What I have Observed about Stereotyping Characters

Creating characters can be fun. But believable characters are essential to the reader in any type of fiction. In the absence of  photographs, pictures or other types of visuals, believable characters are created by words - so, how we describe our characters, and what we tell about them, what they say, how they say it, and their actions, are important.

Unless we want the reader to imagine it all, our characters must have physical appearance, a voice, thoughts, and feelings. Of those, physical appearance is easy for the reader to imagine, but voice, thoughts and feelings, are not. What they look like, what they wear, how they speak, what they think, and how they feel, individual quirks, are all important factors when creating three-dimensional characters. When the character is introduced to the plot, s/he should take over and come alive. By allowing the character to speak and act, the author gives them birth and existence. When they have life, they have personality and motivation. When we achieve this, the character will often take over, and do and say things the writer never thought to write. When this happens,it is pure magic!

STEREOTYPING IS FROWNED UPON IN SOCIETY.

How we depict our characters is important to how our readers grasp who they are. Using stereotypes enables the reader to quickly grasp the personality type. But some readers do not agree with or appreciate the use of some stereotypes, because many are negative, unhelpful, destructive, and create a barrier, in real life. EG - Fat women are greedy; or, Homosexuals are promiscuous., or, Lawyers tell lies.

Stereotyping is an exaggeration of some small observation of some individuals in a sector in society. So should we use it in our writing at all? Some readers find any stereotyping unacceptable. Even positive ones, because they are too much of a generalisation, and can be misused or cause misinterpretation. This is true. But is it ok to use stereotypes sparingly?

Many well known authors are guilty of stereotyping to some extent - small or large. And I believe this is why. They do it in order to create a quick characterization. To depict in a flash to the reader, what kind of man, woman, or child the character might be. This enables the reader to predict the behaviour of that character, for good or bad, and go along with what the writer has initially set up as the personality-type. The reader might even expect to predict an outcome for a given scene or even the whole novel - now they know the personality type.

But not all readers want this, nor do they want to predict the end, or the end of every scene, or the outcome of a behaviour of a certain character. So authors must know their readership, their genre, and therefore the expectations of the readers. Readers who do not like stereotyping, will not pick up a genre to read because of this, or an author who regularly stereotypes the characters in his/her novels. And authors who want to sail close to the wind on this, should realise this. Especially cross genre authors who want to attract a wider readership than their own regular market.

In modern novels, stereotyping seems less offensive in genre and commercial fiction. But even then, stereotyping should be done with care and sensitivity to the reader, who may take it personally, or broadly disagree. So it depends on how heavy the author relies on it for characterisation.

Readers of Literary fiction are more critical of stereotyping. The slower pace of literary novels together with the general nature of the Literary readership means that they are more accepting of characters who are not of a particular personality-type, or have set and predictable traits and behaviours, because, these readers invest more time in reading that slow-paced novel. In other words, the reader prefers characters who are more realistic rather than superheroes, who nearly always behave perfectly, and always get the girl in the end. Literary readers are more willing to go along with personalities that are closer to real people, less predictable, maybe appearing erratic at times, whilst serious and completely sober at other times. The character whose flaws seem too great to overcome. The varying behaviours depending on circumstance ... or maybe not. But it on the whole, it must make some sort of realistic sense.

Deeper understanding is crucial in literary characters - e.g. a person's past might be relevant to volatile behaviour and will affect their actions in the present and future. Circumstance and underlying issues are as essential as is change in character behaviour, as the plot continues. Literary readers want to see some change occurring during the course of the plot, because they too want to justify any deviation from reasonable behaviour at the end. It's only human. But none of this is absolute. It is one of the differences between Commercial fiction characters, and Literary characters. In the end, Literary readers are more willing to put up with more uncertainty, and less predictability, while Commercial readers are just the opposite. In general.

This is why stereotyping works for more Commercial fiction than Literary. It is an easier way to slot in characters so that our readers discover quickly who they are, and what to expect, and then move straight through a fast plot. But even then, the author must be careful. Readers are not stupid, and have their own individual views. And many Commercial readers as well will not tolerate deep over-stereotyping. But Literary readers go even further, and are more discerning and far less tolerant. And as they plough through a novel painstakingly, they do not expect to have to predict for themselves, but expect more from the author's ability to stretch them on many levels of understanding, even though the plot might be light.

Personally, as a reader, I want the author to work hard at gaining my approval. And to be perfectly honest, why ever not? I will have invested time and money in that novel.  (Though not as much time as the author has!) But readers rarely realise this as they seek satisfaction from the novel they've just read.

How I am trying to fix and edit the first chapters of my novel

First of all, I have changed the title again. Now, The Last Year of Childhood. 

