I discussed, last
week, the importance of characters in your fiction. A problem must haunt your main character, as must a history that explains
the origins of that problem.
Your protagonist’s
journey across her story must force her to address and change (or fail
to change) her aforementioned problem.
Other methods of character creation exist. One such method occurred to me while, of all
things, I took a yoga class (stick with me, here).
My instructor, the
nicest, oldest dude I ever met, told my class that personalities fit into one
of four types, each named after an element.
I often use this elemental classification system to identify the sort of character I’ve created (usually after the first draft—or “vomit draft,” as I like to call it) and
ensure that that character behaves accordingly, stays true herself.
Water types
serve as people pleasers. They often act as mediators.
If Nazis conquered
a Water type’s neighborhood, the Water type would make the best of the
situation, work with her captors to make the subjugated peoples’
imprisonment as comfortable and civil as possible.
Fire types
would have none of that. Fire types act in the heat of the moment with little
forethought. The leap-before-you-look sort. Passion fuels them. Brains might,
but they’ll have to think quickly to keep up with the heart.
If Nazis conquered
a Fire type’s neighborhood, the Fire type would attack them immediately without a second thought. She would likely die, but no army in the world could
surmount a neighborhood filled with Fire.
Earth types methodically think things through. They construct charts, crunch numbers.
Earths make
excellent partners with Fires. They complement each other, fill in each
other’s weaknesses, and spellbind your readers with the tension they naturally create between themselves.
If Nazis conquered
an Earth type’s neighborhood, the Earth type would want to weigh the pros, cons, and chances of success possessed by each possible response.
Inaction serves as
a terrible fate that might easily befall an Earth type. She might waste
so much time in pursuit of the “correct” course of action, that she never settles on any course of action at all.
An Earth type will
meet few failures, but not many successes, either—whereas a Fire type will
experience countless failures until she succeeds out of pure stubbornness.
Fire types will accomplish achievements that Earths will not attempt.
Earths will likely solve a problem right the first time, whereas a Fire will get it wrong many times before she ultimately accomplishes the goal faster than her Earthy counterpart.
I observed often that Earth types often possess slow metabolisms.
Fires possess fast metabolisms.
Air types
live in their own obsessions. They stand oblivious to everything else.
If Nazis conquered
an Air type’s neighborhood, the Air type would probably not pay the event the
slightest attention. She would remain too distracted by painting,
writing, weight lifting, treasure hunting, or whatever served as her fascination.
Most people model
as an example of more than one of these types, but most serve
predominantly as one element over the others.
Air breezes through
my veins while I write. My house might burn down around me for all the attention I pay while I click away on my keyboard.
Fire fuels me the second I step away from my computer.
The Chinese teach
another method of character classification, one based around Horse, Sheep,
Tiger, and Peacock.
I take these
classifications quite literally in
the ninth book in my novel series, Diaries
of Darkwana (due for release in 2021—sorry, but I intend to release only one a year). I even added a fifth animal (Dragon) to this list.
I’ll explain these
classifications in detail next week. See you then, and thanks for reading!
You can catch my novels, such as Daughters of Darkwana, on Kindle.
I publish my blogs as follows:
Short stories on Mondays and Thursdays at
martinwolt.blogspot.com
A look at entertainment industries via feminist and queer theory, as well as other political filters on Tuesdays at Entertainmentmicroscope.blogspot.com
An inside look at my novel series, its creation, and the e-publishing process on Wednesdays at Darkwana.blogspot.com
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