I got to interview Farah Ali about her beautiful debut novel, The River, The Town. We talked about building complex characters who make unexpected choices, writing about climate catastrophe, and the importance of hope.
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So we talked about how learning about a character's past deepens our understanding of her--that's one way to make a complex character. But Ali also gestured to what's next for her & if she might change--that's the creation of a dynamic character.
I think dynamic and complex (deep, round) are often conflated but are useful to separate. A character can be one or the other or neither or both.
Which kind do you like to write?
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And then, you know, I love flat characters too! (I adore fairy tales.). I think they can feel just as alive as the sort that we call "round" or "complex."
Some of that happens through implied or intuitive depth. (A favorite theory of mine!)
I haven't thought as much about this, but I think it probably happens through character change, as well. Which might part of why folks conflate dynamic and complex.
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What makes a character feel most alive for other folks?
So often people say they need to know more about characters--they want to know EVERYTHING--but for me, that's really not it. After all, I often don't know that much about people in my real life! But I need to know _enough_ and it's fun to think about what can be enough.
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This is pretty much how flatness plus intuitive depth works, though I haven't thought about it in terms of "type of guy" before. Thanks for this.
This is a great answer. Knowing what someone cares about is key to who they are in sort of deep and personal sense. But it's also something that can drive the story. So, two objectives at once, which is always great.
I think this happens--at least sometimes--because knowing too much of a character makes them feel like the writer's puppet instead of a separate living being with their own mind.
And of course it's just an illusion. But that's what we do! We make these marvelous illusions that turn squiggles on a paper into people and worlds and stuff.
Absolutely. And that sort of strategy often involves a lot of subtext, a lot of trusting the reader to have certain expectations and cultural background to interpret the negative space in the way you intend. But absolutely.
It's really hard!
Right! And the act of storytelling includes _choosing_ which facts of the character are important to the story. A writer frames and focuses to pick the details that matter. Just because we don't learn about a childhood, doesn't mean the character didn't have one. It means it's just not a part of this story.
Allison Wyss
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Walter Thinman
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