This last month, I got a crash
course in the art of character reveals in
crafting a story. While I seem to have instinctively known how to apply reveals
in my stories, I was inconsistent and informal. Wikipedia defines the Literary Character
Reveal as: ‘a plot device in narrative structure, and is the exposure to the
reader or audience of a previously hidden key element of plot or of the performance.’
I already knew that, in a novel, each scene should advance the story and build
to a climax. What I was missing was that each scene should also reveal some
trait or truth about one or more of the characters that will be germane to the
story at a time when it is inconvenient to present the reveal. The author should
sprinkled the reveals throughout the story such that when presenting the big
climax, the storyteller doesn’t have to break the flow of the climactic scene
to reveal something important.
Don’t wait until the big fight
scene in the scaffolding at the top of The Statue of Liberty to reveal that the
well-grounded heroine goes blind when confronted with great heights. Don’t wait
until the hero is face–to-face with a ghost holding a cat to reveal the
normally stoic hero has a phobia against cats. Or in the case of the main female
character in my book Wine Country, don’t wait until the big fight scene to reveal
that the normally quiet, non-violent nursing student is also adept at self-defense
martial arts.
If the author waits until the big
scene to have the main character display what seems like incompatible traits or
characteristics, the character will come off as contrived and inconsistent. I’ve
seen this in many stories where a main character will do something out of
character just to make the scene work
thus sacrificing the character for the scene. To me, nothing ruins a story more
than having a main character change colors in the middle of the story. Spock
never breaks down in tears unless there is a reveal that he is allergic to
onions.
Looking back over my books, I find
that I did commit the sin of an unscheduled characteristic change during the
climactic scene. I can repair most of them. Where possible, I will avoid this
Faux Pas in the future. I now know what I’m looking for in the big scene. Anything
that breaks the flow of the scene must be revealed earlier in the story.
Another minor mistake some authors
make with reveals is that they try to present them all in a gush just before the climax. A skill that
I see in Grisham’s and King’s books is that they spread out the reveals
throughout the story to conceal them. It’s takings effort on my part to recognize
their well-crafted reveals. They are subtlety presented almost as a side story.
I have added an extra layer to my use
of reveals that seems to work well from the story telling point of view. First,
I use The Positive Trait Thesaurus by
Ackerman and Puglisi to define the three to five traits that best describe my
lead character. I add one or two traits that seem to be inconsistent to my
character but are essential to the story. Then I scan the Associated Behaviors and Attitudes and select one or two actions or attitudes
that might be displayed by a person with each trait. This produces a complex
list of reveals for each main
character. I sprinkle this list of
reveals across the story to build my special character. When I’m presenting the
climactic scene, I don’t have to stop and explain anything and my character still
comes across as consistent. For me, it works and it adds depth to my stories.
I must say one last thing about
reveals. While it has added to my understanding of how to craft a story, it has
also added to my pleasure in reading a story. I find myself looking for how other
authors advance the story as I did before. But now, I find myself looking for
what the author might be trying to reveal about the main character in
preparation of the big scene. Whom is the author building? I must not be very
good at it, yet. As I think back over the books I’ve read, I would have guessed
one series of scenes and been completely incorrect at my assumptions. I am still
pleasantly entertained by the array of surprise endings that authors can
create. I like being surprised and entertained by a good read. I’m also enjoying
learning how to try to foresee the surprises.
My name is Jeff Bailey.
I write nuclear thrillers for a reason, I’ve worked in nuclear related
industries, from nuclear weapons to nuclear research, for fifty years. Deer Hawk Publications released my
first book, The
Defect in June of 2016. In The
Defect, I tell the story of a terrorist attack on a nuclear
power plant and why the government covered it up. The
Defect is based on true events. Deer Hawk Publications is scheduled
to release I’m
a Marine in the summer of 2017. I’m
a Marine is about a female aviation firefighter in the U.S. Marines who
witnesses the murder of two M.P.s. She decides that it is her duty to stop
them. Keep in mind that I write nuclear thrillers. The
Chilcoat Project, to be released in spring of 2018, is about the theft
of nuclear weapons secrets from a national laboratory. The
Chilcoat Project is also based on true events. My current project, Wine
Country, is based on the true story of the Radioactive Boy Scout, but
with a more sinister twist.
Welcome to my World
