Building Layers

Building Characters in Layers

The same way actors build characters in layers, writers can ramp

up the heat and make their characters sparkle like gold

in the depth of the earth. Depth, hmm.

Just what we want for our characters.

Try this little exercise:
He was cold.

(Too often a novice writer’s way of “telling” us)

Now, show us how cold he was:
He shivered, wishing the clothes he wore covered his body better.

Thinking back, he remembered the hot chocolate

his mom had made. Mmm. That would taste good

right about now.

Now, show us how cold he was and

let us discover something about him:
He shivered, wishing the clothes he wore covered his body better.

He sure could go for some of his mom’s hot chocolate right

about now, but he’d never taste it again.

Might never see her again.

He sneezed, the spray turning into miniscule ice crystals

before they hit his lap. “Hey, you got any blankets?”

Rubbing his hands to increase the circulation, he waited for them

to pass by the last time. Footsteps. A small crease of light.

No blanket. Just the dark. He wrapped his arms as tightly

across his chest as he could and

wished he’d stayed closer to Sarge.

Can you feel the cold?
What did this scene tell you about him? Do you know
where this character is? Who this character is?
The first line “told” us this man is cold. Period.

Not a lot to go on.
The second gave us a bit more info. He’s so cold, he wishes

he could have some of his mom’s hot cocoa to warm him up.
The third, a much deeper layer, tells us he’s cold,

wishes he had hot cocoa

to warm up, but that somehow, he can’t change his circumstances

because of something he did or didn’t do. It gives us a

much deeper look into who he is.
Does your writing just “tell” the reader
your character’s cold, or do you
hint to them what’s behind the cold?
Who do you think our character is?

Try some layers to add depth to your gold, the kind
that sparkles in the walls of the mine (mind).