Writing Games: Shoes

The condition of a person's shoes can tell some
pretty interesting stories!

    You can learn a lot about a person by their shoes. This is something that's been used in many-a-mystery novel; the extremely observant detective, upon studying the footwear of a suspect or a pair left at a crime scene, can piece together little details and deduce not only who the shoes belong to, but what that person has been doing. In some stories, investigators have put together whole stories just based on what they notice about another character's shoes.
    Outside of the investigation context, that would work really well for summarizing and personifying a character; don't you think? A lot of details about a person's life and personality can be portrayed just by focusing on that one article of their outfit, and the description doesn't need to be long and complicated. It just takes asking a few questions, like:
    What kind of shoes are the character wearing? A character well off in the financial sense with a specific taste for fashion might love to wear designer brands; but they might also like special treasures found in thrift stores. Characters who aren't so well off financially might have hand-me-downs; or they could be wearing shoes that belonged to a loved one because that person isn't around anymore. Or, of course, if there isn't some kind of complicated backstory, the character could have just gotten their shoes at a local shoe store.
    What condition are the shoes in? A soldier in the middle of a devastating war would probably have plenty of cracks in the rubber of their boots and permanent stains on the leather from trudging through a dusty/swampy terrain. And an athlete's shoes might have smooth circles near the worn-out soles, from countless hours of training and competing. Even a character with a relatively "normal" life might have bits of candy/popcorn lodged in their shoes if they work in, say, a movie theater.
    Is there anything on the shoes that are unique to the character? Some people like to doodle in the white spaces on their sneakers; a character with special artsy skills would possibly do that. A clumsy person would probably have scuff marks all over the front of their loafers from bumping into things and tripping, making their shoes unmistakable. And a character who has an odd fascination with a certain color might always aim to wear shoes (or just shoelaces) that have that color; which can be really interesting when the color is one like bright yellow.
    So do any of these ideas bring up unique details about a character in your current work? What kind of details; what kind of shoes do they wear?

John Rogers: Understanding the Antagonist

Some antagonists see the world with a view that differs
 in only one or two areas; but then there are some
who see everything in reverse--and those are the
tough ones to write!

"You don't really understand the antagonist until you understand why he's a protagonist in his own version of the world."

~John Rogers

    Writing antagonists can be tough. Because we want to write characters that are realistic and relatable on at least a few matters, but it's difficult to relate to someone who does horrible things and has a poisoned perspective on life. And when someone's mindset is that foreign to you, writing about them is like describing a place you've never been. The risk of using clichés and cheesy dialogue is probably at least twice as large for antagonists than it is for other characters. So it's pretty helpful how John Rogers phrases the claim of his quote so simply; that the key to understanding an antagonist is to understand why they think they're right.
    There are basically two ways to understand something: intellectually, or personally. Between them, understanding intellectually seems a lot easier. Because it's just gathering data from observations and maybe some backstory and putting it together to form a conclusion, a simple label. President Snow from Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games, for example, sends children to their deaths to remind the Districts of the Capitol's strength, and uses the surviving "tributes" as pawns for his own gain. Diagnosis: he is power-hungry, and his heart is too hardened to show any sympathy. Coming up with that conclusion was easy; it just involved looking at his actions and making connections.
    But how would you come to understand why he's a hero in his own mind? How would you understand his actual thoughts on his behavior, how he justifies his actions so he can live with himself? This would take some digging that goes beyond the surface of his actions; it would call for actually knowing what he's thinking personally, being aware of how he treats matters when he's not putting on a show for others. One way that might shed light on such personal thoughts would be to write a scene where the antagonist is acting outside of the story, out of view of the other characters, just doing what s/he does in regular life. Another way to understand their beliefs is to hear it from their own lips--maybe in an interview-style dialogue. Those bring out the distinctness of their personality, and they're good for learning new things about the character.
    So, have you ever given much thought to understanding the mindset of an antagonist on a personal level? Do you take extra time before starting the story to write something where they explain why they think they're in the right?

A Character's Family Members

    Ah, family members; you've gotta love 'em. Every person from the favorite uncle to the distant cousin is so unique and awesome in their own way. It's really cool to see families in fiction, not just because of the awesome beauty of those kind of relationships, but because being part of a family ourselves, we can relate to their family matters.
    Parents seem to be the most prominent family figures in a person's life at any stage, including adult life. In Kathy Reichs' Bones novels, the protagonist has a mother she talks with, and who helps her on at least one occasion with her mad computer skills.  Then of course there are the parents with roles in YA fiction, usually giving guidance or insight to their kids. Very close uncles and aunts can also fill in these parental roles really well too, acting as role models (or just really, really fun figures!). These kind of mentor characters can have so much wisdom and just have an admirable role in a story.
    And then there are siblings. They make great minor characters; in Kiera Cass's Selection series, the protagonist's younger sister gives her encouragement that motivates her to stay in the competition. But even when siblings don't play a major role in the story as characters, having them around can set up for existing conditions--like if a character has a baby sister who takes all the attention of their parents, conveniently giving the protagonist lots of time to themselves and the other characters s/he's with in the story.
    Overall, just like in real life, family members also tend to shape aspects of a character's personality. Lots of fictional villains turned to the dark side partially because of a bad home situation, and many good guys draw inspiration from a noble relative. Some characters end up echoing their own parents or older siblings (which could be considered a flaw they eventually overcome), and some are determined to become the polar opposite of them. There are tons of ways that a character's family influences who they turn out to be, and those little details can add so much depth!
    Not to say that every single character should have a family member popping up in the story, but I think the relevant details of a character's relationship with their family is good for character development. Plus, in writing, it's always pretty good to have some nice backstory information in stock just in case it eventually becomes applicable in the story, right?
    What are your thoughts? Do you have any favorite fictional families?