Minette Walters' "Character"

I found Minnette Walters’ article on character to be interesting overall, if a little too focused on crime writing, instead of fiction in general. The most interesting part was where she compared Agatha Christie’s famous creations, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She exposes that even within a specific genre, there are authentic voices an inauthentic voices (though she was a little harsh on poor Poirot.) She also shows how even a very good writer can create wooden characters if they’re not fully invested in them.

I also enjoyed the descriptions of the typical characters in crime fiction – investigator, murderer, etc. Genre fiction is often criticized for using the same characters in all of its works, but Walters proves that working within the constructs of a genre can be rewarding for the writer and the reader. A certain amount of expectation can actually improve the reading experience: if we know there will be an investigator, a murderer, and so forth, the writer doesn’t have to explain as much. Because they don’t have to explain, they have more time to expand the characters and the story.

The other interesting thing she pointed out was the paragraph on dialogue. I often find it difficult writing dialogue, because one has to strike a balance between realistic brevity and advancement of the story. Walters provides a viable formula for proper use of dialogue that I think works very well.