Big Question, Part 7

 PICKING THE MAIN CHARACTERS

As you've seen from the stories I've talked about, your main character must face the Big Question in their own life.  

The Big Question often requires a certain strength or weakness in personality for the main character.  

In TIME AFTER TIME, Justin is a "see the big picture" guy so obsessed with his past that he can't see what's right in front of him.

Rick in CASABLANCA protects himself from a broken heart by pretending cynicism and belief in nothing.  He must first discover the truth of the past and reaffirm his love for Ilsa, then must choose between her love and doing the right thing for her and the fight against the Nazis.  

In AVATAR, Jake Sully is a Marine who believes in what they do and is part of something bigger, and he's lost that because he's lost the use of his legs.  To regain his legs and his life as a Marine, he is willing to spy on and betray the scientists and the Na'vi.  He makes the selfish choice but changes because of his experiences in the movie.

Each has a weakness he must face and correct to achieve happiness and to answer his own BQ.

DECIDING ON THE OTHER CHARACTERS

Once you have your main character/characters, you need to decide on other characters who will reflect elements of your Big Question.

In STAR-CROSSED with its “what do you do when your morality conflicts with an immoral government?” Big Question, I had to create characters to reflect the elements of my question.

One of the characters would represent the power and brutality of the immoral government.  She would be an unstoppable and relentless enemy throughout the novel.  Cadaran, the head of the planet's internal security, was born.

Since Tristan was paired with Mara who would protect him from the harem's evils, I needed an outsider trapped in this horrific system so the reader would see what Tristan is escaping.  

I gave Tristan a best friend, Kellen, who would be Tristan's foil as well as the victim in his stead.  Because Cadaran is the true villain of the piece, poor Kellen becomes her bed slave to be raped and brutalized.

[A foil is a character whose differences highlight a central character.  For example, in HAMLET, rash, impulsive Laertes is deliberate Hamlet's foil.]

Around these central characters, I added important minor characters who would move the plot forward and also reflect my theme as well as being representative of Arden's society.  

Lt. Hallie, Cadaran's aide, is a decent person who admires and loves Cadaran as a great leader, and she sees nothing wrong with the lottery or the harem although she's not blind to the minor power abuses of men as bribes.  

Then Hallie meets Cadaran's bed slave, Kellen, and instead of disliking him as she usually dislikes men, she develops a friendship with him.  Gradually, her eyes are opened to the brutality and evil, but she clings to her duty as an officer with the possibility that she may switch sides if she can find the courage to do so.  

Hallie is Mara's foil because she faces the same moral dilemma that Mara faces, but she keeps failing because she lacks the moral courage that Mara has.

Mara's housekeeper and unofficial grandmother, Novia, hates men as many in this society do and wants to protect Mara against dangerous Tristan.  She will be a spy in their midst unless she can change her views.

Patta, Mara's best friend, is there to represent the standard social opinions about men.  

For an outsider coming in to change the dynamics of the novel and give Tristan a means to escape, I created Dorian, Tristan's close friend and possible lover, who discovers the truth about Arden's slavery, but is unable to accept that anyone from this evil place is on their side. She views Mara as an enemy and will do anything to destroy her.

Notice all the characters, possible conflicts, and plot possibilities I have here just from playing with different aspects of my central question.  

Working with your premise and the three levels of the story is play time for your novel.  Jot things down as you think of them.  Figure out character relationships.  Play with elements of the question.

You also have to keep in mind the audience you are writing for, and the kind of story you are writing.  

Remember that none of this is written in stone at this point.

Now you must decide on your own main characters' strengths and weaknesses.  

Do Worksheet Two