When I seriously considered writing a book,
I knew that in any story, characters have to become alive, invoke emotions,
reactions, and thoughts from readers. Whether the character is the main one in
the story, or secondary in a subplot, it doesn’t matter. All the actions and
dialogue coming out of the character have to be convincing.
With Shadows of Damascus, I had a general
idea of who the characters were, and how they interacted with each other.
Developing the specifics of how they went about their daily lives, their views
of the world they lived in, and their convictions became my true challenge.
It is
important to pin that down to create a character that readers could connect to,
if not personally, then to someone they know. Real people, with quirks and
shortcomings, weaknesses and strengths, dreams and aspirations, successes and
failures. Even if the plot doesn’t call for all the details, writing them in
brings the character closer to the surface, to be understood, accepted or
rejected, despised or fevered, whatever the reaction from the reader maybe, a
reaction nonetheless. I found as I developed my characters, they pushed me to a
different angle, a different scene or a new problem that wasn’t in the plot to
begin with. This approach may not work with all genres, and every writer has
his or her method.
It was also very important to pin down the
physical image of the character. I’m one who doesn’t cut out pictures from magazines
and stick them to a board or in a sketchbook to help with images, though I
think that is an effective way to go about it. I’m one who keeps everything in
my head, which may explain the lost look I sport around when I’m developing a
scene. I got in the habit of observing people. Wherever I am, I take in
details: facial expressions, hair styles and colors, manicured fingernails,
scruffy beards, the way a tall man walks, how a plump lady tries to cross her
legs, the small gestures between couples they try to hide in public, yet fail. To
me, it’s more than hair and eye color, skin tone and body structure. It’s more
about how the characters carry themselves, and most importantly, what they try
to conceal.
Lilas Taha is a novelist, winner of the 2017 International Book Awards and is the author of Shadows of Damascus and Bitter Almonds.
