How To Effectively Test Your Characters

by Stephanie Morrill

Stephanie writes young adult contemporary novels and is the creator of GoTeenWriters.com. Her novels include The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series (Revell) and the Ellie Sweet books (Playlist). You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and check out samples of her work on her author website including the free novella, Throwing Stones.

Last Monday I talked (more extensively than I intended to) about taking a story idea and turning it into a list of key scenes. It's the method I've used for the last few novels I've written and it's worked really well for me. I was a bit skeptical at first—thinking it might feel a bit too restrictive to my pantser heart—but I love it.

So last week, I made a very long list of the types of scenes that I brainstorm, along with brief descriptions. Some of them are more familiar to us than others, and I wanted to touch on the ones that I was unfamiliar with until I started using scene lists for creating stories:

Tests and Armor

During my studies this year, one of my favorite things that I learned was about the idea of establishing what your character brings into their journey that they believe will aid their victory. Another way to phrase this is, "What is it that your character takes from their home world or their old life that they believe will help them achieve their goal?"

It could be something physical. Katniss is good with a bow and arrow. She knows how to hunt. Those are tools or she takes with her into the arena. They make her feel like she could survive this.

Or perhaps the tool isn't physical. In Heist Society, Katarina Bishop believes she can get away with robbing a famous museum because she comes from a family of thieves. Her family heritage is something that aids her belief.

In the book I'm working on now (first draft stage) I used an ideal as a tool. My main character believes she'll achieve her goal because she was mistreated in the opening conflict. She believes her innocence will ensure her victory.

I like to think of these tools as armor because the way characters use them to deflect conflict. Armor has become one of my favorite things to brainstorm because as you figure them out, scenes of the story unfold in your imagination. You're not just brainstorming the character's armor, you're brainstorming what will strip it away. When I realized my character believed herself innocent, I immediately started brainstorming a scene in which she discovered her own guilt in the conflict.

Going back to The Hunger Games example, while hunting and archery skills certainly help Katniss during the games, they aren't what save her in the end. She strips herself of the bow and arrow when she realizes she can't live with herself if she kills Peeta. She'll have to find another way to defeat the enemy during the final battle.

Or in Heist Society, yes, Katarina still has her family heritage. But she'll have to use her own smarts to solve this one because her father and uncle are not able to help.

Fun, right?

Now for the other scene that was a bit too complex to explain in my last blog post:

Atonement with the father

As I mentioned last week, this is by no means a mandatory scene, nor does it need to be taken as literally as its title indicates. This is just a type of scene to consider when you're brainstorming.

Your character likely entered the story with scars from another character. Typically for this scene we're talking about a parent or a guardian of some type. 

I unknowingly did this in The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet. (It's so nice when I'm ignorant but get something right anyway.) So nice and so rare.In the beginning of the book, Ellie mentions that her real name is Gabrielle, but that when she was born her mother didn't think she "looked right" and so they called her Ellie instead. Because of this, Ellie believes she's been a disappointment since she was born. She actually hates the nickname of Ellie because to her it feels like a reminder that she has never measured up.

In the last quarter of the book, Ellie finally gets the courage to insist that she be called Gabrielle even if "she doesn't look right." Her mother is shocked by Ellie's fervor and explains that no seven-pound, bald baby is going to look like a Gabrielle. That they intended to call her Gabrielle when she got older, but the nickname had stuck. This realization corrects the lie Ellie has believe, bonds her to her mother, and builds courage in her to be the girl she wants to be.

And that's what the "Atonement with the Father" scene is about. Healing a wound and strengthening your character for upcoming battles. 

Next Monday, I'll talk about brainstorming the various parts of the story and then I'll be sending out the Go Teen Writers newsletter (which is our free, monthly newsletter) with a printable that you can try out of your own stories.

Does your manuscript have these types of scenes built in? Does your character have armor that you strip away? Do they have an "atonement with the father" type moment?