Colorful "normal" characters?

[Incanus]

In my current WIP, I have one very colorful character. He is arrogant, mischievous, discursive, flamboyant, humorous, and is of uncertain trustworthiness. He is also skilled and has knowledge the other characters need.

Even though I’m writing a kind of preliminary draft (or half-draft, or zero-draft), the character is mostly coming across as intended already. I consider all this well and good, and I’m glad it’s working.

In contrast, my three POV characters are comparatively “normal”. As such, they are less colorful. I’m not entirely sure if this is a problem or not.

It seems to me there is a kind of simple formula: Colorful is interesting, but not very relatable; “normal” is less interesting, but more relatable.

Two questions—is the above formula more or less true? If so, are there ways to make the “normal” characters more colorful without making them less relatable?

It seems easier to write the more colorful characters, but if my whole cast is that way, the story might feel like it’s all taking place in an insane asylum.

Do you have ways of making your “normal” characters distinct, or more colorful? How do you go about that?

 

[pmmg]

That is kind of the formula for many comedies. We follow the normal characters and everyone else is crazy and zany around them.

I think the normal characters serve as the measure by which the peculiarities of the other characters show in contrast. I don't think that would be unusual. That you have three, would just seem to me to be that you should make sure they are not just the same character stamped over and over.

 

[Finchbearer]

I think you may need to refer to the tone you want your writing to have. It is goofy or zany? Is it young adult? Is it grimdark? How realistic do you want your characters to come across? Do you want them to be more exaggerated archetypal variations, or do you want them to feel more realistic?

And then I’d be asking the why questions. Why do you have a character like this in your story? What purpose do they serve? Are they integral to the plot?

That could maybe inform the ‘cast’ of your characters showing just how their personalities bounce off one another.

With my own characters, their creation has been pretty organic. They just sort of come to life, and their personalities grow as the story develops in my mind. If you’re thinking too hard about it, you might risk creating cardboard cutouts.

 

[Mad Swede]

I wonder how much thought you've given to characterisation. Even supposedly normal characters need to be well developed, that's what makes them interesting to the readers. If you're sitting there wondering how to make your POV characters more interesting then I'd suggest you need to develop them a lot more.

 

[Incanus]

OK, so it's not a comedy, though there is some humor. I'd like for the characters to be realistic, believable, true to themselves--albeit in a fantasy setting.

The three so-called "normal" characters are quite distinct from one another, at least in design and background. But because none of them have over-the-top personalities, their performance on the page may be a tad bland, or somewhat similar to one another. (Note--I said 'may be'; I can't tell one way or another.)

All the characters are integral to the plot, and to the theme for that matter.

I've given them all a lot of thought, but that may not mean much--characters are the story element I seem to be the worst at, in comparison to my other skills.

I'd like my main three to be more distinct on the page, but I'm not sure how to accomplish that. It may just have to happen the organic way. But so far, the colorful character is running circles around the rest.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Aware of the potential issue is probably the first fix, if one is even necessary. Not sounding the same is one key, as in not agreeing with others in every perspective, the rule of conflict, if they come into contact. Make them "real," and they can be interesting, but of course, that's the trick. Without knowing more, it's difficult to say.

 

[ThinkerX]

Even the 'normal' characters should have quirks or issues that set them apart from the norm.

 

[Jackarandajam]

All characters should be colorful.
I've been struggling with this same issue a bit with one of my povs. He's just a kinda likeable dude. I've come to realize that isn't good enough. In my particular case, I was making him suffer situationally but not psychologically, so he was being allowed to be boring, though comically persecuted by his surroundings. As pmmg said, that's a recipe for comedy, and though I want my book to have humor, that isn't the entire end goal.

Think of any work of fiction, the writer works hard to make all the characters colorful, no matter how boring or usual the trappings. Think of any of Dickens works, or War and Peace. Collins turned a baker boy into an at least somewhat interesting, fleshed out character in the hunger games series.

I think a reader is delighted to relate to a colorful character, less so to a more formulaically "relatable" one. I delighted in relating occasionally to Jack Sparrows bad luck and petulant selfishness, or Tyler Durdens (fight club) grumpy exhaustion with the rat race and desire to FEEL something raw in a world so store bought and tedious.

So yeah, give them the eye patch. Give them the delusions of granduer or the mousy neurotics. Give them a love of snakes or a pet tiger. Everyone is weird in their own way, or at least everyone would like to think so. People relate to colorful because they wildly desire to see themselves in it.
The kid who's more like the shy squire side character sees himself in the knight.
Make them all colorful, or at least double down on making their boring very strange in its own way.

 

[Incanus]

Thanks everyone.

Yes, ideally all my characters should be at least a little colorful in some way. I guess when it comes to the more relatable characters, I'll just have to do it the long, slow, hard way--through rough drafts and discovery writing, revisions, and polishing. It may be a matter of some characters 'showing up' more swiftly than others.

At least in the scene I'm working on, one of my "normal" characters got a bit uppity, and acted almost out-of-character, but not quite. Things like that should help a bit.

 

[Finchbearer]

The definition of ‘colourful’ to me is not quite what befits the description in the OP. Maybe we are talking cultural differences here, but colourful to me is more about eccentricity and mystique, or even unpredictability. Arrogant is arrogant and mischievous is mischievous. You might be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at a character who encompasses all the attributes you describe them as in the OP.

With something like eccentricity, the omitting of information I think can be a powerful technique to give the reader the impression that they are in fact eccentric.

