My Type
By Donald Maass | October 2, 2013 |
photo by moriza
You see a lot of types in New York City.
In my neighborhood are hipsters with Victorian beards and tattoos, looking detached. Near my office your see look-alike fashion students with pop-eyed doll faces, frosted lipstick and hair bleached white. Rounding the corner is a paunchy guy near sixty who’s emulating a Western outlaw, striding by in black boots, black duster and black gambler hat like he’s on his way to a shootout. (Probably he’s on his way to a Neil Gaiman bookstore signing.)
Even the more mundane types fall into categories. There are skinny, fortyish Ivy League moms with sunglasses pushed up, having urgent conversations on cell phones and steering British-made strollers. There are suits hoping they look creative because they’re not wearing a tie. There are off-duty pole dancers looking demur, their profession not quite hidden in their gym bags. There are waiters waiting for their break on Broadway. There are smarty chicks sporting in-your-face glasses. There are immigrant taxi drivers in tee shirts jabbering in a hundred languages and driving like they’re still in Karachi, Kinshasa or Dhaka.
When others look at me what do they see, I wonder? Look at him…white guy, slim, salt-n-pepper hair, almost getting away with skinny jeans, a backpack and a young wife. Votes Democratic and thinks he’s one of “the people” even though his kids go to private schools, he has a platinum credit card and gets upgraded on United. Does something minor in the movie business, maybe, like make documentaries or production accounting. Yeah, that guy. Thinks he’s cool. Maybe he is.
We’re all types. And we’re not. In fiction it’s possible to sketch type with a few details and also to go against type. Neither is wrong, both can be good. There’s a time for each. Stereotyping is shallow, generally speaking, but there’s also a third way to look at character typing. It’s an opportunity to deepen your protagonist.
Here are some questions to show you what I mean:
- How does your protagonist view people? Into what categories are they sorted? What’s good, bad and characteristic of each category? Whom does your protagonist meet who does not fit neatly into any slot in that scheme?
- What does your protagonist know is universally true about people…and when in the story is it not?
- As the story opens, in what way is your protagonist doing exactly what he or she is supposed to be doing, according to background, family, education or class? Why is that comforting, comfortable and good?
- Work until the story forces your protagonist to be, think and/or feel like someone who is different. Then work backwards to set it up: Early on have your protagonist see and judge a person who is different—and whom your protagonist will later grow to understand.
In a great many manuscripts the protagonist does not have an evident world view. The plot problems that arrive may set that character in motion but do not always rock his or her world. Not really. A powerful story causes a protagonist to examine himself or herself, and the reader likewise. But that can’t happen until there is a cemented self to jackhammer apart. Establishing protagonists’ view of others—that is, the way in which they stereotype—is one way to set up coming changes to their selves.
There are other ways to shake up and deepen characters, of course, but playing with people and perceptions is fun. Novelists who do so are confident. They are in control of their art. They’re writers I like. Call them my type.
How does your protagonist type others…and how are you shaking him or her out of that?
Donald Maass (he/him) founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency. in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2019). He has presented hundreds of workshops around the world and is a past president of the American Association of Literary Agents (formerly AAR).
If the WU posts are to provoke thought and insight, you did so with me today, Donald. ‘Deepening’ characters, partiularly protagonists, is desirable, nay, essential and your POV shows some new (to me) and interesting ways. Good grist.
Alex-
Yes, most protagonists need more dimensions, more change, more growth, more to do–more everything. This is one way.
This is a thought provoking post, thanks Donald. It never ceases to amaze and intrigue me how people behave once they step out onto the social stage of world view. Whatever their internal perception of themselves they have, it always changes when they are in public. Some pirouette their personalities like a colorful parasol, and others display a controlled focus on presentation that is nothing short of Broadway master. This is what drives me to write, makes me itch to sketch them on paper, or with keyboard! The art of recreating a authentic, and solid character and not letting it become a cardboard creation is what I strive for every time I write. I wanted to let you know that I just bought your book, based on several friends high recommendations and I can’t wait to dig into it.
Karyne-
Ah yes, the private person and the public persona. I love the parasol image. That could be another way to create character depth: How aware is your protagonist of putting on different faces in different situations?
