Yesterday, I tweeted about the tendency for inexperienced writers to explain away their characters' traits or abilities with mental illness. Like I said in the thread, this is not what I would call ~best practices~ for a number of reasons (which I'm not going to cover again, but the threads are linked above!), and often, this is the path writers choose because they simply aren't equipped to flesh out the backstory necessary to support the character's traits and choices. So, where do we start? The first step is in acknowledging what you already unconsciously know: behavior does not exist in a vacuum. This means that no one does anything for no good reason. Even if they 'don't know why they did' something, inborn traits + a lifetime of experiences lead up to the moment that informed their decision. This is where we're going to start the conversation: Nature vs. Nurture. NatureCurrently, there is a popular theory that there are five basic traits every person is born with: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These are traits that are evident almost at the moment of birth -- the way a newborn responds to new experiences, sudden noises, and unfamiliar people can all nod towards the way their brains are already hardwired for the person they're going to be. In the Five Factor Model, you score on a number line for each of these traits -- a low 'openness to experience' score will equate to someone who is not comfortable with new experiences, who may not identify as someone who is creative, and might seek the comfort of what they've always known over the insecurity that comes with venturing into the Great Blue Yonder. A person who scores high agreeableness could be described as warm, caring, people-focused, and considerate. So on and so forth, through each of the five traits, until you have something that looks like this: Low numbers in something isn't necessarily a shortcoming, unless that's how you (or your character) perceive it (or are taught to perceive it -- more on that later). 24% conscientiousness only means that I tend to have a 'fling jello at the wall' approach to handling tasks, versus seeking structure and routine. High neuroticism scores could mean someone who has a higher tendency for a mercurial temperament. Take the same test here! Learn more about the Five Factor Model here. NurtureNurture refers to our experiences -- particularly our earliest ones. Here's the deal: childhood establishes our sense of normal. Whatever our 'normal' is (even if it's not normal at all!) is what becomes our comfort zone as adults -- even if it means unusual living circumstances, or a proclivity for conflict with the people around us, or odd eating habits. In worst case scenarios, this plays a huge role in dysfunctional and/or abusive relationships -- kids that grow up in dysfunctional and/or abusive environments are more likely to view this as the norm and seek out similar patterns in their relationships as adults. There are three concepts I like to remember when I'm considering the nurture side of who my character is: self-concept, worldview, and schema. Self-Concept: This refers to how a character understands themselves. Go back up to the Big Five section -- if a character grows up in an environment/culture where they're accepted for who they are, warts and all (or if they have the privilege to have been born with traits that are prized), they might recognize themselves in the results with a degree of self-acceptance or even pride. But if the environment/culture they're growing up in does not value one or more of their traits, they may look at this part of themselves as something negative or something to be ashamed of. Self-concept will also include the character's relationship with their marginalizations, with their bodies, and with the way they look. Exercise: Pick a trait of your own, ask yourself how you feel about it. Explore *why* you feel that way -- whether it was a certain value held in your home, or if it was something you were picked on for at school (which points to a cultural perspective on a certain trait you have). If it's something you're proud of, explore the relationship your environment/culture has with that trait. Worldview: This is what it sounds like -- the way your character sees the world. Again, this goes back to your character's early environments. What did your character learn about the world through their family? Does your character believe the world is only full of people that look and act like them -- and does that equate to a false sense of security and entitlement? Does your character perceive the world as unsafe? Sinful? Dirty? Rife with potential? Exercise: Use three words to describe the way you perceive the world around you. Can you trace those things back to your experiences as a child/young adult? Was it something someone around you said, or was it something you saw? Schema: Schemas are structures of understanding that people construct around each of the different concepts that come with being human -- religion, sex, relationships, family, work, violence, et cetera. These are pieced together brick by brick as a person experiences each concept, over and over again, and they're reinforced every time they see the same thing. They're also to blame for the perpetuation of stereotypes. Example: I grew up in a very conservative, evangelical, blue-collar church, in a community full of other conservative, evangelical, blue-collar churches. My schema for Christianity tends to skew towards broke, uneducated White people who cling to concepts like predestination because it's all they think they have (because they're grossly unaware of the privilege they *do* have because Intersectionality is Hard). My schema for work is a whole lot of toiling, and very little pay-off. (And I constantly fight that knee-jerk 'well you aren't working hard enough' voice in the back of my head when I don't have enough, because of previously-mentioned blue collar upbringing). My schema for family is that mama works until her body falls apart, while daddy sits back and tunes out from the day-to-day of the house because he ~has to work(tm)~. If you look at each of these schemas, and read the subtext, you can make a very clear picture of what my childhood might have been like (and what I might have observed between my parents -- even if they tried to keep things positive at face value). Exercise: identify a stereotype you've subscribed to in the past. Connect the dots and see where that belief stemmed from. You might be surprised! Rubber, meet road.Behavior is the intersection of backstory (nurture) and character trait (nature).
Rather than fall into the temptation of making a character sheet with each of the five temperaments, and the character's self-concept, worldview, and schema, try to start with who your character is for the purpose of the story. I'll use a character from my own manuscript in example. In FEMSLASH, Iliana is what you would call an Unlikeable Heroine. She's neurotic. She's bitchy. She fights with everyone, but she's also a very hard worker and has a lot of faith in her abilities -- she just needs the rest of the world to see it. Clearly, we have someone open to experiences, with low conscientiousness and agreeableness, high extroversion and neuroticism. From a nurture standppoint, Iliana is comfortable with conflict -- which means she grew up in an environment where conflict is a part of life. Or maybe even welcomed! But she's also clearly comfortable with who she is, because she sees herself in a mostly positive light: She knows she works hard. She knows she's talented. She's driven. She's aware of her flaws, but she doesn't beat herself up over them. Her sense of self is pretty healthy... Except that she clearly feels the need to claw her way out of something. What's going on in her family life that would drive her to desperation? Why doesn't she know the world already sees her because she is talented -- why does she think she needs to climb over other people to get there? The answer to this is where Iliana's Big Five traits meet her family life: A big, vibrant, energetic family -- lots of big personalities to clash. She's the youngest by almost an entire generation, and her parents (who are also grandparents) are exhausted. Her older brothers are adults with families, and she faces the blessing/curse of being the only kid left at home -- in their eyes, she's still a precocious little girl, playing at something she's good at (low conscientiousness -- potentially observable in avoiding responsibilities to 'play art', etc), when she sees herself as someone who is approaching adulthood and thinking about her career (high open to experiences). No one takes her seriously, and she's pissed about it (low agreeableness). Add in her family's financial situation, and her interpersonal issues at school, multiply by high neuroticism and -- well. You get Iliana. Piss and vinegar. To loop back to the twitter thread, I could have just declared her a narcissist with anxiety and called it a day. But look at the opportunity for story, there. There's so much in her history to explore in the way she responds to the other characters in the story. The backstory is there waiting for your characters, too. And if you don't know where or how to start, sit down with a mirror and start with yourself.
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