One character who overshadows the others could also be seen as a mere plot device to make everyone else appear normal, which IMO is not what I’d be aiming for as a writer.

 

[Incanus]

The definition of ‘colourful’ to me is not quite what befits the description in the OP. Maybe we are talking cultural differences here, but colourful to me is more about eccentricity and mystique, or even unpredictability. Arrogant is arrogant and mischievous is mischievous. You might be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at a character who encompasses all the attributes you describe them as in the OP.

With something like eccentricity, the omitting of information I think can be a powerful technique to give the reader the impression that they are in fact eccentric.

One character who overshadows the others could also be seen as a mere plot device to make everyone else appear normal, which IMO is not what I’d be aiming for as a writer.

I don't think I understand what's meant about omitting info - is it the character omitting, or the narrator? How does omitting something relate to eccentricity?

The colorful character who is overshadowing the others was not intentional on my part -- it is a description of how things stand in my current rough draft. I intend to smooth these things over through subsequent drafting/revision.

 

[Finchbearer]

I don't think I understand what's meant about omitting info - is it the character omitting, or the narrator? How does omitting something relate to eccentricity?

By omitting I meant leaving information out.

 

[Incanus]

By omitting I meant leaving information out.

I have to apologize for not understanding this at all. I'd like to. I know what omitting means. I still don't know who is doing the omitting, and I still don't know how these omissions relate to eccentricity. If it is somehow implied in the comment, I am unable to pick it up.

 

[Finchbearer]

Being purposefully limited (as the writer) about how much information you give to your reader concerning that particular character, so that the qualities you wanted to show as being ‘colourful’ are conveyed more effectively.

Those are just my thoughts on a possible way to achieve what you want to achieve based on my experience of reading books. It’s not some sort of writing technique, just a suggestion.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Even the 'normal' characters should have quirks or issues that set them apart from the norm.

Not always. However, it should be used sparringly and very deliberately. In most cases you're right that all characters have very distinct traits and quirks and are very different from one another.

The one exception to this is the reader insert main character. That is, a character which is there to let the reader place himself in the story. I think Harry Potter is a prime example of this. That's not to say that he doesn't have a personality, but it's very bland. Harry Potter is there to let young kids experience their dream of being told they suddenly have magical powers. He works precisely because he doesn't have quirks.

Like I said, you need to use him deliberately and you can probably only get away with having 1 in your story. Which is part of the reason why Harry Potter is surrounded by quirky, almost stereotypical characters.

 

[Incanus]

Not always. However, it should be used sparringly and very deliberately. In most cases you're right that all characters have very distinct traits and quirks and are very different from one another.

The one exception to this is the reader insert main character. That is, a character which is there to let the reader place himself in the story. I think Harry Potter is a prime example of this. That's not to say that he doesn't have a personality, but it's very bland. Harry Potter is there to let young kids experience their dream of being told they suddenly have magical powers. He works precisely because he doesn't have quirks.

Like I said, you need to use him deliberately and you can probably only get away with having 1 in your story. Which is part of the reason why Harry Potter is surrounded by quirky, almost stereotypical characters.

At least part of me has been thinking along these lines.

All three of my POV characters have something of a 'reader insert' quality. They are, or should be, distinct from one another while also reflecting different aspects of the theme.

I guess part of the problem is that I'm too close to the project to tell if it's working like I think it should. And I'm probably 2 years away from starting to get any feedback on it.

Overall, the project 'feels' like it's coming together. But it looks like I'll need to cultivate the patience of a saint in the meantime.

 

[LittleOwlbear]

I often prefer characters that are "normal individuals", not stock normal guy of course, but people who have something real and pretty much down to earth to them. I wouldn't describe them as any reader insert, but I often don't like characters that much that are "too anime / comic" or "too Marvel" (depending on the anime or comic ofc, and there are exceptions).

 

[Jackarandajam]

Not always. However, it should be used sparringly and very deliberately. In most cases you're right that all characters have very distinct traits and quirks and are very different from one another.

The one exception to this is the reader insert main character. That is, a character which is there to let the reader place himself in the story. I think Harry Potter is a prime example of this. That's not to say that he doesn't have a personality, but it's very bland. Harry Potter is there to let young kids experience their dream of being told they suddenly have magical powers. He works precisely because he doesn't have quirks.

Like I said, you need to use him deliberately and you can probably only get away with having 1 in your story. Which is part of the reason why Harry Potter is surrounded by quirky, almost stereotypical characters.

Harry Potter was also written for children. You could say the same thing about the main character in How To Train Your Dragon or Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.

If that's what you're going for, rock on. Let's just make sure the target audience is 9-13 years old.

 

[Incanus]

I often prefer characters that are "normal individuals", not stock normal guy of course, but people who have something real and pretty much down to earth to them. I wouldn't describe them as any reader insert, but I often don't like characters that much that are "too anime / comic" or "too Marvel" (depending on the anime or comic ofc, and there are exceptions).

This is good to hear, because all three of my main characters exhibit this, within the context of the world they are in. They are more or less normal people with some talent that have to rise to a new challenge in their world. FWIW - I have little experience with anime or Marvel, etc.

 

[Gurkhal]

This is good to hear, because all three of my main characters exhibit this, within the context of the world they are in. They are more or less normal people with some talent that have to rise to a new challenge in their world. FWIW - I have little experience with anime or Marvel, etc.

I like the sounds of this. One author whom I admire greatly often uses the scenario of giving characters great skill in some areas, and then puts them in situations that challenges them in entirely different areas and the reader gets to follow and see how that develops.