I am also rewriting the early chapters of the novel. Maybe the first 6 or 8 chapters. So far, I have got to Chapter 3. I think on balance it is much improved.

First chapters in a first draft, prove difficult to me. Often it is where a lot of stuff get dumped together, and cause it to be lacking in a proper structure...although at the time of writing, it seemed good. The first chapters are where I try to introduce the important characters, and where the minor ones creep in and take over where they shouldn't. Also, it is where I try to give them personality, intention, and a position in the plot. It is where I am also setting up the plot ...maybe somewhat haphazardly, and where, more often than not, the background always seems an important aspect to include in order to help the reader understand where I'm coming from, and the world of the characters. Setting too, takes some space in these chapters, and therefore some description...maybe too much description. As character-voice helps make each character individual and unique, dialogue is important very early on.

But none of it is good enough in the first draft, so hence the rewrite. 

I have been restructuring, and making sure that my Main Character is not overshadowed by minor ones. That the Point of View is mainly from her perspective so as not to confuse the reader with head hopping. This is considerably easier, as in this rewrite, I am not introducing too much pertaining to the other secondary characters who are also important in the plot. They will have their turn and be introduced gradually. Also, I am leaving the backstory until well after the first 3 chapters, so as not to clog up the flow of the MC's story with flashbacks or backstory.


I have decided to post a paragraph that appears in my new Chapter 3. The novel is set between 1917-18, in a village in Trinidad.


Freedom to go to school again was probably going to be the most significant memory in her life, and the one she would speak of with nostalgia. Latchmin realised that day, that opportunities like that didn't come more than once in a lifetime. If she didn't grasp it fully, it would slip away like water over a rock, impossible to return after it was gone. How could it be possible to return to school once you've left school to work or to marry? It didn't need much more thinking. To her the answer was now easy. Though for many others, they never stopped to think about it long enough, but drift towards the next part of life like a stream  flowing into the hollows of a well worn riverbed. 

That first morning back at school, Mr Clifford acknowledged her with a verbal welcome, a nod as she went past, and a smile. Latchmin followed her line into her class and sat down. When the teacher began, she savoured every moment of classwork, like the first real meal she had ravenously devoured after recovering from typhoid. 

Easy Tasty Herby Roast Potatoes

EASY TASTY HERBY ROAST POTATOES  (4 people)

4 large or 6 medium potatoes - wash and peel
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 large onion - slice lengthways in half, then slice downwards in long slithers
half tsp onion salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

- Heat oven to 200C
- Cut potatoes across and lengthways, and keep in large chunks (about 1 inch x 1 and a half inches)
- Put potatoes in baking tray
- Add olive oil
- Chop rosemary finely, but unevenly, leaving some pieces quite large
- Add chopped rosemary to potatoes
- Add onion slithers
- Add rest of ingredients
- Mix thoroughly with hands
- Put in oven and cook for about half hour, turning potatoes after 15 mins to even the browning.
- Stick in a sharp knife to make sure they are cooked.

** Please Note, these are very morish. Do a few more potatoes than you would normally do. They're also lovely when eaten at room temperature or cold.

Marilyn's Very Tasty Quick Paprika Chicken Wedges

Serves 4

3 large chicken breasts (boneless)
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or olive)
half teaspoon onion salt
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon soy sauce

- Switch on oven to 180 C.
- Wash and cut chicken into wedges no thicker than half inch at the thickest point.
- Put it into a heavy baking tray
- Add all the other ingredients
- Using hands, mix thoroughly till all pieces are coated
- Leave to stand for 20 minutes, if you have time
- When oven is heated, cook in the middle shelf of oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked but pieces are still soft.

(To check if cooked - Stick a sharp knife into the thickest part of a few of the pieces. If you have no resistance, and no liquid runs out, it is cooked.)

COMPETING CHARACTERS

Having reread the whole novel straight through, some of the errors shout out at me.

One of those errors, is having the secondary character competing with the main character, with the threat of taking over the plot.

Latchmin, the Main Character is 11, and too obedient. She is coming across as good, but not interesting. The secondary character, Sumati, 14, is stronger, wild, and wilful, and inevitably, her plot line is more interesting.

I have decided to change the plots slightly, and now put the two girls, Latchmin and Sumati parallel to each other. Basically, they both have the same problem, but they each deal with it differently. I am bringing them closer in age too, to even things up- maybe 12 and 14.

Here are some of their differences:-
Latchmin comes from a wealthy home. Sumati comes from a poorer home.
Latchmin has educational goals. Sumati has matters of the heart forefront in her mind.
Latchmin does as she is told. Sumati does what she wants to do, disregarding what she should do.
Lathcmin appears weak. Sumati is strong without a doubt.
Latchmin is reactive. Sumati is proactive.

