Proto-character

My most recent short story was abandoned because I wound up not liking the content. Instead I’ve switched to heavy pre-writing for my second novel-length piece of writing. Typically, I wouldn’t share pre-write content, but this is kind of fun.

Recently I had the chance to hear Ivan Doig speak. Doig is a National Book Award finalist, a cowboy, and is by his own admission in danger of becoming a prolific writer. A central element of writing he discussed were “crystalline details.” They’re the kind of description you read that tells you more than sensory details. They’re the calloused hands of a working man, overly-touchy greeting of a politician, and nervous nail-biting of an anxious shut-in. Okay, they don’t always have to be about hands.

At the beginning of my story in its current draft, the main character, Chess Connor, returns to the dying hometown he barely made it out of and runs into a bad memory: Seth, the best friend that nearly led him to a life on the wrong side of the law. Without spoiling Seth any more, here are some of his crystalline details. See if you can tell what kind of character he is. Enjoy.

Physical appearance

·      Tan, sharp eyes, expressive, thick beard.

·      CAT hat, working shirt, heavy jeans, workman’s Romeos, bowie knife on hip, suspenders.

·      Differences from when Chess knew him as a kid—lined face, still has a dirty complexion, same wolfish grin, burgeoning beer belly.

·      Sharp smell of heavy sweat around him, smell of a dirt road, beer on his breath

·      Chess wrote a story based on him when he was starting out as a writer. In the meeting he notices that he appears almost exactly as he pictured him. Seth mentions this on first meeting. It’s the only one of Chess’s stories he’s read.

·      Takes off his hat to soak it in water and splat it back on his head, hawks and spits frequently, kicks up dust when other people are talking, stands either square with hands on hips and feet apart or with arms crossed and head cocked.

·      Speaking style: uses imperative, very few complete sentences, hits final words like they’re an accusation, eyes constantly scan up and down other person’s body as he speaks.

Favorite foods

·      At home: primarily microwaved meals.

·      Gets burgers/fast food and leaves the containers around endlessly.

·      Drinks water when working manual labor, but nowhere else.

·      Owns a lot of plastic drinking cups.

·      Favorite place to eat out is a burger place in his town. It’s greasy and messy with a sharp, tangy flavor, but he can only afford it once per pay period.

·      Eats NO vegetables.

·      Drinks “nutrition” (protein) shakes.

Eating habits

·      Quick

·      Acts like there’s no one else at the table

·      Licks fingers

·      Burps

·      Sniffs and wipes nose.

·      Outsider would think he hadn’t eaten in days.

Favorite…

·      Books

o   None.

o   Guns ‘N Ammo mags.

o   Auto Trader.

o   Plenty of porn to be found lazily hidden in his home.

·      Music

o   Country western.

o   Likes to sing along in his truck.

o   Thinks every song is about him, even though he’s never had a family, steady job, or a dog.

o   Owns a guitar but never learned more than a couple chords.

·      Movies

o   Watches a lot of action movies. Every time he finishes one he waits for someone to challenge him to a fight.

·      Board games

o   Poker. Does it just to bet, and will look for ways to bet on things that aren’t poker. Very likely to offer you $5 if you can spit farther than him.

Hobbies

·      Things that make him feel “country:” donuts in dirt pits, shooting guns, going to fairs/rodeos

·      Gets old scrap and takes it apart sometimes. Thinks it’s making him a machine aficionado, but in reality it’s just copper to sell.

·      Watches enough TV to leave a distinct shape on his couch.

Crystalline details are a really cool thing to read for. If you look for them in some of your favorite characters you’ll find tons, especially in popular and fun works like Harry Potter and Star Wars. If you can think of any crystalline details or detail categories like I have above I’d love for you to leave a comment so I can steal your ideas.