Instititute of Children's Literature

Rx for Writers

Writing Tips - Characterization

Lynn Murray experienced auspicious sales with Ladybug, Highlights for Children, AppleSeeds, Footsteps, Hopscotch, Boys' Quest, and various CBHI magazines.

"Feng Shui Writing: The Art of Harmonious Characterization"

by Lynn Murray

Seeking ways to give your character an invigorating life force? A chi that jumps off the page and materializes full fleshed in the mind of your reader? Consider Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese practice using principles of yin and yang energy to achieve balance and harmony in the environment. Apply these concepts to your character development and find the answers to forming well-rounded exciting characters.

Harmonious Energy

How does energy apply to characterization? According to Feng Shui, all things in the physical world are filled with chi, an invisible life force, and affect each other. Our personal energies interact with the energies of the world and those around us. We cannot exist separate from each other.

The traits we give our characters, their personal energies or chi, swirl and mix with the energies of the book environment--the plot and its obstacles. So articles on characterization frequently mention plotting since both processes cannot exist without affecting each other.

Harmony is pleasing. Our ears love the sensation of different oscillations or frequencies. Creating a character in the rhythm of life means using different energies, different traits. The heroine can't be all kindness and compassion, the villain dastardly and cruel. How blah! How flat! Yin and Yang. Sometimes a writer needs to consciously work with balance. The contrast needed for complex characters comes from using the principle of yin and yang--the energy of opposites. Feminine Yin. Masculine Yang. Light and dark. Heat and cold. Active and Passive. Think opposites in creating characters. Opposites attract, as we all know. Agile or klutz. Self-assured or timid. Pessimist or optimist.

Your character should be a composite of different physical, mental, and emotional abilities in order to create a delicious thrill for readers as they anticipate the character's decisions and reactions to story events. Don't slap together a roster of eccentric traits though, hoping to bypass flat character syndrome. Consider the underdog characters of the award-winning book world, the common and most unlikely protagonists to succeed. What did they have that made them so special to readers? They had the presence of mind to be human in the face of change and contradiction.

Fortunes Fluctuate

In life, fortunes fluctuate. So must your character. The yin and yang of characterization is about change. We are never the same at the end of the journey as when we set out. As your character changes, their response to life changes. Because of who they are NOW, the character chooses to act, and deciding or not deciding, their world is affected. This is the intertwining of characterization and plotting.

Regardless of whether the story goal is achieved, characters should experience contradictions in their life because of their belief system. Robert McKee, writing about character in his scriptwriting book, Story, specifically mentions contradictions in nature or behavior as material which audiences find "riveting." When a character follows the true compass of human reaction and life emotion they advance from flat to well rounded.

The Five Elements

The Chinese believe the five elements of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal can be combined in different quantities to promote harmonious balance. Each home, office, room, or environment is then designed by placement of furniture, decorative objects, plants, lighting, etc., to capture a portion of all these elements.

The five energizing patterns, with their qualities as assigned to them by some Feng Shui books, are listed below. I see these five energizing patterns as representing five dominant categories applicable to excellent characterization and have applied my own character element interpretation. Designing your book environment through careful placement of these five character patterns will result in enhanced work. Activate your characters by using the same ancient system of pleasing balance.

1. WATER--Release and renewal: Characters release their skills and strengths, renewing themselves by refreshing old skills, acquiring new ones, and seeking assistance as needed.

2. WOOD--Personal growth: Characters have attitudes: thoughts, feelings, and opinions. These inner thoughts change as characters realize things about life and are forced to think about issues they otherwise wouldn't have.

3. FIRE--Expansion and transformation: The fire of a character's dialogue transforms their conversations, revealing aspects of themselves. Characters must have their say in books. Because your characters are consumed by their goals they are willing to endure both physical and emotional suffering in order to transform their lives. They talk themselves in and out of situations. They dialogue with allies, with enemies, with anyone who can provide them tools to accomplish their goal.

4. EARTH--Grounding and support: Characters are grounded by clear-cut goals. They have a plan supported by sheer persistence. They give a 100% maximum effort. That doesn't mean they aren't scared about their situation. They decide. They act. They hang on for dear life. When things happen they make plan B, or C, or however many are needed till they win.

5. METAL--Mental power: Characters use their wits to navigate obstacles. They work with what they have in unique ways. They are fast on their feet in solving problems, ingenious, and flexible.

Applying Cures

Hanging wind chimes over your book won't energize its characterization or guarantee success. But applying a few writerly cures might increase your chances.

1. WATER: Foreshadow any skills or strengths necessary to the climax at the beginning of the story, or along the way. If they just pop up at the end, they'll look contrived.

2. WOOD: Decide which character trait(s) will undergo change and plan for that to happen in your book or story. What attitudes does your character have about the events in their world? Show attitudes at the start of the story so the reader can see how they change at the end.

3. FIRE: Have your characters speak consistently. Avoid slang, clichés, and heavy use of dialect. Ask yourself--What is my character saying? What is my character really meaning?

4. EARTH: As your character approaches a situation--think opposite. This is key to helping your character think "out of the box." By doing the opposite of what's expected, conflict happens, resulting in action.

5. METAL: It's your character's moment--their wit solves a sticky situation. Write the scene without narrative explanations. Extras at this point will muddy your character's glory. Aim for concise action so the wit and strength of your character's solution stands out.

NOTE: Most favorable sitting direction for success: In front of the computer. All other directions are least favorable.

Auspicious Outcomes

An auspicious sale is one where the writer, having mastered all the elements in creating vivid characters, receives a contract; where the editor, thrilled at finding literary treasure and anticipating a promising relationship, sends the contract; and where the reader, counting his allowance for the bookstore's cashier, receives hours of enjoyment following your character's life. Satisfaction is the reward for all.

Regardless of the practice or principles you apply in mastering the craft of writing, consider the words of Lillian Too, best-selling author of Feng Shui books and materials: "Full concentration of the mind is what brings success."

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