Character Storming

[zil]

It's like brainstorming, only about a character.

So, when I changed my story idea from epic to novella, I got an ending, but pretty much everything that defined the "male lead" went with the epic.  Now I'm having a hard time figuring out this character, so I thought maybe you all would be willing to help me brainstorm.  Brandon Sanderson uses a technique for this in some of his classes that seems to work well, so I thought I'd try that.  There will be a few different questions, but we'll tackle them one at a time.

Background: Our story is pre-industrialization - we have swords, horses, etc., and nothing "modern".  It's a fantasy, so there's magic and it doesn't take place in this universe.

Character: He's roughly in his early 20s and he's a he.  He's not married.  He has living family.

The first thing our character needs is a secret.  It doesn't have to be big or terrible or related to the story, he just needs a secret.  So, please throw out suggestions for a secret our 20-something man could have.

[Fether]

23 minutes ago, zil said:

It's like brainstorming, only about a character.

So, when I changed my story idea from epic to novella, I got an ending, but pretty much everything that defined the "male lead" went with the epic.  Now I'm having a hard time figuring out this character, so I thought maybe you all would be willing to help me brainstorm.  Brandon Sanderson uses a technique for this in some of his classes that seems to work well, so I thought I'd try that.  There will be a few different questions, but we'll tackle them one at a time.

Background: Our story is pre-industrialization - we have swords, horses, etc., and nothing "modern".  It's a fantasy, so there's magic and it doesn't take place in this universe.

Character: He's roughly in his early 20s and he's a he.  He's not married.  He has living family.

The first thing our character needs is a secret.  It doesn't have to be big or terrible or related to the story, he just needs a secret.  So, please throw out suggestions for a secret our 20-something man could have.

I’m off and on writing a book. My “protagonist” is a somewhat unlikable person. He is addicted to a drug in the story and over the course of the 8 theoretical books that aren’t written he slowly overcomes his addiction and becomes more likeable.

[Vort]

He is in love with his cousin, which his society sees as incestuous. (As it happens, she's not actually his cousin, because, you see, she is the milkman's daughter.)

He knows that Character X in the story is the milkman's daughter (or son).

As a child ten years ago, he stole and buried a small trinket that he thought was worth a lot. Only he knows where it's buried.

The girl he secretly liked kissed him five years ago, but he was much to embarrassed to tell anyone.

[anatess2]

His secret - he was the commander of the fleet that xenocided the formics.

Oh wait... I think somebody already wrote that story.

[zil]

28 minutes ago, Vort said:

He is in love with his cousin

This sorta thing won't work - he's the male lead, destined by the author to fall for the female lead (who is a complete stranger when the book starts - and who is not a milkman's daughter - or even in the same country).

The trinket idea may have some promise - especially if it's either in the right place, or more than a trinket, only he doesn't know that - this has gone to the back of the brain for processing.

A novella is too short for a long character arc like overcoming an addition.

Please keep them coming.  Eventually we'll trip over the right secret.

[Sunday21]

Your character can read people’s minds when others  feel a strong emotion. This ability was a characteristic of a conquering tribe that enslaved our hero’s people may generations ago. The conquers intermarried with our hero’s people passing on various traits. Those pure descendants of the conquerors died out after a disease smote them but spared those whe either were slaves or had some percentage of slave blood. Those who have inherited any of the conquers’s traits do thei best to hide them as the conquers were very cruel. If our hero’s fiancé or her family knew that he had this ability, the marriage would be off.

OR your hero can fly. He has small wings that sprouted from his waist at puberty. He hides the wings under oversized clothing. From time to time he sneaks off and jumps from large boulders and cliffs.

[Fether]

2 minutes ago, zil said:

This sorta thing won't work - he's the male lead, destined by the author to fall for the female lead (who is a complete stranger when the book starts - and who is not a milkman's daughter - or even in the same country).

The trinket idea may have some promise - especially if it's either in the right place, or more than a trinket, only he doesn't know that - this has gone to the back of the brain for processing.

A novella is too short for a long character arc like overcoming an addition.

Please keep them coming.  Eventually we'll trip over the right secret.

I doesn’t buy into the cultural/religious norms of the day. He is Actually a penguin. His father is the milkman, his mother is the milkman, his brother is the milkman, everyone is the milkman.

