Opposites Attract

Normally, I give homework at the end of the article, but this article is going to be different. We’re going to do the homework together.
Right now.
So grab your favorite writing method and let’s get going. If you’re working on your computer in Word or some other word processing program, you may want to actually print out this entry for ease of reading and typing.

I want you to number your paper from one to twenty five.
On the corresponding line, I want you to write the answers to the following questions:

Are you short or tall?
What color is your hair?
What is your favorite type of food?
What is your favorite type of music?
What type of clothes do you love to wear?
What type of shoes do you love to wear?
If you could drive any type of car, what would it be?
Describe your relationship with your family in one word.
Describe your religion or spiritual beliefs in one word.
What level of education do you have (graduated HS, Bachelor Degree, Masters Degree, etc.)?
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
When someone pisses you off, how do you react? Are you confrontational or a peace-keeper?
Would you describe yourself as an optimist or a pessimist?
Do you prefer The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
What is your favorite movie?
Which of these statements describes you? “I love watching TV” or “I hate watching TV”? Write it down.
For a pet, would you prefer a dog or a cat?
Are you habitually late for appointments or early or right on time?
When it comes to housekeeping, are you more of a slob or a neat freak?
Which of these statements accurately describes you? “I love new books” or “I love used books”? Write it down.
Do you drive fast and dangerous or do you obey all traffic laws?
Tattoos on other people: love them or hate them?
Exercise: love it or hate it?
Kids: love them, love other people’s or do they creep you out?
Sex on the first date: “Sure!” or “No way, no how!”

You should now have 25 brief, succinct answers on your piece of paper.
Now I want you to draw a line down the center of the page, from top to bottom.
Across from each answer you gave above, I want you to write the opposite of it. Some of these will be easy (the opposite of optimist is pessimist) and some will require more thought (what, exactly is the opposite of blonde hair? The opposite of “Gone With The Wind”?). Go ahead, I’ll be here waiting for you when you come back.

Did you write down all the opposites? Great! If not, then what the heck are you even reading this article for? I’ll assume that everyone here is behaving and wanting to improve their writing, and move on.

Next, above the first column, I want you to write the word “detective” and over the column of opposites, I want you to write “detective’s assistant” or “detective’s husband/wife/lover”, whatever tickles your fancy.

Now I want you to look at the first column and begin to formulate just what type of detective would actually have these attributes. What type of person would be short, blonde and love McDonald’s food, drive a Volvo and have a cat for a pet?
Look at your second column and brainstorm just what type of assistant or husband or wife that person would have. Are you getting a feel for how these two diametrically opposed people would be able to work together, live together, sleep together?

Great! Because what you have now, in these two columns, are the seeds of conflict. The seeds of characterization. The seeds of breathing life into two individuals who did not exist 20 minutes ago. Remember, without conflict, big or small, there is no drama, there is no story. How would your detective above react at a crime scene, with blood all over the place? How would they react to having someone shoot at them? How would they react at someone pulling out in front of them in traffic?

Characters are the essence of your writing, the essence of your story, of your mystery or science fiction or fantasy novel, and hopefully this little article and exercise has jiggled you a bit, shook you, helped you start to breathe life into your characters. If you have already started your book or story, why not answer the above questions for your current protagonist? Once you know their likes, their dislikes, their little quirks, you can then predict how they will act and react to the things that happen in your current book or story.

Remember, opposites not only attract, they make for great characters.

PS. If you’d like to see a quick sheet that I wrote up for Denton and Monty, just to see how it’s done, click here.