The 5 Ps of Writing: Person

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing five special episodes of The Novelry on Writing to celebrate our brand new prize, The Next Big Story. These bonus episodes will help you write a standout entry, delving into the five elements that make the story great. They are:

1. Person
2. Problem
3. Place
4. Plot
5. Prose

We hope you can enjoy these episodes on your lunch break, at work, while you are cooking in the evening, or wherever you can find the time—because story ideas can come to you anytime and any place.

For The Next Big Story, we are offering a grand prize of $100,000 for just three pages of writing. Yes, just three pages of the beginning of a novel. That’s all! So, what should those pages include? Let’s find out more in this transcript from the first of the special podcast episodes from The Novelry on Writing, where writing coaches Andrea Stewart and David Solomons delve into the secrets of Person...

What is a person, aka, a character?

Andrea Stewart: Hi, my name’s Andrea Stewart. I work as a writing coach at The Novelry. I coach epic fantasy, fantasy, and science fiction. I’m the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Drowning Empire trilogy and The Gods Below.

David Solomons: Hi, my name is David Solomons. I’m also a writing coach at The Novelry. I coach children’s fiction and I’m the author of the Waterstones Book Prize-winning My Brother is a Superhero series, among a host of other children’s novels. What are we doing today, Andrea?

AS: We are talking about person today, aka, a character. So, I think the first thing that we should probably talk about is: what is a person or a character?

DS: There’s more to a person, a character, than just a description of hair and eyes and a bunch of bolted-on traits.

AS: Person does imply a certain amount of depth, I think.

DS: And why do characters matter so much in fiction? Readers don’t fall in love with clever plot mechanics, I don’t think. I mean, I love a twist, don’t get me wrong! I love to be surprised, but readers fall in love with characters, right, Andrea?

AS: They do. For somebody like me, who writes science fiction and fantasy, yes, people love the big, interesting world concepts—but if you don’t have a character to latch onto to understand these things through, I find that it’s very difficult to grasp those things on their own.

That’s who we become attached to. That’s who we understand the world and the story through. If you don’t have a character that you feel like you can understand, then it’s really hard to understand the story itself.

Bringing a person to life

DS: What about bringing a character to life right from the start? We’re saying there are traits and there’s description, but the other big thing is the voice of a character. So, I wrote this kids’ book—My Brother is a Superhero—and my entire career, I maintain it starts from a single line, which is also the title: ‘My brother is a superhero, and I could have been one too, except I needed to go for a wee’ (or in the American version, ‘a pee’).

As silly as that sounds, it’s the first person and it told you everything you needed to know—at least, initially—about this character. It was hooky and grabby, and it helped me sell a lot of copies.

So, that’s a very broad way of talking about voice.

AS: Sometimes what happens is that people get caught in this authorial voice where they are describing the world and the situation in a very flat way, the way that they just see it. For voice to come through, the character really has to give their opinions about what they are seeing and how they are experiencing things.

DS: Yeah. Take a stand and show us how they feel about their world and their position in it. One of the big missteps I see is expositional dumps, backstory appearing too early. We’re talking about the beginning of your story, meeting your main character very early on, and there’s a temptation to go: but let’s talk about how I was born, and to go way back and find out what were the things, the triggers that got to where this character is today.

And the short answer is: that’s to be avoided.

AS: Yeah. I think a lot of writers, especially starting out—and I did this too, right? I’m like: okay, this is where they were born, this is how they grew up... And it’s kind of this defensive reaction, almost. You want your reader to really understand your character. You want them to understand the world, so you’re just dumping all this information. And I think what a lot of beginning writers don’t understand is that it’s completely fine for your reader to be a little bit confused, because there are two sides to confusion, right?

There’s frustration and there’s intrigue, and you want to really intrigue your reader. And sometimes, if you just drop these little details about your character and who they are instead of just dumping it all in the beginning, then that leads to your reader being intrigued and wanting to read further. I feel like people do themselves a disservice a lot of the time when they info-dump.

DS: Yeah, it’s a really good point. I write for children, and I think a lot of authors writing for children feel like: oh, I need to explain everything, you know? And actually, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The kids will pick up on stuff, and they will note a phrase. We’re talking about a world of Easter eggs. They’re so used to looking for the little buried treasure! You can get away with saying very little and still absolutely have them follow the plot and be invested in the character from early on.

You want your reader to really understand your character. You want them to understand the world, so you’re just dumping all this information. And I think what a lot of beginning writers don’t understand is that it’s completely fine for your reader to be a little bit confused, because there are two sides to confusion, right? There’s frustration and there’s intrigue, and you want to really intrigue your reader. And sometimes, if you just drop these little details about your character and who they are instead of just dumping it all in the beginning, then that leads to your reader being intrigued and wanting to read further.
—Andrea Stewart

Do readers have to like this person?

DS: Speaking of investment, what about likability? This has become a thing, I would say, in recent years. The note that one often gets from an editor—if one is lucky enough to have an editor—is: could we make her a bit more likable?

AS: That’s so funny, because I feel like there’s been a little bit of backlash against that lately. I don’t think a character necessarily needs to be likable, but I do think they need to be interesting. Especially in adult fiction, they do not have to be likable.

You need to start out right away with them having something that they want and something that’s stopping them from getting what they want. That’s kind of the magic combo right there that gets you invested in a character, because we can all relate to that. We all have things we want that we’re not getting for one reason or another. And then that makes you want to read on too, because then you’re like: well, are they going to get what they want?

What does this person want?

DS: Pause, go back to what Andrea just said. Because that’s it. Those are the magic words, you know? What do they want, and what’s standing in their way? And if you can write a book where those questions are answered almost on every page, or at least in every chapter? My goodness, you’re going to have a really compelling work. It sounds basic, but it’s so hard to do.

