J. Scott Savage on creating a Character Bible

At the LDS Storymaker's Conference I was able to attend a class taught by J. Scott Savage, author of the Far World series, on how to Create and Maintain a Character Bible. I was so excited about taking this class as I feel that I am relatively week in the area of fully and completely developing my characters.

I know that in the first book in the Nedaran Prophecy series that I'm writing I have some well done characters and others who need added help. For example: where by my elemental character Niall is well done and interesting, my twins (Kael and Anaya) could use some help to be more developed and well-rounded. So I sat eagerly in the front row of class - pen and paper on the ready - to listen to guidance from Mr. Savage on how I can make weak things strong through utilization of a character bible. Here is what I learned:

What is a character bible?
A character bible is a set of notes about each character that flushes out their past, the desires, their hopes that helped to make them feel real. Everybody has a history. Even if you never utilize all this information in the story, by knowing all if it you know your character, you know why they act the way they do, and you can make them stand out more in your story (make them more real).

Why a character bible?
- A lot of authors don't come to care about the characters until 3/4 the way through writing the story. Then when re-reading what they wrote they identify holes in the story, or that a character acted when way when they know that character would have done something totally different.
- If you start by identifying your characters, then you can identify how they will react throughout the story.
- First impressions of a character are vital.
- What are the motives? Helps you to know what makes the character happy/sad and what is the fundamental reason they act the way they do.
- We need to understand their past to understand their actions.
- What is their reputation
- Allows you to play around with the characters. You can take a stereotype and be willing to reverse it and give the reader the opposite image of the stereotype they expect.

Characters
- You must make the reader care about the characters as they are w hat will carry your story. (For an example of character driven stories look at Stephanie Meyer.)

Two reasons for having a Character Bible
- Create powerful meaningful character
- Keep track of your characters through the story


Types of Story (Orson Scott Card's MICE quotient)
- Milieu - Place Story (i.e. Lord of the Rings)
- Idea - Plot Heavy Story (i.e. Agatha Christie, books with a puzzle to solve)
- Character - Romance/Thriller Story (i.e. books where the character is the main point of the story)
- Event - Fantasy/Sci-fi (i.e. Something is wrong or out of order in the universe and it needs to be fixed)

Things to keep in mind when creating a character bible:
- Not every character needs the same level of detail as every other. Don't setup walk-on characters to be more than walkons or you will disappoint the reader. So don't spend too much time over describing this characters.
- Implied History - using one sentence to imply a lot about the characters past. Much better than doing an information dump which can bog down a story and provide a lot of unnecessary information.

Different Levels of Characters
- Protagonist - Know a lot about protagonist even if you don't know a lot. This is where you know everything about a character even though you might never tell the reader.
- Antagonist - Antagonist tells less than the protagonist, but put yourself in that role and see why he does what he does. Try to understand his reasoning as best you can.
- Sidekick - For the sidekick you need to know what role they are to play in the story. For example in the Harry Potter books Hermione plays the information source and Ron plays the comic relief and the reliant companion.
- Background - Background characters (i.e. Colin Creevey) has details and may recur in later stories, but you don't need the same level of knowledge or description as any of the about characters. You need just enough information about these characters to make them feel reel.
- Walk-on - People like the waiter in a restaurant that brings the main characters food. Be careful about over describing. Keep simple.

Attributes vs. Gimmicks
Examples: eats a lot, sings, twirls his rings, certain expressions...
- Turn a gimmick into an attribute. (i.e. habit - twirling a ring, attribute - twisting the ring is a reminder of having failed to save a loved one)

Who are you going to root for?
- We like what is like us or have the same moral code.
- They must have attributes we can root for.
- Don't focus on physical characteristics so much so that the reader can imagine what they are like. With less physical description the reader can more readily insert themselves into the character's role.
- Strong jaw/firm handshake gives image of good guy/positive character.
- Give clues not physical characteristics.
- Who's the victim, savior, sacrifice.
- The main character needs a noble goal (motive & actions)
- The common man trying to do something uncommon.
- The superman who discovers imperfections.

How is your character going to grow?
Note: Make sure to update the bible as your characters grow in order to keep things consistent.
- You get a wish granted, but it costs something or turns out not to have been a good thing.

Last Thoughts
- Keep your character bible open as you write and continually reference it. Make sure to note every time your character makes a decision and why he made it and how it changed him.
- You have to know "why" your character changed. You need to know why they do what they do at all times.
- Allows you to create and track information.
- Evaluate your characters. Your main character can only be acted upon so many times before they have to act themselves.

I was so excited by the information that J. Scott Savage provided in his class that I know have poster board pasted on the back of my front door where I am keeping track of my characters and what happened in their lives to make them who they are by the time my story starts. I am so excited at how this will help further develop my characters and I hope this information helps you. Keep up the good work.