Musings on Character

* Character supersedes plot.
* You write a short story by taking a character and getting him into trouble.
* Build reader interest in your character by creating in him a desire.
* To make him compelling, make him want something.
* A character needs to have something at stake.
* What is the character's trouble?
* What does the character want?
* Stories are most interesting when there is in the character a moment of contradiction, but in a situation that is believable.
* To humanize characters use that character's distinctive lingo.
* Think of ways to reveal deeper levels of character as you go.
* Ambiguity and contradiction in a character makes him somehow like the reader yet also interesting. "X" is true of them, yet on the other hand…"
* A story should offer a pervasive sense of conflict, but if you can name it, it may be too simple.
* You can move a character outside himself by having him note or speculate how others see him.
* As the character interacts with the plot, major dramatic events, i.e., first time lovemaking, may be under-dramatized. They will stand out on their own. Revealing notations about a character can be slipped in among more literary passages describing less dramatic events.