He is afraid of water

He killed the neighbors pet griffin  

[anatess2]

13 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

His secret - he was the commander of the fleet that xenocided the formics.

Oh wait... I think somebody already wrote that story.

@zil's confused reaction:

You know... that guy Ender...

[zil]

1 minute ago, anatess2 said:

@zil's confused reaction:

You know... that guy Ender...

Vague memories - it's been a long time since I read Ender's Game - xenocide I remember, "formics" means nothing to me.  But yeah, this ain't that.

7 minutes ago, Fether said:

He is afraid of water

He killed the neighbors pet griffin

Variants like this would probably work - just looking for the right one now..

[NeuroTypical]

He once witnessed some manner of indiscretion between a member of the local elite and someone who was very much not an elite.

It was his fault the cow fell down the well and the whole town had to bury it and dig a new one. (And maybe someone died, besides the cow)

He knows who the daughter of the local bigwig wants to marry.

[anatess2]

2 minutes ago, zil said:

Vague memories - it's been a long time since I read Ender's Game - xenocide I remember, "formics" means nothing to me.  But yeah, this ain't that.

In Ender's Game, Ender xenocided the formics (the ant-like creatures).  He held that secret all throughout the sequels which are independent books of each other.   I thought it's a very brilliant story-telling technique, especially as the secret is not only of a majestic magnitude but also that readers of Ender's Game get to recognize the irony but those who have not don't.  It's an awesome way to please a fan base.

Anyway, you can do something similar with your story... establish the story on the first book that becomes the secret in the second book.

[anatess2]

Another method that is also effective... establish the lead female's character first.  Then use whatever is the most important to her as something that the hero viciously defiled and make that the secret.  The story becomes that of a redemption of the hero and learning to forgive for the heroine.

So... like for the pet griffins with an Ender influence... the female character is the rescuer and protector of the last of the griffins and is fighting desperately against its extinction... the hero was the commander that killed all the griffins.

Edited July 26, 2018 by anatess2

[Fether]

He has no father

he is in love but the guild he is a part of forbids relationships

He hates sand

He is your father

[SilentOne]

He collects dried flowers/something "girly"

[zil]

@anatess2, I'm really looking for things that have nothing to do with the plot (which is already defined in my head).  This is just about character building, not the story, and there won't be additional books or stories for these characters, just one novella.  The idea of making it something that creates conflict with the female lead is interesting, though.  It would have to be something minor, though.  Perhaps something that's more misunderstanding than serious problem.

All, please keep 'em coming.  Ideas similar in scale to these are the most likely to fit:

• Collecting flowers / something "girly"
• Hates sand / water
• Likes / wants something forbidden (by culture or his station in life)
• Knows someone else's secret
• Caused some negative event, but only he knows he was the cause
  • Killed the neighbor's pet
  • Caused some accident - probably not a cow down a well, though
• Buried a secret treasure (which may or may not be a treasure, and he may or may not know its significance)
• Crush on some other girl could work as long as the reader doesn't expect it to go anywhere (otherwise, this is a real good way to make readers toss the book across the room)
• A unique magical ability could be interesting.  It would have to be something which is useless as far as the plot goes (he couldn't solve the main problem with this magical ability).  The main difficulty is that literally every person in this culture (country) has some small magical ability, so I'd have to come up with a reason why he's keeping this a secret - maybe it's weird or embarrassing, like he can create flowers out of thin air, but nothing else.
  • In the surrounding countries, magical ability may or may not exist in any given person, but it's not common.  This difference is part of the overall problem. (RAFO)

Please don't feel like you need to build a big story-line around your proposed secret - that's not its point (nor the point of any of the rest of the questions I'll be asking).  Secrets can drive our behavior and interaction.  They can create distractions from more important things or make us nervous even when there's no real reason to be.  It's just something to make the character more realistic, and potentially cause minor problems.  The story (plot) itself is solid and while the secret might end up in the main story-line (since that's where our character is), it's not likely to play a big part.

Thanks!

[zil]

Hmm.  Stealing from the Library of Alexandria thread, maybe he came across a book in the library¹ that convincingly suggests his culture's origin was not as they currently believe.  Or some other dark secret about his family or culture that has him fretting.   Yes, this is going to the back of the brain for processing.

¹Yes, there's a library.  It happens to be in the palace and our character happens to be the third son of the king.

