creative writing:creating unique writing style-characterization

creative writing:creating unique writing style-characterization
Characterization
In our outline, we mentioned Mr. Bayo. Mr. Bayo is a character in the story we intend to write. But he alone cannot carry our story so we need to create other characters. I already mentioned his cousin, his staff and his children. These are all characters. You may recall that we said that as a creative (fiction) writer, you use your imagination to create an imaginary world. This world is inhabited by imaginary beings who, through their interactions and inter-personal relationships, present an imaginary story. You have the power to create virtuous and vicious people in your story. To a large extent, your reader’s interest in your work depends on “how much he can identify with the characters in the story” (Ike 58). When you are watching a film or home video for example, your interest is mainly on certain characters, what they do or what you anticipate them to do, the consequence of their actions in relation to other characters and on themselves. So in your fiction, you should try to create credible, authentic and life-like characters to give your story the desired “slice of life”. 62 As a budding artist, you should try to structure your story around one character and make your characters as few as possible. The guiding principle in characterisation is to “…exclude anybody who does not contribute to the central idea of the story” (Maxwell-Mahon 4). It is usually better to introduce the character around which your story revolves early so that the story unfolds as he develops. You must try to develop your characters very well. Before you create a particular character, ensure that you know him/her very well. Remember that although in real life, we may not be able to decipher the inner workings of a person, in fiction you must present both the external manifestations and the inner lives of your character if he/she is well-drawn. For your character to be real to your reader you must know and reveal everything about the character. You must therefore, arm yourself with a “thorough understanding human nature and human behaviour” (Ike 58) especially the characteristics of the particular character you are creating. We have chosen a bank manager. He is not just a bank manager but a hypocrite and tyrant. Have you worked in the bank before? Have you encountered a hypocrite before? Have you worked with tyrant before? If you have, you will have more insights into his character. This insight will help you to create characters that are consistent and whose actions are well-motivated. In his case, you would check his background, he could have come from very lowly background, so is prepared to grab what does not belong to him. He may have come from a wealthy background or have friends who are very rich so strives to keep up with their level (to keep up with the Joneses). These are part of what may have motivated him to embezzle the money. As you move about and interact with people, you will come in contact with different members of the society. Your relationship with them or their relationship 63 with others help to expand the scope of your knowledge of human nature without any conscious effort. Just as you draw an outline for the plot, you need a character sketch. First of all, list the major characters, name them and assign roles to them. After that, give some essential details like profession age and physical attributes to each of them. In doing this, bear your story/plot in mind so that the characters can fit in very well in the story. e.g. Bayo – Mr. Bayo Olufemi. A chattered Accountant, has worked in the bank for fifteen years, and has risen to the rank of a Managing Director. Age 40 He is talk, light in complexion, clean-shaven, handsome and over-bearing. Always in well-cut suits At this stage, the characters are like clay in the hands of a porter. You can create your characters to be pretty or ugly, educated or illiterate, rich or poor. The important factor is that each character should act within the ambits of his/her status and temperament. Please resist the temptation of depicting a character to be exactly like someone you know in real life. Use your imagination and creative ability to create unique characters to suit specific roles in your work. If you are writing a novel or a short story, this outline will help you in the description of your characters as the novel, progresses. Remember that these descriptions are inserted appropriately so that they will not be out of play or cause an unnecessary distraction. These descriptions about a character are sometimes given in bits to explain certain actions of a character. The reason for Okonkwo’s sternness and overbearing attitude in Things Fall Apart is because he is afraid of being considered weak or of being a failure like his father. 64 …his whole life was dominated by fear, The fear of failure and of weakness…it was not external but lay deep in himself. It was fear in himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father (12 -13) Earlier in the novel, Achebe tells the reader that when Okonkwo walked “his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody… He had a slight stammer and when he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists (3-4). This shows that he is a hot tempered man. He is also impulsive unlike Obierika who Achebe tells us was “a man who thought about things” (113). It is necessary for you to cultivate the habit of reading good novels, plays and poems with renewed interest. As you read, pay more attention to the issues we are raising in the course materials on creating writing. They will help you in your own writing. Learn from the masters but do not copy from or ape anybody. In the course material, Creative Writing I, we dwelt mainly on motivation and consistency. Ensure that you create characters whose actions are properly motivated, and are consistent in their behaviours. Let us take Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, his hidden sense of insecurity, his “restlessness, over abundance of nervous energy, vile temper, fierce emotionalism and the predisposition to violence we discern in his character” (Palmer 54) are motivated by his fear of failure and weaknes