I have a problem... Latchmin is in danger of being overshadowed by Sumati in the book. That must not happen.

Therefore, I am rewriting Latchmin so that the reader sees more of her Point of View, so as to identify more with her - her fears, her thoughts and her weaknesses. She is afraid that her parents will force her into early marriage. Her main weakness, is that she is too obedient, but that also means that she does the right thing. She also has a strong view of right and wrong.

In the end, Latchmin's strengths must be greater than her weaknesses.

But in the beginning, Latchmin must draw in the reader with her plight - she has a grave illness - a killer.

Cheap, Healthy, Chicken Soup

How to Make Cheap, Tasty, Chicken Soup for 2/3 people

The cheapest way to use chicken is to buy a whole one, dissect it into legs, thighs, wings, breasts and use in another dish. What you are left with is the carcass - the back and breast bones, which still has a lot of meat on it. Don't throw it away. This is not only good for making chicken stock, but for making Chicken Soup.

Ingredients
. 1 Chicken Carcass
. 3 litres water, approx
. 1 medium onion, chopped very finely
. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
. 2 medium potatoes, chopped in small cubes
. 1 stock cube - chicken or vegetable
. large handful coriander or parsley
. 1 handful red lentils
. 1tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
. (sprinkling of tumeric - optional)

Method
1. Place chicken carcass in a large pan three quarter filled with water, and bring to the boil. Cover and lower heat, and simmer for 1-2 hours until the meat is falling off the bones.

2. Remove chicken pieces and place on a plate or board to cool.

3. When half cooled, use a knife and fork, or fingers, to remove the meat carefully from the bones. Make sure you remove ALL bones, especially very small bones. Place the meat in a separate bowl.

4. Strain the chicken water into another large saucepan or bowl,  using a very fine strainer, or muslin.

5. Wash the original saucepan ready to reuse.

6. Heat saucepan, with one table spoon olive oil

7. Add onions and potatoes, and cook till soft but not brown.

8. Add the strained chicken water.

9. Add garlic, stock cube, and half the coriander, and boil on medium heat and bring to boil.

10. Add the red lentils, and boil for about half hour, until the potatoes are very soft.

11. Remove from heat and using a potato masher, mash if required

12. Replace on heat, and add rest of herbs, (salt and pepper if liked, but it is not necessary). Add more water if needed, and boil for another few minutes.

Update on my Self Editing - THE DON'T TOUCH METHOD

HANDS OFF! LET IT SIT...

It is easy to get started on the Editing. Reading through, I was bound to find errors of all sorts - punctuation, grammar, spelling, typos, sentence construction, and other ....plot inconsistencies, etc. This bogged me down, and the process was becoming such a headache, that it became slow to the point where I really didn't want to continue with it.

I DECIDED TO TRY SOMETHING ELSE....THE DON'T TOUCH METHOD

It is not easy to keep reading and trying to overlook these errors as they meet the eye. It feels like sand blowing into my face and me still walking in a sand storm with my eyes open wide, as each spelling mistake or missing word hits me.

BUT!!! I have taken the advice of a clever author, Nell Dixon, who gave a talk at the Romantic Novelists's Conference this July. This was her advice.

LET IT SIT.

1. Don't rush. Leave it for as long as possible. Distance gives clarity.

2. Read through but don't touch.* Very Important!!

     a. Make a note of bits you want to change.

      b. Change the font when editing. It helps to make you see it differently.

       c. Transfer to Kindle

3. Take out. Add in ...in the next read.

4. Polish - another read

5. Work backwards for final edit. Yes, read your work backwards to comb through for errors. 

6. Pay attention to the Last Chapter. First chapters are usually polished to death, but not enough attention is paid to the last chapter. That sells it to the publisher. 

Well, I am currently doing No. 2 - reading through The Jeweller's Daughter, making notes in a separate note book on each chapter on changes to be made. I'm using different colours - black or blue to indicate the highlights of the chapter, green for a really good bit, red for what needs changing.

It is working, because I am getting an overall view of the whole plot as the reader would read it. The temptation is there to make small edits, but I am fairly strict with myself. 

I am surprised and pleased though, how well some chapters are reading already - pacey, emotional and full of tension. 

However, I do have a biggie to fix! I believe that my Main Character, Latchmin is not as likeable and strong as her friend, Sumati, the wild one, who seems to be taking over with her subplot. Sumati is getting a lot of action! This needs sorting. Could be a big change, or increase Latchmin's involvement in the action. 

Reading without editing, means that I am reading it faster, so inconsistencies in the plot are more noticeable. 

I am really pleased I took this advice. Thanks Nell Dixon, I think it is working for me, so far.

Editing is a long, slow, and confusing process, and this makes the need for areas for structural changes much clearer.