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Who is the main character of "Aladdin"?

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[quote="Janette Morgan"]Well, see, to my way of thinking, "average" and "ordinary" are not mutually inclusive.  It's hard to be "ordinary" and "interesting" -- in fact, the words by nature contradict -- but "average" and "interesting" can be made to work.

The most important thing to remember where character creation is concerned is a simple mantra, "Story Is King".  Yep, story plays a lot into your character.  It might be said that the characters and story have a symbiotic relationship, and when done properly the story will unfold in such a way that any other person would not have been able to do it.  Not in terms of abilities, means or station, but by your character's personality, philosophy and idiosyncracies.

For example, two stories I'm working on at the moment have quite different stories, but very similar lead roles.

Colin (surname unknown) is a blonde teenage boy who enjoys the skateboard and cannot stand Shakespeare.  One particularily hot day, he discovers that there is absolutely nothing for him to do, so he caves to the nagging of his parents and does an online job-search.  Shortly after that, he falls asleep and, via the high-tech internet system, accidentally swaps his brain with the neural programming of a robot halfway across the planet.

Crane McAlpin is a blonde teenage boy with a fondness for guitar and a general disliking of the ocean.  While on vacation on a Caribbean island, he boredly wanders away from a large celebration and is kidnapped by pirates.

On the surface, these two characters (indeed, roles) seem fairly interchangeable, but during the actual writing process Colin and Crane have developed into very different characters, and in fact as I wrote their personalities and opinions into the story I began to realize that one of them wouldn't have allowed himself to fall into the other's situation.

So how do you develop a character like that?

I mentioned earlier that Story is King, but the funny thing about it is that Character is King, too.  It's a symbiotic relationship.  While you're advancing the plot, you need to include your character's opinion on the situation and the world at large.  This can be reflected in your character's thoughts, speech, actions and even your writing style.  (I recommend reading some Dave Barry as an example of how someone can view things.)  In fact, if the story begins to get slow it can often help to switch focus.  "Okay, I'm bored," said Plot.  "Character, it's your turn."  And while doing this, your character starts - gasp - developing.  And, of course, character development is what takes you from "blah" to "interesting".

The reason it's important for your character to fit the plot is for your character consistency.  For example, I've been trying to write a story in which I, just as I am, find a device that opens a portal to another world, and follow that portal there.  The entire story's been stalled for some time simply because I am much too big of a coward to go through a portal of unknown origin of my own volition.

By the way, if you have an idea of what you want your character to be, do yourself a favor and don't write a character sheet.  Don't try to describe your character's personality, likes, dislikes, skills, etc. in minute detail before you start.  As your character moves through the story, it will be essential at certain points to reveal certain things, and then you make sure that you only include what you need to.

So, in essence, Plot and Character are two entities which, when created and used in tandem, will serve to keep each other interesting as long as you don't get actual writer's block.  Don't worry too hard, and write what you feel.  Editing is your friend; once your character develops further, you may wish to go back and alter or even rewrite his or her role.  This is probably a more in-depth lecture than you were really after, but hopefully it was helpful somehow.[/quote]

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