You Are Where You Live: Why Home and Surroundings Define Your Characters

One time in class we talked about how, even if you’re in the same small country, the way people act can differ in so many ways depending on where they live. Let me give you an example: When I was a teen, I lived in the countryside. Whenever I was out for a walk and passed a random stranger, we said hi. It even sometimes happened that we began a conversation. There was nothing weird about that. Then at one point, I moved to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark to study and found that if you smile at a stranger around here, well, nine out of ten times they will walk in a wide circle to get around you in order to avoid any kind of contact. Because in Copenhagen, talking to strangers is weird, unless you’re a drunk or a madman. Of course, there are exceptions, but the point is, city people and country people don’t act completely alike even if they are all part of the Danish culture.

The concept of culture has got a billion different definitions, so I’m not going to get into that. Instead, I would like to make the argument that the place you grew up in and the places you’ve lived define who you are, and that this is something you should take into consideration when you create characters for a fictional story. Roughly, there are three sides to this: The physical aspect, the social aspect, and the psychological aspect.

 

Your physical surroundings shape your abilities.

Does it define you that there is a tree in your backyard? In a way, yes. If you have a tree in your backyard, you are more likely to know how to climb it, or how to trim it. If it’s an apple tree, you might know about apple sorts. If a squirrel lives in it, you will know about squirrels. If there is a beehive, you’ll be familiar with bees. If the tree is part of a plantation, you’ll know how to garden. If it’s instead part of a farm, you’ve learned how to handle animals. See where I’m going with this?

Your physical surroundings will have had an effect on your wisdom, i.e. what you are able to do and what sort of knowledge you’ve got.  This is important because your character’s abilities need to be realistic. Why would they know how to ride a horse if they’ve lived their entire life in a futuristic city? Granted, perhaps they took classes at a riding school somewhere, but then you will need to make this clear to a reader, because from what I know of city people, it’s more likely they’ve never sat on horse before, and just like everything else, riding is not easy for a beginner. Of course, not all country people know how to ride either in our present day society, but if you’re writing a medieval fantasy story, odds are ninety percent of them do.

Considering your character’s abilities can be especially fun if they e.g. meet another character who grew up in completely different physical surroundings with a following different skill set, or if you let your character travel and they come to a place where they suddenly find themselves at a loss. For instance, my Dungeons&Dragons (a pen&paper roleplaying game) group once had to travel by sea instead of through forests, like they usually do. Our two pirates were in their right element, literally, while our elf spent the entire trip in a terrified and seasick state because she had never before been on a ship and therefore had no useful abilities for this situation. It made for an interesting contrast.

 

Your social surroundings shape your people attitude.

Remember my example with talking to strangers? Because I was used to a society in which people are very open toward strangers, that is the attitude I have developed. Even if I have now learned not to randomly smile at people in Copenhagen, because you usually adapt to your surroundings, my immediate reaction when someone talks to me is still to smile and reply. In other words, the way I handle people is influenced by the social surroundings in which I grew up.

Let me give you another example of this. Even though I don’t find it weird to engage in conversations with strangers, I don’t go looking for it as such, and it would never occur to me to knock on the doors of my neighbors just to chat. My next-door neighbor, on the other hand, is from Tunisia, and from him I have learned that in his native country it is not unusual for neighbors to act somewhat like an extended family. To him, the quiet agreement between people living in the same apartment complex about not speaking to one another except for the occasional “Hallo” is as weird as not smiling at people in the big city is to me. I know this now, but the first couple times he approached me, I had no idea what to do. I thought I was open and friendly to strangers, but this was beyond me.

The difference in our attitudes toward people is shaped from our social surroundings. If a character, like my neighbor, has grown up in a place where everyone readily engages in lively conversations whether they are family, friends, or strangers, this is likely what they will do as well. If, on the other hand, they come from a place where people treat each other with hostility and suspicion, they might be less than eager to approach a person with whom they have no former relation. This also applies to the amount of personal information they might be willing to share with the people around them.

 

Your psychological surroundings shape your self-opinion.

