Writing: Secrets of character development

Developing characters in a short story or novel, be it fiction or non-fiction, lies heavily on a writer’s skill and unique style. In a short story, there is hardly room to manoeuvre and build characters to a point where readers feel they know them, while a full length novel gives sufficient space for that. However, […]

Developing characters in a short story or novel, be it fiction or non-fiction, lies heavily on a writer’s skill and unique style. In a short story, there is hardly room to manoeuvre and build characters to a point where readers feel they know them, while a full length novel gives sufficient space for that. However, mastering and executing effective development of characters lies squarely on creative depth, as well as the ability to disentangle self from the characters and at the same time being one with them in order to present both as real humans with weaknesses and strengths.
From real life
Some writers build their characters on people they have known or a mixture of certain individuals they have encountered. Thus, they depend heavily on remembering otherwise vague details from their associations to recreate fictional characters they plunge into a story. One of these is Chioma Nnani, author of ‘Forever There For You.’
“The stories I tell are for the most part, character-driven. So, even where there are obvious themes, it is more about how a character is affected by, or reacts to something. For instance, with the theme of religion, it is not so much about religion itself, as it is about how one character or more, engage with or react to it. I like to ensure that readers can relate with them, so I would not write something that I cannot justify, in an artistic sense,” she says.
Theophilus Abbah, the author of the novel, ‘Lost in the Wind,’ explains his methods while writing his debut novel: “The first thing I do is look at some real life individuals who have such characteristics that I want to portray. For example, when researching a journalist who is hard working, you look at his challenges, how meticulous he is, and so on. You interact with one and ask valid questions that would help build that character.
“In my book, I had a character who was an SSS (State Security Service) operative. So I met someone in the SSS, learnt about the kind of training they receive, the language they use and their activities in general.”
Considering background
Just like a human being walking the face of the earth, a character must come from somewhere, with parents, either dead or alive, siblings, friends and generally a past. Thus, working at developing a life for a character that would suit whom the writer intends him or her to become could be challenging.
Asma’u Baikie, author of the novel ‘Father’s Love,’ reveals that in order to make her readers see her characters the way they would every-day-people, she chronicles their backgrounds. “I bring out educational pursuits and build my characters in a manner that my readers sometimes inquire whether such a person actually lives or exists,” she says.  
“My favourite word while character-building is ‘why?’” Nnani explains. “If I do not know why a character is acting in a certain way, I cannot sell that character to a reader. Even when it is a character that you love to hate, people need to know where they are coming from. So I make sure to build a back-story for every character, even when it is not made obvious to the readers. I carry out lots of research and consider even the seemingly tiniest of details – what position they are in their family, what quirks they have, and how they react to environmental changes.
“I do full profiles for characters which sometimes develop with a story. So I will have the basic information, then painstakingly research what a certain sort of person would do in given situations, based on their backgrounds, level of exposure, temperament and so on.”
Researching characters
Gearing up towards building larger-than-life characters may take more than a moment of thought. Baikie gives credit to learning this skill through reading books of the same genre. “I like to describe situations, circumstances and family ties,” she says.
“This would involve a mixture of academic research, talking to people and watching people. Watching people is one of the most productive ways – because I’m seeing them as they are,” Nnani reveals. “People tend to be freer when they don’t feel a reason to be otherwise.Asking people is funny – my friends think I’m weird. Some of them get worried whenever I text them because I’m really personal. So, I will say things like “What would you do if you knew that the girl your brother is about to marry, cannot have children? With academic research, I would read books on birth order, temperaments, or look up stuff online, such as psychologists’ journals and theories on certain individuals if I can find them. I do this so that I can keep the story fresh, yet not be tempted to make a character do something completely out of character.
Nice or flawed
Sometimes writers may be tempted to lead their character on a journey they desire him or her to embark upon. Doing this takes away that natural course that every human being is subjected to. Nnani is the kind of writer that exposes her characters to ‘natural weather conditions’ then sits back and watches. 
“I find the flawed or out-rightly twisted characters the best to work with because I believe that ‘good’ or ‘evil’ do not just exist in a vacuum. Whether it’s evil that we have given a name – rape, hunger, AIDS, poverty, domestic violence, corruption, health issues, maternal & infant mortality, female genital mutilation, murder, infidelity, war–these are caused or perpetrated by human beings with their own unique sets of issues. Because my stories are character-driven, there is a lot more scope when the characters are not all nice, cute, perfect people.”