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I reread a scene in my upcoming novel, Run Girl Run, and saw a glaring error. My character, Priscilla, stepped way out of line. Here’s an excerpt from the novel I
wrote in Tracie's point of view. Tracie is my teenage protagonist. I highlighted the part that needed a change in red.
She was a sneering witch, with
twisted lips and teeth clamped together.
“Well, well.” She barged into the
room as I side-stepped her. “I thought I made myself clear. You no longer live
here. You might have manipulated Cal, but Dick is off-limits.”
Oh, the off-limits speech again.
Please.
Dick stood in the doorway. “Tracie
didn’t manipulate me.”
“She sure did. And now she’s got you
defending her. How convenient.” Priscilla gave me a wicked grin. “Get out of my
house before I call the police. They’ll know what to do with a teenage runaway.”
Holy crap, I had plowed up the wrong
plot and unearthed the rot of jealousy. And it stunk.
“Can I please get my clothes out of
the dryer?”
“No, you can’t. Leave now.” She took
a swipe at a lamp and it flew across the room. The bulb shattered, glass skidding
over the wood floor.
“But I need my uniforms and shoes.”
“You should’ve thought of that
before sneaking in here.”
Dick took a step forward. “Priscilla,
be reasonable. Let the kid have her clothes.”
She moved toward me and grabbed my arm. “It’s not negotiable. Go before I lose my temper.” She squeezed hard and pulled me toward the door.
During the reread, I realized my mistake. In that moment, I wanted to smack myself upside the
head. Why did I write that? For Pete’s sake, Priscilla would have never behaved
that way. She would have never put her hands on Tracie. Priscilla didn’t believe
in attacking kids, though lamps weren’t off limits. This section begged for a
rewrite. So, that’s what I did. After I fixed the scene, Priscilla’s reaction made perfect sense.
Writers must keep a character’s behavior consistent to
make the story believable. If your protagonist is terrified of guns, he wouldn’t
have them stashed in every drawer of his house. Or if your character’s sister was
bitten by a poisonous snake, she’s not likely to keep one for a pet. A
character that frets about her appearance wouldn’t choose to go to the store
dressed in ratty sweat pants and a dirty t-shirt. If she did, you better have a
good reason for sending her out in public like that.
When reviewing your work, double check the dialogue
and the character's reaction. Does the dialogue fit the character you created? Are they acting like they have throughout the entire novel? If not,
why not? What makes a character tick? What happened in their past for them to
react or not respond like another character would? What recurring elements do
you want to clarify in the manuscript? Are the pieces glued together into a
coherent story? Do they entwine and swirl into a theme?
Some writers keep a character development file to
remind them of pertinent details. Character development and character consistency
aren’t the same thing, but they’re related. By reviewing a character’s
background, personality, beliefs, education, and motivation, you can better
decide how they should behave under certain conditions.
It can take several rereads before consistency mistakes
rear their ugly heads. For me, it’s after I’ve reread my work so many
times, I can quote entire passages. I notice these errors when I’m sick of the
story. And though I’m tired of looking at the manuscript, I know if I don’t review it one more time, I might miss something important. What motivates me the most?
The readers will yell foul. I want my audience to love my stories.
If you have a tip for keeping a character consistent, leave a comment below. Also, if you have a topic you'd like me to cover, feel free to leave a request. I'd love to hear from you.
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