Wednesday, April 11, 2012

How literate are your characters?


Every character in every novel is different. They're people, composed of different traits and personality quirks to make them real and authentic. We have smart boys, athletic gals, tech geniuses, sports fans... the list of character traits goes on and on.

Something I haven't noticed much of, though, is bibliophiles.

bibliophile (n): a lover of books; a collector of books.

Oh, you'll have the aspiring journalist/novelist/writer-in-general. And maybe the character will even come with a little description saying "he/she loved to read." And yet the actual books, the role that reading plays in the character's life, will have little to do with the actual story.

There is the worry that mentioning any titles will date your book right off the bat. The potential is high that mentioning any middle-grade book that's popular nowadays will decrease the longevity of your own book. I mean, if a reader picks up your novel a few years from now, chances are low they'll know exactly which book you're talking about, seeing how quickly times change.

...Unless you're talking classics like Harry Potter, of course. See page 336 (paperback) of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief: "He was reading a huge book with a picture of a wizard on the front. I wasn't much into fantasy, but the book must've been good, because the guard took a while to look up."

Okay, so we don't want to date our books. Let's focus on the ways in which reading affects your character, shall we?
As a writer, you (hopefully) know the impact that books have on an average person's life. To me, it's magical that a few hundred pages of black-text-on-white-paper can make me cry, make me laugh, make my heart twinge and pound and ache in turn. Books are such precious things; stories take on their own lives, and no one knows this better than writers themselves.

So write it out. If your character is literate, show it to us. Make it part of your character's growth, or part of your character's past. Show how your character curls up with a new book on a rainy (or sunny) day, or turns to a well-worn title for a surefire pick-me-up when they need one.

Because if your character is literate... then I want to know. Because it means that I might just like them that much more. :)

--Yahong

15 comments:

  1. That's a great point. I've read YA and MG literature that mentions specific books, but you're right, it's rarely anything published recently. And whether or not a character loves to read is definitely an important aspect.

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    1. Glad you agree, Matthew! I think classics appear the "safe" way to go when mentioning books, at least from what I've read.

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  2. Great post, Yahong.If being literate is a character trait, and/or if a certain book plays a role in a character's growth, then showing this would be important. One of Patrick Jone's YA novels--can't remember which one--has the MC connecting with the book "Speak.
    :-)

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    1. That's exactly right, Paul! It's great to hear that you can actually think of an example of the top of your head. :)

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  3. This is a good point, and as a reader I definitely relate to bookish characters. But there's another hitch to mentioning specifics besides the problem of getting outdated: if your reader doesn't share the character's taste in books it might be a turn-off. I'm struggling to remember which book it was I read where the character was really into "Peter Pan," but since I happen to hate "Peter Pan," I couldn't help but question our hero's taste! =)
    Also, in my own middle-grade book "The Bad Advice of Grandma Hasenfuss," the main character loves vocabulary, gets 100% on all his vocab tests, and always tries to use his week's word - not the same as being a bibliophile, but another form of literacy perhaps!

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    1. Oh, wow, interesting point, Anne. I guess a problem even bigger than not knowing what book the author's talking about would be hating the book the author's talking about, as you said! :P And definitely another form of literacy. Characters who are logophiles rank pretty high with me. ;)

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  4. I love this, Yahong. I think the way to get round the "dated by title" issue is to do what Rick Riordan did. That is, describe the book and not say "The guard was reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Have your character curl up with a book (or, egads, an e-reader) and "lose herself in a story of warring rats." (Hiya, Hilary!)

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    1. Yes, you're completely right, Michael! (Love the e-reader idea, by the way.) Even loosely describing the story would add some shading to your character, methinks. :)

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  5. I like to show love of books and reading in my stories. I'm especially fond of characters who come to love curling up with a book, even though they may start out that way. One of my characters is nearly illiterate at the start. He was fun to watch develop into a reader.

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    1. Ooh, that character definitely sounds like an interesting one to watch develop! :)

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  6. I like this idea in theory, but I'm not sure I'm behind it in practice. I'm reading Breadcrumbs right now, and at first I was charmed by the main character's references to favorite books. But then it became distracting, almost as though hearing about other books reminded me I was reading a book. I suppose I'm still on the fence.

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    1. Oh, really, Marissa? Hm, I don't seem to remember encountering that problem when I read Breadcrumbs. But I see what you mean. Perhaps it's easier said than done?

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  7. Interesting post, Yahong. I've never really thought of it, but now that I do I realize how many of my favorite books have the MC discussing books. Good point.

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    1. Thanks, Mike! I think it's cool that this trend shows up your favourite books. :)

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  8. This is great, Yahong! I am so with you! One of the main themes in The Young Inventors Guild books is literacy. The children (who are brilliant scientists but have never had anyone read to them) are fortunate to have their teacher introduce them to amazing books. Since the YIG books take place at the turn of the last century, the books introduced include Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, Five Children and It, et al from that era. Hopefully, the characters' discovered literacy will inspire. And introduction to timeless treasures will, too.

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!