A Study in Character

My 4 1/2 year old niece - we call her Little T - recently reminded me of an important writing lesson.

While at her pre-school, she wanted me to pick out which crayoned self-portrait hanging on the wall was hers. So, like a good aunt, I studied the information on each page and focused on all the girls who had this on their paper:

My hair is: BLACK

My eyes are: BROWN 

It still took me three tries to guess the right one. But when I did, I couldn't help but smile at the rest of what was written there:

My favorite color is: PINK

My favorite activity is: WRESTLING

It's those unexpected and unique aspects that we need to develop in our characters and also, hopefully, in ourselves. 

So, whenever I'm concerned that my characters - or I! - might be flat or boring, I'll think back to my niece - perky pigtails, sparkly t-shirt, cute little face scrunched up in a one-eyed squint and a sneer full of baby teeth that would make even the meanest pirate shudder. 

Little T is already a character in her own right. 

Character Traits

When my husband and I were first dating, we saw a comedian who, in his act, would answer his wife or his friend or whoever with what he was supposed to say, and then the tag line would be "But on the inside..." (It was funnier in person.)

So, you know those scenarios or quizzes where you're asked to describe yourself? The usual answers are along the lines of "I'm funny," "I'm kind," "I'm smart," or "I'm an excellent baker." And some, or all, of those things might be true. But every once in awhile, I'm tempted to say out loud what's on the inside:

I am prickly. I am private. I am more shy than social. I am selfish. I am suspicious, but if I come to trust you and the feeling is mutual, I'll be in your corner until the zombies come lurching home. If I feel betrayed, I might forgive but I won't forget. I struggle to stay positive and don't always emerge victorious.

Some of my best characters have those traits or something similar. (Notice I didn't say my most loved or well-liked characters. It's not easy to love someone with so much angst. Just ask my poor husband.) Those are the characters I am most drawn to in my writing - the ones seeking revenge, redemption, their places in the world. The ones who are mean and weak and selfish and confused, who are threaded with dark thoughts and fears they can't get rid of no matter how hard they try. I get in there with them and roll around in the muck. I bring it to the surface and put it on the page. I shine a light on it in the hope that maybe, just maybe, I can give those characters what I strive for - strength, confidence, friends, faith, hope. I can write their story so there will be, if not a happily-ever-after ending, then at least a positive one with a little light peeking around the corner.

How easy is it for you to write those dark characters? How do you put them on the page/screen and still make them at least relatable, if not likable? It's often the dark characters, the "bad guys," who stay with us the longest - why do you think that is? What makes them so compelling on paper/screen and not so much in real life?