Holy Mole-y, Now That's Great Characterization!

Lately I've been doing a lot of pondering about something that a favorite author of mine does "right." Funny, as a reviewer and as a teacher constantly critiquing others' work, it seems like I spend a lot of time scrutinizing what a writer has done "wrong," what doesn't work, what falls flat, etc. Not very often do I just spend a few weeks thinking about and admiring something done "right".

Like probably most of you, I am a Janet Evanovich fan. Particularly a Stephanie Plum fan. I have a lot of reasons for this -- quick, easy stories that are entertaining to read, never make me cry, and don't make me feel like I've swallowed a dictionary or a great life truth when I'm done (don't get me wrong -- I'm as much about great life truths as the next guy, but sometimes reading stuff with *such meaning* feels like you're getting a root canal when a TicTac will do, if you know what I mean).

Mostly I love Janet's characters. They're over the top -- INCREDIBLY over the top! -- yet you believe them, right? You believe that a 150-pound woman can take down a 300-pound man, right? You believe cars getting blown up one right after another, packs of dogs chasing down a bounty hunter and getting naughty with her head, a boxed private part being delivered to a doorstep. You believe in grandmas who will do just about anything to look under the cover of a closed casket. But why?

And this is what I've been pondering. No matter what you have to say about Janet's work, one thing you can say for sure is that she knows her characterization. That woman can create any character in the world, put her in any situation in the world, and make you believe it.

My favorite example of this is in Eleven on Top, where Janet does the most amazing thing with characterization ever: she introduces a character that's not even human. I'm talking about Mama Macaroni's mole.

First, she uses the mole to give us a description of Mama Macaroni that is screamingly hilarious while at the same time crystal clear as to who this lady is (she calls the mole something along the lines of the dermatological equivalent of a 12-car pileup on the freeway). This is her creative way of getting us to "see" Mama Macaroni without doing the dreaded Dragnet police blotter thing ("...suspect was 5'2", 176lbs, white hair, gray eyes, large identifying mole on her face...").

But leave it to Janet to take it a step further. She takes that mole and actually makes it a character of its own! Without spoiling anything (just in case you...*gasp!*...haven't read it) I'll just say that this mole shows up time and time again, both physically and in the minds of the major characters. You find yourself wondering about the mole, laughing about the mole, feeling satisfied about knowing what happens with this mole.

She used the mole to give life to her character (it worked) and then gave the mole a life of its own (it worked again!). Brilliant!

So today before you sit down at your keyboard, give some thought about your characterization. You're not Dragnet-ing, are you? You're not giving your characters the tired and boring "...golden spun hair, shimmering eyes, and a sharp, jutting chin..." are you? Or worse, you're not creating characters without giving any thought as to how they're going to be characterized for your readers, are you? Even if you feel comfortable, do some pondering of your own today. Because your characters will make or break your story, and when it's done "right"...holy mole-y your readers will be hooked!

Jennifer Brown is a two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck global humor award (2005 & 2006), and humor columnist, as well as freelance writer and TicTac-lover. Check out her stuff at http://www.freewebs.com/jennifer_brown.

Comments

[JenniferBrown]

Actually, I have not yet read 13 yet. I still have to read 12. Grandma Mazur is the kind of granny I want to be when I grow up. I think I have a good start on it. :)

[Paula]

Jen,

Have you read Lean Mean Thirteen yet? Loved it! And you got that right - Janet Evanovich knows her characterization. I just adore Grandma Mazur - she's a fiesty one :)

Paula