Anyone who ever writes an (erotic) story has to deal with characters. When I was a jury member for the ‘Smut Marathon’ (an English-language writing competition for erotica), the participants were challenged to make a character sketch with imperfections. A character sketch is often part of your story, to get to know the characters better.
Assignment: Write a character sketch of a character with imperfections
The assignment was:
Write an erotic character sketch of an ‘imperfect’ character.
‘Imperfect’ is placed between quotation marks, because the contestants could determine how to interpret that. It should however be clear that the persona didn’t had everything going for them. The organisation also told the contestants that the reader was supposed to get to know the character in maximum 200 words and that the readers should have a clear image of the persona after reading the sketch.
This round, 39 writers participated. They received points from a jury and from the public. This leads to a ranking list. After the next round, only the top-30 will continue. Unfortunately, some authors withdraw from the contest.
Tips for writing a character sketch
A character sketch is a way to introduce a persona to the reader.You want the reader to get a clear image in its head: how the persona talks, how it does things and why. It should be a snapshot that is representative for the persona. For a good character sketch you need to reveil the details carefully and you must plan what emotion you would like them to bring into effect, without giving away too much. The rader must be able to draw its own conclusions.
Writing a character sketch is not easy. Especially when it has to be a persona with imperfections and even more if it has to be an erotic story. All of that in only 200 words. Very complicated.
Many authors create character sketches that will not get published, just as a preparation for the story. They do that for themselves to deepen the motivation of acting of their personas. What are their fears, what is he after? This helps to determine what their persona would do in a specific situation. Do research. Look for descriptions of people with the same profession or background.
But also in your story, you can delicately introduce your persona. If you want a good example, look at The Shawshank Redemption and pay attention to how ‘Red’ (Morgan Freeman) introduces the persona Andy Dufresne to the audience. In the movie, this is done with a voice over, that made Morgan Freeman’s voice instantly famous. Here are some quotes from the movie, voiced by Red:
- “In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty.” This short introduction doesn’t just say a lot about Andy, but it also shows the admiration of Red for Andy.
- “Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes, really. Pressure, and time. That and a big goddamn poster. Like I said, in prison, a man will do almost anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy’s favorite hobby was totin’ his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he’d been here just about long enough.” Here Red tels us something about the background of Andy. How did he get the idea to escape prison and how did he (perhaps) know how to do that?
- “Andy did like he was told; buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn’t notice. Neither did I… I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man’s shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness I can’t even imagine- or maybe I just don’t want to. Five hundred yards… that’s the length of five football fields; just shy of half a mile.” By giving just a few details, Red shows how inconspicuous Andy was and how that has helped him to escape.
- “Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne, headed for the Pacific. Those of us who knew him best talk about him often. I swear, the stuff he pulled… Sometimes it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty now that they’re gone. I guess I just miss my friend.” In this quote, Red shows us again his admiration for his friend Andy.
The way in which the author of the book Rita Hayworth and The Shawshamk Redemption (Steven King) introduces the persona of Andy Dufresne to the reader, is by letting someone else describe him. This is just one way of making a character sketch. Another, much used way, is to describe an encounter between the narrator and the main character. This rendezvous must be representative for the actions of the persona. You can also describe facial expressions, the manner of speaking or moving, the way your character dresses and certain little mannerisms, that are typical for your persona.
The perfection of imperfection
This assignment explicitly asked for the contestants to give the persona some imperfections. As a jury member I was very happy with that addition. Why? In many erotica I read, the main characters are flawless. They have the perfect body, live in the greatest mansions, drive expensive cars and are always in for steaming hot sex. In your erotic fantasies this may be a huge turn on, but to read such a story, however, is pretty boring.
Nobody’s perfect. And that is what makes us all unique and interesting. Our imperfections tell a story of who we are, what motivates us or makes us insecure and how we behave. Those imperfections can be of different nature:
- Physical: When did you have sex with a model for the last time? Well then! Dare to give your persona one or more physical imperfections, that matter for the way your persona behaves. Perhaps her tummy makes her insecure, or his lack of length is something he compensates with arrogance? What is the story behind that scar and can your persona even see a thing when he takes off his glasses in the bedroom?Often small physical deficiencies seem insignificant, but they can lead to conflicts that give your plot a certain twist.
- Character: Not all imperfections are physical. Sometimes the most beautiful people are the biggest arrogant assholes. Think however, if your main persona has such a bad character, where that comes from. Is he estranged from the world, did he had a bad childhood? A bad character may be interesting for the reader, but it only is if the reader can relate to the persona. No-one is just all bad.
- Socio/demography: Imperfection can be related to the personas background. Does your persona have a different religion, race, origin, educational level? And what does that mean for the relation your persona has with his or her lover? Think of the rich man and the prostitute in the movie Pretty Woman. What is the background of your persona and what does that say about its behavior?
- Values: Imperfection can also be in someone’s behavior. Sometimes people do things that is considered despicable by society. This is a difficult imperfection, though, because what one might find despicable, may be totally acceptable to others. If your persona is cheating for example, it may be chocking to some, but not for others.
Imperfections can make your persona more interesting, but that won’t happen by itself. They only do so when they are important for the plot and for the behavior of the persona. Don’t just describe the imperfections, but show how the personas in your story react to that.
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