Harry/Draco Writing Support

At the request of kitty_fic, I'm going to put up a post and talk today about the benefits of taking the time to do a character outline for your fan fiction writing. For some of you, this may be old hat. However, for some, the idea of a character outline and the principles behind it may be completely new!

What is a character outline? It's a composite picture of a given character as he or she is set to appear in your fic. It's a baseline to go by when making characterization choices for a character and how those choices will affect your story and the kind of narrative you are going to, or want to, tell.

There are basically two types of characterization in fan fic.

The first kind is the most common type: a writer doesn't deviate from canon. For example, in this type of fic, Harry leaves Hogwarts, becomes an Auror, has three children with Ginny. The author does not add any details to either Harry or Ginny's characterizations.

The second kind of characterization takes a character's basic canon characterization and embellishes it. This is where unique, funny, and readily identifying information is born. I would argue that this would be more interesting to read. Hey, if I wanted straight canon, I'd just go back and read the books! We don't read fan fic to try and reclaim original canon.

I find it interesting and exciting to read new takes on a canon characterization. Using the original example, you might find that, yes, Harry's left Hogwarts and has become an Auror . . . but perhaps he's an Auror who cannot stand to actually arrest people and is having trouble on the job because of this. Perhaps both Harry and Ginny are terrible housekeepers who cannot cook, and so they eat takeaway every night and have to purchase a house-elf, against Hermione's objections. Perhaps their firstborn is conceived as a complete accident after an extra bottle of wine at dinner one night. Do you see the difference? Enhancing known canon characterizations to include spicy, fun, or unexpected characteristics or details can only result in a more fully fleshed out character for your fic.

Composing a character outline gives one pause. It gives one pause to ask, Am I creating the worst Mary Stu / Gary Stu to ever hit fandom? You might ask yourself this. It's not uncommon, while doing these memes, to read back over your outline and discover you inadvertently have little flamingo-flocking Hannah Abbott characterized as a more powerful witch than Dumbledore and Voldemort combined! Having a composite character outline allows you to go back and tailor your character to have more reasonable characteristics and an appropriate balance of powers.

No character is without flaws. Organizing a composite allows you to consider how a canon character's flaws are going to manifest in your fic. We know that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are bullies in canon; how do you make characters like these compelling while still keeping them true to the spirit of canon? By utilizing quirks; hobbies; unique characteristics; special but plausible interests; and noting interactions between these characters and those who do like them. If you have a character who has no significant flaws, then you have a problematic character. By completing a character outline, you can tweak aspects of your character's personality for a more balanced representation.

What does your character like? Dislike? What affiliations does your character have? What nationality is your character? What is their family background and how does that affect them today? Is your character involved in a relationship? What turns your character on and off? What is your character's career and specifically what are their duties? What is your character's emotional lability like? Is your character warm and effusive, or cold and withdrawn? Why? How is your character perceived by others? How do they treat others? You can see the kind of background questions that come into play, that impact the direction of the character, which in turns affects your fic and how it's written.

What is Draco's boggart? If he could produce a Patronus, what would it be? What is Hermione's favorite class and why? How is an adult Harry Potter perceived by others? What are Dumbledore's goals and dreams? What do Pansy Parkinson's friendships look like? What are Ron's likes and dislikes? What do Harry and Draco have in common that can facilitate a relationship? What are their stumbling blocks? How do you get them from point A to point B plausibly, while taking on their characterizations as being polar opposites? Well, if you choose to do a character outline, you can strategically place commonalities between Harry and Draco in your characterizations, no matter how small, as a springboard.

In relation to a specific fic, a character outline can help determine where a character is going to fall within a plot and what role they will play. When you have a character outline in place, you don't have to always guess what your character will be doing; knowing his or her characterization makes it easier to decide in what direction to take your character when it's time for action, and it will make the writing go faster. Character outlines give you a sense of direction.

So, do check out the character outline as a new tool for writing! Not only are they great for fan fiction, but they're essential for original writing, and I know some of us like to write original fiction, too.

Under the cut I've included a character outline I did on Draco Malfoy, as an example, that I completed for serpentinelion's 2011 Glompfest. If you're interested in doing a character outline, please feel free to take the blank template, which I've included below my outline.

( DRACO MALFOY: CHARACTER OUTLINE BY SLYTHERINCESS : FIC NAME: BENEFACTION (SERPENTINELION'S 2011 GLOMPFEST) )

( CHARACTER OUTLINE TEMPLATE - BLANK )

Also, if you're interested in characterization and blending established canon with your own visions of Potterverse, definitely sign up for hp_headcanon, where you can talk about your personal interpretation of the canon characters.