I’ve received a few interesting private questions over Facebook and e-mail in regards to my characters. These messages involve the question ‘Can *my character* defeat *established character*? The most popular pairings have been ‘Luke Callindor vs Luke Skywalker’ and ‘Clyde vs Edward/Bella’. Now, the second fight I just laugh at because Clyde is a brutal killing machine and the others are romantic leads. The first pairing is a lot more interesting even though ‘The Force’ trumps everything and Skywalker has a freaking laser sword. Callindor could take him with a surprise attack, but the longer the fight, the worse his chances. Yet, that misses an important point:
Why the hell would they fight in the first place?
Yes, I know it’s fun to think of these battles, but many times the conversation erodes into a pointless argument. Also, many characters put in these battles don’t have the mentality to really make it in a death-match. Take the Clyde vs Edward/Bella fight I mentioned. All three are vampires, but Clyde has a savage brutality that is needed for a combat character. The other two can be aggressive (I think), but you really can’t see one of them tearing out an enemy’s femur and playing tee-ball with that enemy’s head. At least not with the level of vicious joy that Clyde would have, which in a fight is an edge that can make all the difference. A clearer example would be Spider-Man vs Conan the Barbarian. Spidey is the more powerful character. I still think he would lose because Conan has a killer instinct that would push him to do things that Spidey wouldn’t consider an option.
You always have to be true to your characters. It might sound cool for a hero to do something dark that makes him edgy. For example, your hero could torture a villain for information. Yet, if you’ve spent several books establishing that this hero is a pillar of honor and nobility, you need to hold to that. You need to work a character to a new persona instead of dropping him or her into it to suit your desires.
Whenever I get to a point where a character is about to do something that is ‘off’, I think of the following:
- Have I established that this is a sensible action for the character?
- Is this against the character’s moral code?
- *For villains* Is this too nice?
- *For heroes* Is this too evil?
- Do I want to do this for the story, the character, or because I think it’d be cool? If the final option, put it aside for a week and see if I still feel that way.
This is really a simple point that I can’t go any further into because it is that simple. Think about your characters and establish a pattern of actions. A hero that randomly moves between true hero and anti-hero is a weak character. Another way to say this is that you can have Superman or Wolverine. You can’t switch between them at your every whim because you think it will be cool to have Superman kill a building full of ninjas or Wolverine to make a noble speech in front of a packed stadium. If you really want those events to happen, make two characters and use them for what they were designed for. After all, you can have more than one hero in a story.
Legends of Windemere 
Frank Herbert who wrote the Dune Saga seemed to be able to make characters do what was not in their nature with quite ease…if you are familiar with the series you will remember that Dr Yueh betrays house Atreides despite imperial conditioning… Thufir Hawat ends up in the service of the Baran Harkonnon(Although this was not as well done, I always imagined Thufir the type that would choose death and he choose to prolong his life)… and Paul is constantly trying to avoid the golden path of his true nature and ends up leaving that fate to his son…Yet what restores the Ghoulas Duncan Idaho in the following books is Duncan’s inability to go against his nature despite being programed otherwise…In the “White Plague” his main character creates a virus to punish the world and while he’s observing the effects of his virus he develops a split personality and part of him ends up trying to cure it while the other part relishes in his revenge. but all like you said required a catalyst for them to act out of what is their nature. but I do like your rules because most of the time it irritates me when characters start behaving in a way that is irrational with their nature…
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I never read Dune, but I figure there are exceptions to the rule if an author can do it well. 9 times out of 10 it fails miserably. Primarily because an author fails to use a catalyst. I think audiences are also becoming more interested in characters lately. I’ve seen a lot of complaints on forums when a character does something unexpected. Maybe it’s just easier to voice an opinion these days, but an author will be taken to task for a character doing something that doesn’t make sense.
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I would recommend if you ever find the time to read a thousand pages you read the first book in the series… the authors attention to detail is stunning… after the second book the other books get more and more far fetched although the final chapter reveals a completely unpredictable twist. it is a long grind to get there… I consider the first book in the Dune series to be on par with the calibre of LOTR. Different genres, but I consider both to fall into what I would consider literature…
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I’ve heard some people call Dune the LOTR of science fiction. If I ever get the time, I’ll definitely look it up. Pretty sure seeing the old, corny movie doesn’t count. In fact, that claim could probably get me arrested.
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If you are talking about the Movie they did in the 80’s that had Sting and Patrick Stewart in it… I think that movie was made strictly for people in the know who had read the book… the 3 part miniseries that space did was truer to the book and friendlier to the non-reader of the book. The Children of Dune mini series that followed combines the next two books in the series…
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That’s the movie. Forgot about Patrick Stewart though. Dune seems to stay under the mainstream radar a lot.
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really love your questions there!!! it’s always important to evaluate WHY something feels off when it just don’t sit well with you….
