Characters who violate a stereotype are interesting; by surprising us they pique our interest, make us want to explore. ~ Orson Scott Card in Characters and Viewpoint
Writers are warned to avoid stereotypes, but to some extent that is impossible. Our brains automatically put people (real or fictional) into pigeonholes. Even if we try, we cannot not keep our readers from making stereotype judgments, but that is OK because we can utilize those predictable stereotypes to trick a reader into thinking they understand a character.
That’s when we surprise them!
Once we’ve introduced a character—who seems to fit a recognizable mold—we can begin to reveal that all is not as is seems. And our readers will love it.
An example
Falco, the main character in Lindsey Davis’s mystery series, seems like a typical hard-boiled detective: He is single, ex-military, has both pals and enemies in the local police force, lives in a crappy apartment, and earns his money as a private investigator. But Davis purposely turned the stereotype on its head by giving Falco a large extended family, including a strong-willed mother who thinks nothing of interfering in his life and several older sisters who occasionally ask him to babysit. Oh, and his full name is Marcus Didius Falco, because the stories are set in first-century Rome.
All those twists make Falco unique. They also provide lots of opportunity for out-of-the-ordinary subplots that either enhance or hinder his investigations.
Think for a moment about some of your favorite novels. Where did your favorite characters surprise by breaking unexpectedly from a stereotype? #amreading Share on X
This twisting of the stereotype can begin with the character’s appearance. As Hallie Ephron suggests in Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel:
Think about which aspects of your main character’s appearance are genuine reflections of character and which make a misleading façade. Create a disconnect between your character’s physical presence and true capabilities.
Perhaps you introduce your main character as a young businesswoman who wears conservative suits, has a rather pinched, plain face, and keeps her hair in a severe bun. She is prompt to meetings and always comes prepared.
Ho hum.
Until we give her a twist or two. Perhaps she once had aspirations of Broadway and teaches ballet on her off hours. Or coaches a girls’ soccer team that is on a two-year winning streak. Or spends her weekends restoring classic Mustangs. That adds some life to our mousy little office worker, doesn’t it?
Just make sure the twists make sense. In My Cousin Vinny, Mona Lisa Vito’s automotive knowledge is vital to the plot. If it wasn’t, her mechanic talk would end up feeling false or purposely misleading. The goal is to delight our readers with a twist that makes a character unique but still completely believable.
So go ahead, do the twist!
Delight your readers by giving a stereotype a twist. #writing Share on X
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3 Comments
Great thoughts on character. I’d add that if you have a series and intend to add flair to a stereotype, that it be done in the first book (or at least give hints about it there). Because if a reader is suddenly introduced to the ace pilot’s ex-wife in book four, the reader knows that the author hadn’t considered such a facet part of the character until book four either.
Great point. Of course, even writers are not perfect and can’t think of everything we might need in a multi-book series, but certainly those “out of the blue” character issues should be avoided. At least we should work hard to make any trait that seems out of place feel right.
Very interesting. You definitely got my mind working on how to do this with my own characters.