Little things like that add up. Maybe we should think of sketching characters as looking in a three-way mirror. The view’s not always the same.
I would think this kind of deepening of a character takes some practice on the part of the author. And “people watching” to get the hang of it. I’m not a very judgmental person and tend not to label, but this is a very interesting exercise. Thank you, Don.
Paula-
I tend not to label either, but sometimes it’s fun to do. Everyone has a story: the one I make up and the true story, which so often is far more interesting.
My current protag thinks the suits are out to get her. She fights a constant battle for survival and trusts no one – no one but her father. Until she meets a man that fits the mold physically, yet reveals many more layers, opening her eyes to a side of people she never knew. Herself included. All this makes her question WHY at every turn. Why did her father raise her to believe she could never love, never trust? Why would a man want to risk his life for her? Why does she think the way she does and what does it mean to others? So many questions, so much to learn.
Crack it open, and let it all pour out.
Thanks for the wonderful insight, my dear Yoda. As always, Don, your posts are my favorite. :)
Denise Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth
Denise-
Your heroine is right: The suits *are* out to get her, and all of us. Beware. There’s a hidden order to the world that we cannot see. Oh, yes. Absolutely.
Didn’t know you had a paranoid streak. Very useful–for a novelist.
Typing characters can be amusing, as it is here. I especially enjoyed the glimpses you’ve given us. Oddly, perhaps, I try to avoid being too obvious about typecasting my characters. Maybe this is because I’m leery of my “voice” sounding too judgmental or condescending based on stereotypical appearances. I have no such problem with background characters, but the closer I bring you to them the more I want to surprise you with what’s really going on in their heads.
Mathew-
Interesting you say that. To me, “voice” in part is created through strong opinions and even judgments expressed by a POV character. They’re part of what make us, us.
Of course, we’re not always right. And therein lies some of the internal texture of a story.
I should have expanded a tad. What I’m leery of is basing judgments on the superficial. Strong opinions triggered by “looks” are not my cup of tea, altho I’ve been known to sip from the cup on occasion anyway. I introduce characters with some semblance of physical appearance, of course, but try to bring manner and mind into play soon enuf to avoid embedding the outer appearance as a lasting impression. This only with central characters.
So I live in the absolute opposite of NYC – tiny tourist town of 400. So how I’m perceived? Depends on whether the appraiser is an urban tourist or a local.
Tourist: “Look at that guy wearing shorts and worn-out Keens, headed to the beach when it’s 50 degrees. And a Tigers cap, when we’re 70 miles from Wrigley Field? His dog’s off leash and knows the way down better than we do. Must be a local. Bet he gets bored as hell out here in the off-season.”
Local: “There he is again, sitting on the dune bench, staring at the water, like he’s waiting for his ship to come in. And in the middle of the afternoon, too. His poor wife. She’s such a go-getter, and look at him. I heard he fancies himself some sort of writer. Sounds like an excuse to loaf on the beach to me.”
As you might guess, I take issue with at least part of both perceptions. Who knows, some day I might surprise someone.
Great prompts, as always, Don. Much food for thought. I love playing with perceptions, and should do more of it on the page.
Great honesty, but I bet those locals like you as much as we do here on WU.
Thank you, Carmel. Very kind of you, but trust me, they like my wife better. Understandably. ;-)
Vaughn-
You loaf around on the beach? Uh, with what time? I am not liking you very much right now. I last loafed around sometime before the turn of the millennium. Can’t remember quite when or where. Will let you know if I slow down enough to recall.
But seriously, enjoy the beach. I could use one these days.
There go those perceptions again.
Come and loaf on the beach any time, Don. I even have an extra Tigers cap. That would set the NYC tongues wagging.
Saw Cabrera pitch this summer. He demolished the Mets. Felt like wearing a Tigers cap out of the stadium.
Good example of perception vs reality.
Perception: Detroit=Losers
Reality: Detroit=Tigers playing in a beautiful stadium & WINNING
We often read that a protag must change and grow over the course of the plot in order to have a great story. Seldom does the giver of this advice outline just what that growth might look like. Thank you for giving us something concrete to think about and develop into our own.