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Thanks. Self-evaluation and reflection can really make the difference in writing. Though, I’ve been worried that I didn’t have too many incidents in my 4th book. Having the characters behave for the most part can make an author feel a little uneasy. It’s like having a toddler being quiet in the next room. He could be behaving, but part of you can’t fully believe that.
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hahahaha!!!! I hear you. I know my three year old nephew a bit too well. I’d be terrified if he were being quiet for an extended period of time!
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It always ends in some type of mess.
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Great thoughts, Charles. As you mentioned, knowing your character’s nature is supreme. We need to know just how far they would go. A major betrayal by that character won’t seem off if the seeds of that betrayal are sown early in a story.
What gets me are trilogies where a person is the love interest in one book but then turns evil in the next book simply to create conflict. Yet the author does not show hints of darkness to the person’s character in the first book.
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Same goes for the best friend. It’s hard to put in hints of foreshadowing without ruining the twist. One wrong move and you either spoil the surprise or it comes too far out of left field.
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You’ve made an excellent point here Charles. This again brings up the old question of are you controlling your characters? I think that even if a cool idea comes along and you want to incorporate it, I agree with you: bring in a new character instead of twisting your hero or villain into someone/something they’re not. Readers are very quick to catch on to characters who don’t seem believable.
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They’re also very quick to abandon a character that betrays his/her own personality. Hard to gain that trust and nearly impossible to regain it after losing it.
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Absolutely right! And just so you know, all your characters seem real to me. There isn’t a single one who acts fake.
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Glad to hear. Though, maybe one of them acts so fake that you don’t realize it. 😛
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Hmm, I didn’t think of that. I do know of one character I don’t like. (Luke doesn’t trust him either.)
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Don’t think anyone trusts that one. He’s a jerk.
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I really agree! Someone needs to kick him…
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I knew I forgot to have something happen in that book.
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LOL! 😉
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I agree Charles, very good post. It reminded me of a D&D story. For whatever reason two of the group got into an argument over the accuracy of storm trooper blaster rifles from Star Wars. It completely halted our D&D session. I finally had to yell at them to knock it off and remind them that it is FICTION. It’s as accurate as the creator wants it to be, lol. We resumed to playing D&D where we decimated the DMs plan by taking all the platinum covered furniture out of a dungeon and getting super rich at level 3. Good times. 🙂
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Never make platinum covered furniture. It never goes well for the DM. Besides, everyone knows that stormtrooper blaster rifles can only hit Jawas with any sense of accuracy. Everything else puts out a natural displacement field to make the lasers miss more often than hit.
Was the argument in game? That would be hilarious.
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Nah, we were playing D&D at the time. We weren’t too good about being in character to be honest. A lot of meta going on, lol.
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We were the same way at the beginning. Total hack and slash, falling out of game every few minutes. We used figurines at one point until a Lich ‘drowned’ in the popcorn.
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This is interesting. I’ve been wondering why two characters should fight in first place since I saw the video on you tube of Goku V Superman. They’re both aliens so… I think that that’s what fan fiction exists for, but then again you might transform or bend character’s behaviours or character to your own story, which isn’t that good. This is a cheap deux ex machina.
And just a personal point of view, I love the idea of your vampire…I’m very traditional on this point of view!
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I once posited a question of who would win in a fight between 2 characters that refused to take a life. Everyone went on about who was stronger, who was faster, one had a gun, one was a super fast swordsman, etc. Nobody mentioned the fact that they probably wouldn’t fight in the first place.
I hope he meets your expectations. He’s not really going to be that traditional in powers. Though, vampires being able to walk in sunlight is more traditional than the Hollywood ‘sunlight hurts them’. Clyde’s vampires each have 3 powers instead of the traditional abilities that the old world vampires have. I’m sticking with the ferocity and bloodlust though. That has to stay. Only reason you’d find Clyde trolling a high school is for a snack, not a wife.
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Really? I must be ignorant then, because I didn’t think it was so frequent! Ahaha oh dear the “I have to study more” mood is getting me again!!!!!! Still the snack joke was genius!
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It’s definitely not as common as it used to be. I do remember reading that Dracula could go into the sunlight, but he’s just weaker. The article went on to state the somebody misinterpreted that as him being killed by sunlight. Not sure how legit that part is, but the vampire mythos is constantly altered to suit the creator’s whims.
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True…but I must read Dracula…again! Anyway I don’t accept sparkling…it’s just not vampire! Com’on! Just no! I’m very stubborn on this!
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The least it could have been was a powerful enough sparkle to stun their prey.
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mmm no!!!! Charles just no!!!!!! ;D
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I’m willing to give vampires a thumbs up on any power that is practical and explained better than ‘it makes them pretty’. I played a lot of Vampire: The Masquerade and they had some ‘eh’ powers in there, but everything had a purpose.
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Oh yes if it’s explained it’s fine to me! But it needs to be a convincing explanation! The sparkling I’m talking about says more “It’s this way because it’s cuter!”
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Exactly. Cute vampire is only allowed in anime because those are still deadly and bloodthirsty.
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Well said!
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