Okay, granted: When I talk about “psychological surroundings”, I’m bending the general idea of “place” and “home” a bit. Nevertheless, I will argue that there is an important psychological aspect to the way a home shapes a person, because besides the physical place and the social atmosphere, the way you are treated during your childhood and youth will inevitably affect how you feel about yourself, as well as how you believe other people perceive you.

To be honest with you, I thought I would readily have another great example from my life to share with you here. But the thing is, psychologically, people are very complex, and it was extremely difficult for me to think of an example that could encompass everything I wanted to say about this part of the surroundings. Psychology is a vast and complicated field, and there are a huge amount of books written on the subject of how your childhood and youth have affected you as a person. To give just one example, sibling psychology tells us your psyche is different depending on whether you are a first born, middle child, youngest child, or only child. This illustrates the complexity: Even children from the same family with the exact same set of parents can be vastly different.

But even if there are hundreds of variables that shape your (and your characters’) psychological aspect, I will argue that at least your self-opinion and amount of self-confidence can be related to what I term the psychological surroundings and depends on the way you have been treated by your close family. For instance, people (and characters) with parents etc. who have always listened to them and respected their opinions will be more likely to have confidence in their own line of thought, whereas people who have constantly been reprimanded and cut off when speaking are more likely to believe that what they have to say is unimportant.

As an example from the world of fiction, consider the difference between Harry and Dudley in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: When we first meet Harry, he is not a very confident boy. Throughout his entire life, the Dursleys have made it clear that he is worthless, strange, and beneath them. So when Hagrid shows up and tells him that he is special, his first reaction is that the man must be mistaken. He grows confident only when he begins to have people who support him in being who he wants to be. Dudley, on the other hand, has always been assured by Vernon and Petunia that he is great and important. He never doubts that he deserves 30+ birthday presents every year, and although most people would say that Dudley is a spoiled brat, I would argue that a lot of his personality simply reflects his parents’ attitude towards him.

If you want to learn more about how the psychological surroundings can shape your characters, I can recommend books or courses on psychology. I took a psychology class while in high school, and although the readings were heavy at times, it was very inspiring and insightful. Alternately, a lot of literary analyses that centers on characters take the psychological aspect into account and can teach you a lot as well.

 

Of course not everything in one’s personality comes from one’s surroundings, and the degree to which they affect a person varies depending on which theory you get the numbers from. But as I have argued in this blog post, surroundings do play a part, at least, in shaping a person and, consequently, a character, which is why I believe the physical, social, and psychological surroundings are always worth taking into consideration when you map out the details of how your character came to be and what skills they have to work with when your story begins. If they know something or are used to act in a specific way, they must have picked it up somewhere, and their home would be a very relevant place for you to lay the foundation for their abilities. So keep this in mind when you create their society and their background.

If you need inspiration for shaping a character’s background, there are two things I would suggest that you try. One is to look at your favorite fictional characters. How did the authors justify their skills? Where and how did they grow up? If they have any skills that don’t necessarily fit their upbringing, how did they learn those? Another suggestion is to consider yourself and your friends. How are you different and why? What comes naturally to you and what do you find strange about each other’s behavior? Can this be related to where you grew up? It may sound like a deep, psychological research kind of thing, but it could also be a great topic for an interesting conversation.

People change, of course. Nothing is set in stone, and as the surroundings change, so does the person/character. Sometimes, it can be subtle changes in their current home and area that affect them. At other times, it may be a physical move or journey to a whole new place. Whatever the cause, they can gain new abilities, learn new social skills, and even change their opinion of themselves. This change and/or self-discovery often makes for an important part of a story. After all, isn’t character development one of the most interesting things to write and read about?

Planning … Is It Really Necessary?

In the beginning of August, I attended a reunion weekend at Brønderslev Writer’s College where the program had been filled with presentations by published authors and other people in the writing industry. During that time, I had the pleasure of listening to four different authors talking about their writings and the techniques they use to make a book coherent and enjoyable. Three out of four explained that they use a lot of time planning their stories more or less from beginning to end, then simply sit down and write what they have planned. This made me consider the different ways of approaching a story that you want to write and in the end, I reached the conclusion that writers can – roughly, mind you – be divided into three categories when it comes to planning: The Impulsive Writer, The General Planner, and The Details Planner. The question, then, is whether planning really is necessary to write a great novel and if so, how much do you actually need to do?

