mouth and become a |
| to college, then became a social worker for | | | | serial killer. A character's backstory is |
| the next twenty-three years, while raising 3 | | | | important, but it doesn't always determine |
| children, I used to wonder, when was my | | | | what kind of person he or she will become. |
| literary destiny going to begin? | | | | The best early life experience does not |
| | | | always produce resilient, tenacious people, |
| Ironically, by the time my writing did | | | | nor does the worst early life experience |
| emerge, I had buried my mother and become a | | | | always produce bad people. That's why it's |
| grandmother, two milestones, which forced me | | | | often said that hardship builds character. |
| to take action and realize how transient this | | | | |
| life is. From living, I gleaned many things | | | | 5. Life is often about compromise. Don't give |
| about my journey, but this is one thing I | | | | your books neat little happy endings. In my |
| can't say enough now-everything I learned | | | | novel, No Pockets in a Shroud, Nefertititi |
| about building multi-faceted characters I | | | | reunites with her birth daughter she'd had as |
| learned as a social worker. | | | | a teen and placed for adoption at birth, but |
| | | | she pays the price of always wondering what |
| These are ten tips for building multi-faceted | | | | would have happened had she opted to raise |
| characters. | | | | her child at a time when society was |
| | | | merciless to "unwed mothers." |
| 1. I learned that babies will die from | | | | |
| maternal deprivation if a process called | | | | 6. People generally grow during downward |
| bonding does not take place. From that I'd | | | | spirals. The worse life experience can |
| like to make an analogy. I learned that, as a | | | | sometimes turn out be the best thing that can |
| writer, you must make your reader bond or | | | | happen. The grandmothers who had to take in |
| emotionally connect to your character or your | | | | crack grandbabies often looked younger than |
| characters will die from reader deprivation. | | | | their crack daughters and were really better |
| You do this through reader identification, | | | | mothers the second time around. Hitting rock |
| emotions and loyalty. The reader will then | | | | bottom is often where people grow or |
| begin to root for your main character(s.) | | | | discombobulate. Put this in your fiction. |
| | | | |
| 2. Even a "crackhead" has redeemable | | | | 7. Show the dark side of your characters; |
| qualities and a motivation for what led to | | | | this adds to complexity. How about a man who |
| him or her becoming a substance abuser. Give | | | | works with children, then goes home and |
| your villains (or antagonist) a motivation, a | | | | batters his wife? People are full of |
| past, and some good traits. Also, I learned, | | | | contradictions. Or, the flaw could be more |
| just like in life, that in fiction the best | | | | subtle. Perhaps look at how people get stuck |
| lines can come from bums and street corner | | | | in bad relationships and refuse to move |
| "psychologists." In my novel, No Pockets in a | | | | on-that is, until something happens (the |
| Shroud, these are gems spoken from my | | | | death of a child) such as in Anne Tyler's |
| character Poor Boy, an alcoholic derelict. | | | | novel, The Accidental Tourist, which forces |
| | | | the characters into action. |
| "When you don't love someone, you just don't | | | | |
| love them. They can be ever so nice to you, | | | | 8. The line between life and death is |
| but you can't make yourself love them. And | | | | tenuous. I buried AIDS babies and Down |
| vice-versa. I been in love both ways. The | | | | |
| kind where I didn't love someone back, and | | | | Syndrome babies. I witnessed the after |
| the kind where the other party was just using | | | | results of murder-a man had killed his |
| me. I know this is sad to say, but graveyard | | | | wife-and I had to place the children. Capture |
| love done killed a many people. Got more | | | | this dichotomy between life and death in your |
| people in the cemetery than cancer." | | | | fiction. |
| | | | |
| 3. Also, just like in life, in fiction, being | | | | 9. Life is full of stories. My foster mothers |
| good is not all it's cracked up to be. | | | | used to tell me stories. My clients told me |
| It'seasier to do the wrong thing. The person, | | | | stories. My clients' families called and told |
| such as a "do gooder" social worker, who | | | | all the "family skeletons." I learned that |
| tries to do the right thing, has the hardest | | | | everyone had a story. Everyone had a secret. |
| struggle. Show this in your characters, | | | | Show me the inner life of your characters. |
| particularly in your protagonist or main | | | | |
| character. Fiction is about struggle and the | | | | 10. The Ten Commandments were written because |
| fight to do good in a world filled with evil. | | | | man is essentially in need of God. How |
| Good intentions are generally what lead to | | | | different men find their spirituality can be |
| conflicts in books. For example, a good | | | | a rocky road such as Paul on the road to |
| mother, with well-meaning intentions, can | | | | Damascus. Take me, as the reader, on this |
| overprotect her children, creating followers | | | | journey. Walter Mosley does this in Always |
| and people who make bad choices. | | | | Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, as we travel |
| | | | with Socrates, as he redeems himself for the |
| (So if your main character is a goody-two | | | | murders that he committed earlier in life. |