How normal are your characters?

Status
Not open for further replies.

gettingby

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
2,748
Reaction score
170
I write short fiction and most of my characters are normal, every day people. But lately I have been giving them more problems. In my latest piece the main character is blind. Still, she is pretty normal.

Do you stick to normal characters and put them in abnormal situations or do you have abnormal characters in normal situations? I guess it wouldn't have to be one or the other, but I find in my writing it is one or the other.

So how normal are your characters and does it dictate how normal your story will be?
 

Sydneyd

Aye, ye scurvy dog!
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
6,565
Reaction score
2,237
Location
Portland
I write short fiction and most of my characters are normal, every day people. But lately I have been giving them more problems. In my latest piece the main character is blind. Still, she is pretty normal.

Do you stick to normal characters and put them in abnormal situations or do you have abnormal characters in normal situations? I guess it wouldn't have to be one or the other, but I find in my writing it is one or the other.

So how normal are your characters and does it dictate how normal your story will be?

I suspect you won't get a clear answer to this question because everyone's definition of normal is different. My normal is not yours. If a person is blind, then being blind is normal to them. Did you mean to say average?
 

gettingby

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
2,748
Reaction score
170
Yes maybe average is a better word. Thanks.
 

lorna_w

Hybrid Grump
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
3,262
Reaction score
3,236
More normal than I, certainly. For instance, they tend to have jobs and houses. Though I never had thought of it before you asked, I prefer writing normal (familiar to the reader, I hope) people in unusual situations.
 

mccardey

Self-Ban
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
19,212
Reaction score
15,816
Location
Australia.
I write short fiction and most of my characters are normal, every day people. But lately I have been giving them more problems. In my latest piece the main character is blind. Still, she is pretty normal.

Do you stick to normal characters and put them in abnormal situations or do you have abnormal characters in normal situations?
I guess it wouldn't have to be one or the other, but I find in my writing it is one or the other.

So how normal are your characters and does it dictate how normal your story will be?

Goodness me. What a truly egregious piece of phrasing that was.
 

Anninyn

Stealing your twiglets.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
2,236
Reaction score
374
Location
Rain-swept dystopia.
Website
www.fivesquids.co.uk
Even 'normal' people have something interesting and special about them. 'Normal' and 'average' are points of view, and depend on the life experiences of a person. I suspect my definition of normal and yours may be quite different. Remember that everyone is normal from their own frame of reference.

As I write fantasy, I probably don't write people who would be considered normal or average to a lot of people, but in terms of how their own culture and experiences have shaped them, they may very well be quite normal. Though average? Never. I like writing about people with a spark, a special something that makes them stand out a bit.
 

quicklime

all out of fucks to give
Banned
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Messages
8,967
Reaction score
2,074
Location
wisconsin
I suspect you won't get a clear answer to this question because everyone's definition of normal is different. My normal is not yours. If a person is blind, then being blind is normal to them. Did you mean to say average?



thisthisthisthisthis


one of my favorite author quotes os from Joyce Carol Oates; an interviewer asked her why she never wrote about any normal people, and her response was that she didn't know any. I think, if you look a bit deeper, NONE of us do. That said, "unusual character" is not the same as "disabled character," fwiw.
 

gettingby

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
2,748
Reaction score
170
I think it is unusual to have a disabled character in a story. I was reading American Short Fiction and there is a story called Souvenirs where one of the characters is missing a hand. This made her an unusual character. BTW it is a great story from the spring 2012 issue.

Also, I do think a lot of short fiction is filled with normal or everyday people. Like someone else pointed out average might be a better word.
 

anne_marie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
116
Reaction score
7
Most of my characters start out as average and then things happen to them to make their characters come out. One of my characters is shy and quiet and just found out she is half demon.
 

The Otter

Friendly Neighborhood Mustelid
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
1,461
Reaction score
441
Location
In the room next to the noisy ice machine, for all
Do you stick to normal characters and put them in abnormal situations or do you have abnormal characters in normal situations?

Like others have said, "normal" is subjective, but generally speaking, most of my characters aren't normal. They either struggle with an unusual personal challenge or have a really dark past or major life-altering psychological hangups, or they have some kind of obsession or passion that consumes them to the point of being abnormal.

I find it almost impossible to write normal people. When I try, I don't think I do it convincingly. I can't identify with them, I guess.
 
