The worst possible form of writing advice you can find on the web involves doing something other than writing to get better at writing. It's a seducing thought because it involves that not finding yourself alone with a blank sheet, that doing something passive like watching television or running errands will magically transform you into Stephen King. Truth to be told, your quality as an author can only be quantified by the number of hours you've spend facing the page and the number of emails you've read from people you trust, who poke holes through your stories to make them better. If you don't do those two things, you're probably a shitty writer or a non-writer.
But you know what? I'm about to write one of these writing advice articles I really don't like. Why would I do that? Because I've been exposed to something really simple that's also really well done. I've watched almost an entire season of the HBO series IN TREATMENT and I've learned a thing or two about writing great characters. Characterization has always been my strength, but this series proposes a method to writing several interesting characters who all are as compelling as one another. I thought I'd share that. So you don't have to watch the series and have more time to write. But it's a good series, so if you want to watch it, you can do it for the right reasons.
Anyway, mild spoilers ahead. That goes without saying.
IN TREATMENT revolves around a very simple concept. There are five episodes a week that revolve around the most interesting client of that respective day. Paul (Gabriel Byrne) is a psychotherapist who is passionate about his job, but who has difficulties balancing it with his life at home. The method Paul uses to break down who his patients are is very simple and instructive about the foundations of one's personality. It's kind of a foolproof way of exposing (or creating) a layered personality. I called it the three-dimensional method for writing great characters. You have to ask yourself three questions in the following order: What do you do? Who are you? and What do you feel about it? Let's go over them.
1) What do you do?
Whether it's your job or your hobby, everybody has a clear occupation that defines them. It's important to answer this question first, because this is the image you show to the world. In the series, Laura (Melissa George) is a doctor. Alex (the fantastic Blair Underwood) is a fighter-pilot, Sophie (the equally fantastic Mia Wasikowska) is a gymnast, etc. All the patients have a clear-cut definition of who they are that translates into what they do. It's important to establish a situation before trying to understand how a character got there. A character's occupation is not who he is, but who he presents himself to be. This step is often overlooked in character creation because writers don't necessarily comprehend right away that what their character does and who their character is can be contradictory.
2) Who are you?
We are the sum of our experiences. Who you are is what happened to you and how you dealt with it. If you got punched out in the schoolyard, maybe it cements your personality as a victim. If you threw punches back and hurt the other kid, maybe you're the bully. The way you managed your experiences, especially as a child, establishes the foundation of your personality and forms patterns that are subsequently hard to break. Alex, for example, grew up with a pathological need to please, to be the best at everything because he was raised by an authoritative father. It's not something you character is necessarily aware about, but drawing a timeline of identity establishing events is both 1) interesting to your reader and 2) throws some guidelines for a character's behavior. But I'm not going to lie, most writers who are good with characterization already do this step.
3) What do you feel about it?
Another overlooked aspect of character creation because it's not evident to figure that what a character feels about what he does and who he is can be contradictory to these two things. I'm going to use Alex again (because I think he's the best written character), who has no sense of self beyond his duty to his country.He has an 11 years old son, yet he doesn't feel apt to take care of him, because he's imprisoned in the part of the good son himself. Maybe you were a victim or events of maybe you forced events on people, cleared the room around yourself and find yourself lonely. Who knows? Any realistic character would probably fall somewhere in between these two extreme, but contradictory feelings are a very fun, yet overlooked playing field. It's the key to unlocking a three dimensional character.
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