Characterization is a big and complicated endeavor, and it requires hard work to bring to life. Naturally, that means characterization has tons of hiccups involved in the process. Since I've judged in two contests and been in five book clubs, I've gotten to see a lot of these up-close and personal in books. Let's talk about each one.

The Perfect Plum

What I'm about to describe in this mistake is often called a "Mary Sue" or a "Gary Stu". I don't like these names, so I don't use them. They've been hijacked a lot and misused so much they've lost their meaning, and the former especially has been wrongly applied to strong female leads by butthurt men who subconsciously don't like seeing feminine stories taking center stage. In the interest of avoiding this confusion, I want to toss this name in my book and just call this problem the case of the Perfect Plum.

A Perfect Plum is a character without flaws or an arc. They're often a writer's self-insert. These characters know everything and are perfect at everything. One of the clearest examples of a Perfect Plum in fiction to me is Asami from Avatar: Legend of Korra. Her reaction when Mako cheats on her again and again is a frown and nothing more. She doesn't get angry at Korra, who's supposed to be her rival. She's perfect as a businesswoman and a fighter. And to top it all off, she's flawlessly gorgeous! I mean, who wouldn't want to be Asami?

The problem with Perfect Plums is that they're boring. No one wants to read about a godlike main character (or side character in Asami's case) who knows everything and is perfect in every way. Characters mean something to us because we're human, and because we can relate to them. I find that this problem arises with either inexperienced writers or writers who want their character to cater shallowly to a specific audience - in Asami's case, probably male fans of Avatar.

To fix this, go back to the chapter "Character Arcs" and give the main character some flaws. Then plot out how they overcome those flaws and struggle emotionally. One of the key symptoms of a Perfect Plum is that no problem in their life ever makes them struggle, or it's resolved too easily (I'll touch on that more with deus ex machinas in the next part). All characters have a breaking point. Make sure yours does too.

The Negative Nancy

Negative Nancy characters swing too far in the opposite direction. These characters constantly mope about their circumstances, and everything becomes a breaking point to them. There are a few causes for this sort of character. First, you may not have explored their backstory enough for the reader to sympathize with them or care about their circumstances. (For example, Korra in Avatar: Legend of Korra - especially in Book 2.) Second, you may not have given them enough positive traits for the reader to care about (for example, Nell in the first draft of Starwalker...oops).

If your problem is backstory, remember that monologues are your best friend (see "Backstory, Part 1: Advanced Interrogation"). Also remember that you may not have gotten to the root of your character's arc. I thought that the root of Nell's arc in the first draft of Starwalker was learning to move on from his old mistakes. However, further exploring afterward revealed that these problems were caused by a lack of confidence in his masculinity. Now his arc's changed from one about self-forgiveness to one about self-acceptance. Pretty drastic, I'd say!

If your issue is a lack of positive character traits, take a look at this list below. Characters won't be sympathetic to the reader unless they're a mix of good and bad traits (this will be super important if you're crafting different types of villains, too). Choose 2-3 that work best with your character, and explore how that affects their relationships and the plot. Credit for the graphic goes to Prime Time By Mrs. K.

A Flat Character

Sometimes your character isn't a Perfect Plum or a Negative Nancy, but they just feel...blah. These characters are usually the easiest to spot to readers, but luckily, they're also the easiest to fix. Remember that characters are not there to be your self-insert. They're there to become their own person, and go where they want, just like a real person.

To solve this issue, go to the first chapter and fill out the character questionnaire - even the "dumb" things like hobbies or their favorite color. It's little touches like these that really add accent and dimension to the characters. Monologue from their point of view, too. That never hurt anyone.

Out-of-Character

I've talked about characters acting like this before, but now it's time to get serious. Characters acting out-of-character happens when a character's actions don't match up with their backstory, want, or motive. And it's an easy pattern to fall into as a writer, since we as writers want to control our characters' actions to fit the plot. But characters aren't puppets - they're people. And they will get their revenge by ensuring that your story falls flat on its face.

If you catch your character doing something that doesn't fit, you'll find that it either feels "funny" or hinders you from continuing the draft. (This is a facet of the "Iron Wall" writer's block, which we'll discuss later). Sometimes a reader will point this out to you, too. Once you recognize the problem, you can then work to fix it.

Fixing an out-of-character moment can be easy or difficult, depending on how major it is. For example, if a character reveals information that wouldn't be in their nature to reveal, you may have to tweak the story so the information is shown in a different way. This may mean rewriting a scene or half the book. (And if you don't know what they would do, ask them, or make a list of all the possibilities and choose the one that feels best.) 

Whatever you do, make sure your characters act consistently. Don't let your writer's bias creep into the story. It has weakened whole stories before, and your readers won't like it.

Offensive Parody

This is one I haven't talked about much, because I haven't discussed where you derive your characters' traits. Sometimes we base our characters off of other characters or even real-life people. (In my case, Nell is based off of the last crush I had in some ways, and Carmen is based off of Dashti from Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale.) 

There's nothing wrong with basing your character off of someone you know. As discussed in the first part of this book, writers get their ideas from everywhere. But if you do this, you need to remember to make your character different enough so that any relation to people is coincidental. And never, ever reveal confidential secrets that people have told you in your writing, in any way that the secret could be deduced to your real life. Both could cause drama, not to mention it's just inconsiderate.

For example, as I mentioned, Nell is based off of the last crush I had - I'll call him Jeff. However, there are a lot of things I changed about Nell that would make him unrecognizable to Jeff. For example, Nell has a curly mop of brown curls, is part Hispanic (or Southern human, as they say on Etheria), and wears glasses - Jeff has straight hair, is about one-eighth Native American, and doesn't. Nell also has a different name and interests, such as being a doctor, whereas Jeff wanted to be a pilot.

It's really very easy to fix this mistake, but it's harder to recognize since you're the only one who knows where your inspiration is derived from. To fix it, just change a few details about your character - they can be fairly minor, such as the ones I mentioned above. On the converse, you can use real names you've heard for your characters, but then you might end up changing more significant aspects of them, like their flaws or idiosyncrasies.

And with that, we conclude our guide on characterization! In the next part, I'll explore plot and conflict, and how you can create an interesting and compelling story. Hope to see you then.