[anatess2]

26 minutes ago, zil said:

¹Yes, there's a library.  It happens to be in the palace and our character happens to be the third son of the king.

He found in the library a page torn out of the royal chronicles that proves... the first son is illegitimate.

[SilentOne]

I was going to say he doesn't like his mother's signature dish. I'm not sure if that will work with him being a prince. Maybe he dislikes the national speciality or vegetable or the head cook's signature dish?

[zil]

Maybe I should just post the other questions, and the mixture of answers will spark even more ideas:

• Secret (all our previous discussion, but keep new ideas coming)
• Job / Hobby / Interest / Past-time.  Our character needs an activity which forms his primary occupation day-in and day-out.  Something besides whatever duties he has as the king's 3rd son.
• Problem / limitation / flaw.  Again, not related to the plot, this is just part of his everyday life.  It could be something he's trying to accomplish and can't, it could be a physical disability, it could be a cultural restriction, it could be a phobia, maybe he's bad at something he's expected to be good at.  Something that he either needs to overcome, or something he has to live with and accomplish things in spite of it.

[Vort]

13 minutes ago, zil said:

Our character needs an activity which forms his primary occupation day-in and day-out.  Something besides whatever duties he has as the king's 3rd son.

I'm thinking he writes fantasy fiction under a nom de plume. See, he has it all figured out: He poses as a young or middle-aged widow and budding author, under which guise he -- get this -- solicits the opinions of others about his writing! Maybe asks them for some plot devices or something as a way to draw them in! Brilliant, huh? You're welcome.

[Sunday21]

Other than being the King’s 3rd son, his job is disputing social welfare. He keeps stringent accounts but his guilty secret is giving two lots of help to the elderly.

[anatess2]

40 minutes ago, zil said:

Maybe I should just post the other questions, and the mixture of answers will spark even more ideas:

• Secret (all our previous discussion, but keep new ideas coming)
• Job / Hobby / Interest / Past-time.  Our character needs an activity which forms his primary occupation day-in and day-out.  Something besides whatever duties he has as the king's 3rd son.
• Problem / limitation / flaw.  Again, not related to the plot, this is just part of his everyday life.  It could be something he's trying to accomplish and can't, it could be a physical disability, it could be a cultural restriction, it could be a phobia, maybe he's bad at something he's expected to be good at.  Something that he either needs to overcome, or something he has to live with and accomplish things in spite of it.

Hmm... 3rd sons generally become pastors for the estate's chapel.  1st sons become kings, 2nd sons become soldiers, 3rd sons become pastors.  So, what's a hobby, past-time, interest of a pastor - being a shepherd (literally), or having a school that teaches illiterate boys, being a healer or a medicine man.  Hmm, it could be his secret that he's losing faith in God, himself (his goodness), or the effectiveness of the medicines.

Flaw... 3rd sons commonly have the flaw of inferiority complex.  And the problem is he wants to be more imporant - matter more to his family, his loved ones, or his community and so he becomes an over-achiever, too intense and lacking humor.

[zil]

16 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

3rd sons generally become pastors for the estate's chapel.  1st sons become kings, 2nd sons become soldiers, 3rd sons become pastors. 

You've forgotten we're not in this universe.

Losing faith of some sort could be interesting.

[zil]

50 minutes ago, Vort said:

I'm thinking he writes fantasy fiction under a nom de plume. See, he has it all figured out: He poses as a young or middle-aged widow and budding author, under which guise he -- get this -- solicits the opinions of others about his writing! Maybe asks them for some plot devices or something as a way to draw them in! Brilliant, huh? You're welcome.

Maybe in his world, writing fiction is scandalous, so he keeps it a secret.  Maybe his magic lets him hide stuff in plain sight so his manuscript looks like an old pair of boots at the back of his armoire.

[zil]

39 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:

Other than being the King’s 3rd son, his job is disputing social welfare. He keeps stringent accounts but his guilty secret is giving two lots of help to the elderly.

Secretly going about doing good would actually work quite well, and in a way that's related to other background info.  Particularly if he was deprived of a particular right of passage for young men in his family, say due to the larger problem that drives the plot of our story.  This is interesting.  Off to the back of the brain it goes!

Our character might need to be a little bit younger - perhaps 17-19.