First, let’s consider the three types of writers I just mentioned:

1. The Details Planner: S/he plans everything in details, which leads to her/him knowing exactly how the story is going to start, how it’s going to end, and how it’s going to get wherever it’s going. S/he knows the strengths, flaws, fears, looks, etc. of every character, not just the main ones. S/he often plans what’s going to happen in each chapter, and at least a couple of these chapters are a hundred percent detailed before s/he starts writing the novel.

2. The General Planner: S/he has a pretty good idea of what is going to happen throughout the novel, including the major turning points of the story. However, the plan is rarely detailed and may be subject to change as s/he goes along. S/he has a fairly good grasp on the characters, especially the main ones, but isn’t always sure how they are to turn out eventually. Also, s/he might add other characters later on who weren’t necessarily planned from the beginning.

3. The Impulsive Writer: S/he knows more or less what is going to happen at the point in the story that s/he is currently writing, but apart from that, s/he only has a vague idea of where the story is going and, maybe, how it’s going to end. S/he has a fairly good grasp on the personality of the main characters, but when it comes to other characters, they may be added and deleted as s/he goes along. The development of the main characters is also subject to change.

So which of the above approaches to writing a novel is the most effective? And can you say that there is a “right” way of writing?

To the last question, definitely no. Just like different students have different ways of approaching their school work, different writers have different ways of reaching their goal: a finished novel, ready for a read-through followed by some editing (yes, there will be editing no matter what kind of approach you choose, so don’t fool yourself – your novel is only going to be all the better for it). However, I will make an argument for why, when all comes down to it, I believe that The General Planner and The Detailed Planner may have an easier writing process than The Impulsive Writer.  To do this, I’m going to tell you how planning works for me.

First of all, I am definitely a General Planner. I do like planning; however, to me it feels as if some of the fun would go out of writing if I planned everything down to the last detail. I know all the major turning points and plot twists of the stories I write, but apart from that I like planning the story bit for bit as I go along. When it comes to characters, I’ve got a fairly good idea of their background story, their looks, and their personality, but I let them decide how they’re going to act when I place them in one impossible situation after another (I know some of you out there will understand what I’m talking about here, while the rest might find me a little crazy). My character list is mostly done from the start, but it sometimes happens that I add new people if I feel like I need to (in one of my novels, for instance, a character introduced on a whim ended up a main character all of a sudden).

So how much planning do I do and how does it help me?

Well, for one thing, I make sure I have my main characters straight. I need to know their basic personality and overall background story, along with their relations to the other characters of the story and the way they view the world around them. This is very important to me because the main pivotal point of my stories usually is my characters and how they evolve. I never start writing a story before the main character(s) is/are loud and clear in my mind.

Furthermore, I need to know the general storyline. Therefore, I find the major events and plot twists from the start so I have at least a basic idea of where I want my story to go. These do sometimes get changed as I get further into the story, but they provide me with a very much needed plot line that I can work my way through (also, knowing the general plot of the story will help you throw in hints to those big secrets you’re going to reveal later – just saying). When the general storyline is set, that’s when I can start writing. Sometimes, I plan my first chapter in detail. Other times, I don’t. It depends on my mood and the type of story I’m writing. A short story will typically be planned in more detail than a novel.

That being said, the most important thing about planning for me is that it gives my writing flow. Being a General Planner, I sometimes get stuck during the writing process because I don’t know what’s going to happen next to get to that big scene that I do know how will turn out. That’s when I sit down, pull out a piece of paper, and start brainstorming and mind-mapping my ideas, because for me, that’s the most effective way of getting an overview of the current plot lines in my story. As soon as I have that overview, I can make the loose ends meet and mostly, that will lead to ideas that can make the story continue. In other words, as soon as I have planned, quite generally, what is going to happen next, it’s a lot easier writing it.