Last edited:

TheRajinski

Probationary Agent
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
73
Reaction score
13
Location
Lake County, Florida
I write about people. Period. I don't consider them ordinary or extraordinary or whatever. They just "are" who they "are."

Sometimes that "normal" person you meet out on the street isn't quite so "normal," all things considered. Truthfully, I don't really like the word normal because it's so damn subjective. To me, it's a town in Illinois. (;

But I do know what you are getting at, gettingby.

I enjoy writing about a wide array of different people who are going through different problems. Not just people who are like me.
 

tanyadavies

Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2012
Messages
41
Reaction score
5
What a great question. I have been asked before why I don't write 'nice' things. My reply was that there is no conflict in 'nice' - which is not entirely true of course.
What my friend meant was why can't my characters be free of demons (not half-demons). I write what I know - and what I aspire to know.
I do like quirky characters and subtle elements of the uncanny or grotesque in otherwise sunny stories. If your story is about a woman's blindness I think that's pretty average - if it's about a woman and she just happens to be blind that's a little more perverse.
 

Emmet Cameron

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
Messages
598
Reaction score
44
Location
Canada. Probably.
I think for me the question I spend more time on is whether the character would rather be perceived as normal or outrageous.

My current MC's stats aren't especially average (she's pagan, has two moms, lives in a large household with a bunch of adults and children who are not related to her), and she's not embarrassed about any of these things, but she doesn't bring them up if they're going to set her apart. She doesn't want to be popular, she just doesn't want a whole lot of attention in general. Some of her best friends, meanwhile, definitely want attention for their differences. Meanwhile, her stepsister starts out very outgoing and unafraid to be weird, and then becomes fixated on fitting in.
 

jaimecallahan

writer in progress
Registered
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Website
www.jaimecallahan.com
I've really enjoyed reading the discussion in this thread. When I first conceive a character, I usually start with a very vague template of sorts -- the frazzled personal assistant, the difficult to handle ex-girlfriend, the overbearing father, etc. This kind of early idea can be pretty shallow, so the characters can feel very average or dull at this point. The more time I spend with a character and get to know them, the less run-of-the-mill they become.

I definitely agree that "normal" is hard to quantify, but I think it usually stems from just not knowing a person well enough to be aware of their eccentricities (because we've all got them). I approach characters the same way, by trying to delve into not only what they want in terms of the plot, but also into their "secret" lives -- deepest fears, dreams, and interests.

Personally, I love reading about quirky characters who shatter my stereotypes.
 

Overwined

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
54
Reaction score
8
They're about a 6.

What scale are we talking about, here? 6 out of apple pie? You're mad. 6 out of purple? Well then that makes sense.

I would say "average" is not much better. I would actually say that the question kind of misses the point, if questions can do that.

The "normal" question is: Are your characters serving the plot? If the answer is "yes" then they are normal whatever the plot. If no then they are likely self-indulgent portraits and should be modified to serve the plot or the plot should be modified to serve them, or both.
 

RemiJ

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 11, 2012
Messages
61
Reaction score
1
Location
Los Angeles
I read this thread more with interest than an intention to post. After reading all of your replies I have realized that most of my characters are angry people. That was not part of my writing plan. Thanks for the heads up commenters. I'm going to do a little adjustment in my book.
 

I_love_coffee

that's what it's all about....
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
519
Reaction score
80
Location
Far away
abnormal is the new normal......


I work with disabled children, and when referring to a child who is not disabled we may refer to them as a typically developing child. A person who is blind is not abnormal, they are just a person who is blind.....
 

owlish

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
102
Reaction score
33
Location
pnw, usa
Website
www.mwbrooke.com
I write about people. Period. I don't consider them ordinary or extraordinary or whatever. They just "are" who they "are."

This. Though to play the game, I would say that the characters in my contemporary work tend to challenge social norms and are heavily flawed, which make me think others would consider them "abnormal," whatever that actually means. :)
 

Niniva

Life is just a bowl of cherries...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 27, 2008
Messages
751
Reaction score
130
Location
Athens, GA
I always start with a flaw; the character evolves as I research and delve into that flaw until I can see through those eyes. Normal is so boring normal people can't be perfectly average all the time.
 

Loveless

Registered
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
What is normal? I, for one, am not normal. Perhaps I was or will be according to the state of society. I don't think I've ever viewed my characters as normal or abnormal. I don't think of it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.