Linda-
I’m sure you’ll come up with other ways to surprise us with your characters, too.
My protag lumps people into two basic categories: family/friends whom she clings to, and strangers whom she’s afraid of. Her family and friends are taken from her, and she’s thrown into a world of strangers. How better to discover that what’s most important is how she measures herself?
Carmel-
My entire family is descending upon me today, flying in from the four corners of the continent. Am I comfortable or scared? Hmm.
Sometimes it’s easier to be around strangers! Your protagonist and I should chat.
Ahh, Donald your description of NYC dwellers is like the written version of the very awesome Humans of New York website: https://www.humansofnewyork.com/ (Have you ever seen it? I find it a priceless resource for character inspiration!)
When you mention going against the type… Tolstoy comes to mind. One of the things I loved best about Anna Karenina was how Tolstoy wrote characters whose internal thoughts were often times the exact opposite of the external actions they were taking. If I wasn’t laughing at them, I was nodding my head, feeling very much like he nailed our flawed human condition in all its contradictory layers.
Barb-
What an amazing, addictive website! Thank you for mentioning it.
As a receptionist, I hear and see a lot of character types – not just the ones who walk in but those folks who call the switchboard. It is a rich experience noticing who mentions how many times they’re on disability, who has the television blaring in the background (or kids or dogs), who sounds like a man but is actually a woman with a smoker’s voice, who has a foreign accent, who uses the term “Obamacare” with certain disdain (and/or laced with colorful curse words), who circumlocutes about what they really need… and on and on… It’s amazing how verbal queues – slang or twang etc – can feed into stereotypes or turn them up side down all together. It’s educational, and a very rich experience.
Jillian-
There you go, a new fiction tool: look at people like a receptionist. Love it!
A great post that gives me much to consider and provides me a new way to address my main character. How the protagonist views or judges others says a lot about that person’s views, experiences, and internal conflicts.
My protagonist is someone who sacrifices much in an effort to make a difference, yet falls far short of the potential locked within. At the same time, she harbors unexamined resentment towards those she views as not working equally hard. Too, she harbors a longstanding resentment towards a particular group that she sees as having deserted her people in their time of need.
Her experiences open her eyes to the larger world and its complexities. She comes to see with her newly acquired, larger world view that her harsh judgements were rash and unfair. She also realizes that diversity is an unrealized power and her fears have blinded her to her own potential and the potential in others.
Christina-
I’m keen so see how that comes out on the page.
My characters dress to fit a type, but underneath the real person is the opposite.
Mary Jo-
Ah, cool. We all wear costumes, don’t we?
I look around at the costumes of New Yorkers and frequently wonder whom they’re emulating. What do they want me to think? It can be puzzling.
As a child, my protagonist was traumatized for two years. She waited to be saved, but no one was able to rescue her not even her father, who was top FBI Agent at the time. She rescued herself.
Now as a law enforcement officer, most of my protagonist’s interactions with people are during work hours, and normally, they need her to help to solve problems.
She views people as needy, week minded, and pathetic.
Her transformation starts after a crisis breaks her will, cripples her supernatural abilities, and destroys the support she has taken for granted for so many years. Afterwards, she is subjected to views similar to her own. These views will be manifested through a close friend she abandoned years ago. Another supporting character will point out the similarities between her and the other.
Excellent.
Brian, I love that you have a female protagonist!
Thanks Carmel
Don,
I love this. These tools and perspective will help sift and polish my current WIP in which the tension and stakes are based on assumptions that shouldn’t go wrong: a protagonist hiding from one clearly dangerous group takes refuge in another that, against all stereotype and reason, is wound to hurt him even more.
Can’t wait for your next post and, to tide me over, your book is on its way.
What a great post. This was something that I was tossing around in my head in the wee hours of the night, how my MC changes how she thinks of a certain class of people. When I’m ready to dive into my story again, this is one of the first things I’ll be looking at.
Great post. And true. I had a bit of a mirror-like experience of this when I was writing the first draft. My MC, from a wealthy and powerful family, had opinions and ideas about those of lower station. She behaved perfectly acceptably for her rank. I wasn’t sure if I liked her, in part, because of my own perceptions of someone of that status. I found, though, that as she told me her story in the process of the draft, and I observed her interactions with people she by necessity encountered from all stations in life, that I saw the evolution of her character and some of my own perceptions of her changed. If that makes sense.