When I’ve finished a story, I go through it at least twice before I consider it done. I read, I edit, and I usually find that my planning has helped me get a consistent story down already from my first take. Sure, there will always be some things that needs rewriting (I once heard three great authors agree that the writers who don’t think they need to rewrite at all are the ones who actually need it the most and I quite agree), but all in all, I’ve got a story line that generally works and some characters that are consistent in their beliefs and actions throughout the story. That’s why I believe that planning can really help you in the long run.

Conclusion: No, planning isn’t necessary. But you’re going to make things a lot easier on yourself if you do some anyway as that will eventually make your editing process easier and faster. Furthermore, if you’re anything like me, it will also help your writing to flow from your imagination and down onto the computer screen in a mostly coherent manner. I can strongly recommend a bit of planning, but stick with the amount you find necessary and don’t let anybody tell you that there is one right way of writing and planning. As I stated at the beginning of this post, all writers are different. The most important thing is that you find an amount of planning that works for you and helps to make your writing process as enjoyable as possible.

On the Subject of Lying

Okay, so I want to start this blog with a post about a very basic thing that I think you should all know: writers lie.

There. I said it. That’s a very bold statement I was first told when I was attending a course at Brønderslev Writer’s College and it was made by author Bjørn Themsen. He said something that sounded much like this (except it was in Danish, of course):

 “The cool thing about being a writer is that you’re allowed to lie!”

To begin with, the statement that you more or less have to lie threw me off. I mean, I considered myself quite the honest person. So how was I supposed to start lying? But as soon as he explained the statement, I began to understand his meaning and the reasons behind it. He continued,

“You have to be loyal to the life, opinions, and peculiarities of your characters. So keep lying!”

I suspect you’re all catching on to it now, the meaning behind his words. What Bjørn was saying is that as a writer, you are required to lie – you have to lie because what you’re writing is not a biography (although biographies are definitely filled with their parts of lies as well, but let’s forget that for now). It’s fiction. And when all comes down to it, fiction is based upon lies. The stories that we read or watch, they’re not really happening. I’m sorry to break it to you, but there isn’t a young man running around London with a scar on his face whose name is Harry Potter and who defeated the evil wizard Voldemort (unless, of course, J. K. Rowling is in fact a witch who decided to tell the greatest tale of the top-secret magic society. I won’t rule it out); it’s a lie. But it’s a lie that we all know isn’t true and so, we revel in it. We enjoy it. And we don’t feel offended when we realize that it’s not true. So that’s why you can be quite an honest person else wise, yet when you sit down in front of your computer or with a piece of paper, you better start lying (if you’re writing fiction, mind you – it wouldn’t be such a good idea to lie in your self-assessment tax return).

However, that being said, I think something else should be taken into consideration as well. Because the stories might all be lies, but the emotions and the messages are real. I’ll go out on a limb here and claim that there isn’t a story in the world that aren’t filled with real emotions, and the reason we as readers or audience keep yearning for more stories are because they are filled with so many feelings that resonate with us. We recognize the feeling of loss when the main character loses his or her family. We know how angry your siblings can sometimes make you. It’s not alien to us when couples argue over the little things. We’ve seen it or we’ve felt it, and most likely both. We can relate. And when we can relate, that’s when we feel a certain attachment to the characters at hand. A story that fails to act upon real emotions wouldn’t have a lot of substance to it, if any at all.

Then there are the messages; the things that most teachers of literature are getting on your back for analyzing the crap out of. But even if you don’t feel like diving into the depth of the meaning behind red roses or a gleam of sunlight through the windows, I’m betting you will always be able to find one or more things that the book you just read or the movie you just watched can teach you. Sometimes, what writers want to tell you may be very explicit. Maybe the book is about this girl who got dumped, but learned that there are still bright sides of life. Or maybe the book is about a man coming of age and learning how to deal with the life of an adult, but that very simple fact may be hidden beneath tons of dragons and knights. Fact is, no matter how many layers that’s put upon the message, it’s still there and you can learn from it.

I guess when all comes down to it, I’m going to have to oppose Bjørn’s statement a little. Writers do lie. But the cool thing about being a writer is that you can use those lies to tell truths about life. Because in the end, the reason why we love stories is that at some point, each and every one of them is about life, and life is a subject that is forever relevant.

So keep lying, fellow writers – but use those lies well.