JADENTERRELL
Make ’Em Real: Reveal Your Characters Through Relationships
JADEN TERRELL is the author of Racing the Devil (2009) and A Cup Full of Midnight (2012), both featuring Nashville private detective Jared McKean. Terrell is the executive director of the Killer Nashville Thriller, Mystery, and Crime Literature Conference, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Private Eye Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Tennessee Writers Alliance.
When I was in the third grade, I read a book called The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. I carried the book everywhere with me, reading and rereading it until it crumbled in my hand. I still remember tears streaming down my eight-year-old face as the Nazis invaded Poland and shattered the Balicki family.
Forty-plus years later, I’m still haunted by responsible Ruth, irrepressible Bronia, determined Edek, and orphaned Jan, who feared there would be no place for him once the family was reunited. The author didn’t tell me Ruth was responsible; he showed me through her care for those she loved. He didn’t tell me Edek was determined; he showed me a boy whose desire to find and protect his sisters was so strong that he escaped a Nazi prison camp by clinging to the underbelly of a train for hours. He didn’t tell me about Jan’s fears; he showed me through the boy’s jealous behavior toward Edek and his possessiveness of the girls.
It was the characters who made this book remarkable—characters revealed through their relationships with others. When I became a writer, I knew I wanted to write about characters readers would remember and want to visit again and again. I began with my private detective hero, Jared McKean. I knew what he looked like—mid-thirties, buckskin-colored hair, Marlboro-man good looks. I knew he came from a law enforcement background and that he wore a leather bomber jacket that his father had worn in Vietnam, but these were surface characteristics. It wasn’t until I began to explore his relationships with others that he really came to life.
As I asked myself questions about his relationships, a pattern emerged. Jared has a thirty-six-year-old quarter horse he’s had since he was a boy. He has an elderly Akita. He’s still in love with his ex-wife. His roommate is a gay man with AIDS, a man Jared has been friends with since kindergarten. Laying out these relationships showed me a key aspect of Jared’s character: this is a man who doesn’t let go of the things he loves. This characteristic is a driving force in the Jared McKean books, and I might not have discovered it if I hadn’t taken the time to explore his relationships.
If I’ve done my job well, I won’t need to tell my readers that Jared is a loyal man with a strong need to protect others. They’ll see it when he defends his housemate against a bigot, when he cradles his son in his arms, when they learn that he once accepted disgrace and the loss of his job in order to protect a woman who betrayed him.
If you’d like to use relationships to add more depth and complexity to your characters, try using the following exercise. (Because my protagonist is male, I’ve used masculine pronouns. If your character is female, you should substitute feminine pronouns where applicable.)
EXERCISE
Answer the following questions. You can answer in your own voice or your character’s, in as much detail or as little as seems appropriate. Don’t be afraid to go deep. The more you learn about your character, the richer your story will be.
Is the character married? If yes, describe his relationship with his spouse or partner. If no, is he single (never married), divorced, or widowed? If divorced, what caused the dissolution of the marriage? What kind of relationship does he have with his ex-spouse? If widowed, under what circumstances? Where is he in the grieving process? Still holding on or ready to move forward? Is he a serial monogamist, a playboy, or celibate? If he’s single, is he in a serious relationship, or is he looking for one, or does he play the field and like it that way?
Does he have a child or children? If yes, what sex(es)? How old? Describe the character’s relationship with each child. What does being a parent mean to the character? If he has no children, why not? Does he want them? How does he feel about being (or not being) a parent?
Does he have siblings? How many? What sex(es)? How old? Describe the character’s relationship with each sibling. If the character has no siblings, how has this affected his life?
Are his parents living? Describe his past and/or present relationship with each parent.
How was—and is—the character shaped by his family?
Does the character have a pet, perhaps more than one? How many? What kind? What are their names? How does he feel about them? How did he acquire each one? If he has no pets, why not?
Who are the character’s friends and allies? Describe each major relationship in detail. Be sure to include any emotional conflicts and the implications of these relationships.
Does the character have any enemies or rivals? A nemesis? How did the animosity or rivalry begin? Describe what happened and how it affected the character.
Are there any relationships in which a friend, family member, or ally is also a rival? In these circumstances, how does the character balance love and tension, or love and betrayal?
If applicable, who are the character’s employers, employees, or colleagues? Describe the character’s relationship with each in as much detail as necessary.
Are you beginning to see any patterns? Do you feel like you’re getting to know your character? Are you beginning to see his strengths? His flaws or weaknesses? How does the character interact with others?
Keep asking yourself questions until you understand your character. Each time you answer a question, you learn more about the character. You’ll notice that each choice you make narrows the possibilities of future choices. Each new choice must be consistent with what has come before, or you will need to reconcile the apparent contradiction. For example, if your character is charming and charismatic with his colleagues, but cold and emotionally controlling with his spouse, you need to understand why and help your readers understand as well.
By eliminating choices or making (and explaining) unlikely ones, you begin to get a clearer picture of the character. By surrounding that character with people who bring out different facets of his personality, you end up with a main character of depth and complexity—one your readers will remember long after they’ve closed the cover of your book.