AS: It is so hard.

DS: And you can’t have the same thing happening. You can’t have:

• This is what she wants...
• This is in the way...
• She gets over it...
• She does the same thing at the same level for the whole book.

It’s about growth, right? This is the thing.

AS: Right, about character arc.

Those are the magic words, you know? What do they want, and what’s standing in their way? And if you can write a book where those questions are answered almost on every page, or at least in every chapter? My goodness, you’re going to have a really compelling work.
—David Solomons

The initial trajectory

DS: So, the character arc. You want your character to be in one place at the beginning—emotionally, maybe physically—and by the end of the story, they have gone on this arc, this journey, and been changed by the novel, by the story.

I hate reducing it to that, but I guess it can be, right?

AS: Yeah. So, with character arc, I think especially when you’re looking at those first three pages, you have to make sure that with your character, yes, they want something; yes, there’s something stopping them from getting what they want; but also, they are starting out with some kind of flaw or misconception about themselves or the world around them. That’s something that’s going to be resolved by the end of the book. You don’t have to resolve it in the first three pages (preferably do not!), but you do want to keep that in mind.

DS: Yeah, you’re right. Let’s not call it ‘arc’ then. Let’s call it—it’s that initial trajectory. It’s a launch trajectory, isn’t it? It’s about getting that sense of who they are and what they want and what’s in the way very early on. Then you will hook your reader and they will be invested in the story.

How to make this person memorable

DS: How do you bring a character to life in those first three pages? We’ve got to see them make a choice. Drop them into a moment where we see them in action, and that tells us so much about who they are, right from the beginning.

AS: We talk a lot about agency, and I feel like sometimes people think that agency means they have to be a real go-getter and in charge of the world, you know? But I really think agency is just about having the ability to make choices and just seeing what your character does.

What do you think, as far as what makes a character memorable to you? If you are just reading three pages?

DS: I like playing with the tropes and the stereotypes, which can be dangerous, because I’m not proposing that you write your character as a cliché, but if you’re going to do that, then subvert it—and subvert it very early on.

There’s something familiar that can draw a reader in, thinking: oh yeah, I know who this character is. I know how she’s going to react. And then she does something. She makes the choice that you didn’t see coming. And I think that’s really refreshing and exciting and also sets the tone for the rest of the book.

AS: I often think of this as: if you are meeting that character right away, it’s almost like you’re at a business conference and everybody’s handing you a business card. What is your first impression? It’s not until you talk to that person for longer that you start to understand why they are this way, why they’re dressing this way, or why they’ve behaved this way. If somebody’s very loud and boisterous, you have to ask yourself: what’s behind that? This is the first impression that you’re getting, but did they grow up in a large family where they feel like that’s the only way they could be heard? This is when you start to introduce the backstory—after you get that first impression.

DS: And they don’t have to be right. We were talking about likability, but they can also make terrible mistakes. In fact, it’s often more interesting if, right at the start, they do something egregious and you’re reading it with your head in your hands! They don’t have to be heroic, or correct, or just perfect. In fact, far from it. That’s a classic, isn’t it? To have a flawed character and to see how that flaw works on them through the story, and how they get past it, or how, if it’s a tragedy, how they can’t get past it and how it brings them down ultimately.

David Solomons: How do you bring a character to life in those first three pages? We’ve got to see them make a choice. Drop them into a moment where we see them in action, and that tells us so much about who they are, right from the beginning.

Andrea Stewart: We talk a lot about agency, and I feel like sometimes people think that agency means they have to be a real go-getter and in charge of the world, you know? But I really think agency is just about having the ability to make choices and just seeing what your character does.

Two writing prompts for person

DS: So, we’ve been talking about person, about the character, about meeting him or her in the first few pages. And I want to leave you with a writing prompt that will hopefully help you get started with your own character:

I want you to pick a character you love, either one you’ve read or one you’ve written, and ask:

• What do they want?
• What are they afraid of?
• What’s the one thing they’d never admit?

And write a short scene where they act in a way that reveals all of those.

AS: And I’ll go ahead and leave you with a prompt as well, and this is helpful in finding your character’s voice.

I want you to find a picture online that looks like one of the settings that you have in your story, and to pick two characters from your story and have each of them describe that setting—because they each should be describing it in very different ways.

DS: Thank you for joining us on this podcast about ‘person.’ I wish you good luck in your own writing.

AS: Best of luck and happy writing!

Don’t forget to enter The Next Big Story

We want you to bring your wildest dreams to life by entering our prize competition to find The Next Big Story.

All you need to do is submit the first three pages (no more than 1,500 words) of a work of fiction for an entry fee of $15. Eight shortlisted entries—chosen by our judging panel, which includes Tayari Jones, Emma Roberts, Julia Quinn, and Yann Martel—will win the full support of The Novelry with access to The Finished Novel Course. Plus, one winner will take home a life-changing $100,000 (£75,000 for U.K. entrants)! Find out more at the prize page. Entries close on July 31!

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Closing words

[Louise Dean] Thank you for joining us today. We are so pleased to have you along for the writing journey, and we hope to see you on another episode of The Novelry on Writing. From first draft to finished manuscript, at The Novelry you’ll enjoy one-to-one coaching from bestselling authors, live writing classes with award-winning authors and literary agents, and you’ll work with a publishing editor all the way for submission to literary agents toward a publishing deal.

All writers learn from other writers, even the greats. Write your novel in good company. Join us at The Novelry.

We’ll show you how to start, coax your story into shape, and cheer you on to type The End.

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