Love that photograph!
And love that BU always credits the source.
I once sat next to a couple on a flight back from Barbados, whom I assumed were returning from their vacation, maybe honeymoon. As the flight wore on, the man grew increasingly withdrawn, the woman sympathetic. He leaned away from her and pretended to sleep, while she rested her head on his shoulder and patted his arm. This guy’s pain was palpable. Had they decided to break up? Were they returning because of a death in the family? When they spoke again, they asked the sort of questions of each other that suggested they had only recently met (How long have you worked at soandso company?) Had they met on this trip? If so, why was the man so inconsolable? Should he be thrilled to have found the love of his life? Then he joked, “So where should we fly off to next week?” When she called his bluff and said, “Name the place,” he became sad again. With tears in his eyes, he said, “I have to see my kids.” It was then that I noticed they were both wearing wedding rings. Funny how your perception of others can change, during the course of a flight. Was I being stupid and naive, or just a hopeless romantic?
Though I’m a ‘regular costumer’ here, normally I’m just content with window-shopping or sneaky purchases. But this post today… Teach, I feel compelled to come out and admit that I’m sold.
I’m always sold, but it’s a different type of sold this time: a click happened immediately. A whole new connection between my two main protagonists unfolded in my mind. It has always been there. It just needed this advice. Thanks.
“a cemented self to jackhammer apart…” –
the phrase that wraps your words into very good use for me, thank you much ;-)
My MC types others terribly and that’s part of her character arc. She judges people without any awareness that she’s doing it, and even though she hates the way others judge her. Of course, this causes all sorts of mayhem that she’ll have to sort out.
But in terms of the nitty gritty of her personality, I’ve found it really hard to pin point who she actually is and what her opinions are. For some reason it was much easier rounding out the secondary characters; they just landed on the page fully formed. Lucky for the MC, I came across your prompts and tried to implement them across the whole story. She has more depth now but I still have to consciously concentrate on her point of view instead just the plot points. These new prompts will help make her more rounded.
Thanks for the great post.
Mary Ann
You’ve given me so much to think about! I think – as others have said – that this way of working with characters takes some skill, but I don’t doubt that it gives your characters an interesting depth. Thank you for this great article.
Don, thank you. I have a homeless guy as a central character in my new novel who works against type because he’s a Bronte-reading street psychologist. The other two main (and not homeless) characters miss his depth until later.
But the thing that needs to be jackhammered out of him is his dead thinking on how to soften the feelings of his alienated daughter toward him. Reading your overview here makes me think I have to push both parties further.
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Thanks for the reminder to deepen character. It’s so easy to slide into the habit of believing we all think alike and see the world the same way. I live in a small town where connections between families go back generations. Even here, each person’s perspective is colored by differences in age, gender, education and experiences.
Brilliant post. I LOVE this: “A powerful story causes a protagonist to examine himself or herself, and the reader likewise. But that can’t happen until there is a cemented self to jackhammer apart.” Talk about a metaphor that vividly makes the point. If this post were wet cement, I’d find a stick and write a big fat heart in the middle of it (and then run, before the guys with jackhammers caught me).
This is a great post, and it will help me with an editing issue I was having until I read this. Having my character see how another character is dealing with a situation and contrasting that with how they thought their type would react is just what I need to make the troubling scene come alive.
Thanks
Hi Don!
I just found these blogs and have already saved many of them for easy reference. I attended one of your workshops many years ago and I have been writing my novel ever since (more years than I want to admit right now).
I loved the way you challenged us at that workshop, and I love the way you challenge us here.
Other workshops and conferences I have attended taught me important aspects of writing, often with outlines to follow, but I was never taught to think LIKE my characters instead of think ABOUT them. That is why that long-ago workshop still stands out as my greatest learning experience.
I have one word posted above my desk – PERSEVERE.
Now I can use these new challenges to go back and make sure my characters are as real as they can be. My goal is to have it ready to submit by the end of this year. I’m not getting any younger, but I am getting better!