Campfire Character Building

There’s a well-established trope I call campfire character building. This is a scene where characters sit around a campfire and tell each other stories. Most often, these stories-within-a-story are something of a character’s own backstory. Whatever they choose to tell, it should illuminate something of the storyteller’s character.

But why a campfire? The campfire provides a respite, a quiet moment between action set-pieces, a time to draw breath. It’s an ideal location for characters to gather around before bed-time. And what do people do around the campfire? Tell each other stories.

All kinds of campfire

The end-of-day campfire is a staple of fiction. It doesn’t have to be an actual campfire, although mine often are. Perhaps its the cozy fireplace in an elegant drawing room, or the warm, wood-burning range at the inn. Perhaps it’s the oasis in the desert or the sheltered cave hidden from the blizzard outside. Maybe it’s the huddle around the family kitchen table.

It’s a time to break bread, cook a meal and uncork a bottle or two. And what do people do? Talk. They tell stories about themselves, the places they’ve been, the things they’ve seen and done. They express the things they want and complain about the things they hate. Silent and taciturn characters get dragged into conversation because there’s not a lot else to do at such times.

Reflections and revelations

The campfire often grounds a sequel scene following intense action. There comes a moment of calm for the characters to draw breath. While they reflect on events of the day, they get to reveal character and build relationships. It’s a chance to find common ground, or make a new plan after the failure of the old one.

There’s nothing like a warm moment in the glow of a fire, drink in hand to light a friendship or a romance.

But the camp-fire isn’t all about buddying up. It may also be time to declare some home-truths and lay out personal differences. There’s as much conflict as reconciliation around the campfire. Perhaps two sides of an argument sit on opposite sides across the flames, battle lines drawn?

Lore and Order

Firelight is enough to read a letter, or write a letter at the end of a hectic day. It’s about the giving and receiving of information.

That’s why some authors use the quiet moment campfire to fill in some lore and some world-building. Sometimes a little too much. Beware the info-dump; vast slabs of exposition in place of dialogue and interaction. The characters may not have anywhere to go for a few hours, that doesn’t justify Death By PowerPoint presentation.

Laugh or cry?

Think about all those scenes in books, movies and TV that you now recognise as campfire character building. They’re in every genre, in every medium. It’s more than a trope, it’s a fixture. When you know, you know. Try not to laugh.

Almost every Western I can think of has a campfire moment. Two of my stories are fantasy re-treads of the Pursuit Western, so of course, I have campfire moments. I also have moments at the inn, hideouts in abandoned buildings, even the back room of an apothecary’s shop. There’s a virtual campfire when two characters sit on the side of the road waiting for a third and they break bread together. It doesn’t have to be subtle.

You find campfire character building in abundance in Middle Earth, Narnia, Shadow and Bone, The Witcher. John Grisham includes campfire moments during pre-trial and trial proceedings in every one of his novels.

The mess hall dinner aboard the hovership presents a campfire moment in The Matrix. There’s a significant campfire scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It skillfully dissects the relationships of established characters across the group. And just who is worthy to lift Thor’s hammer? It’s a great campfire scene in a big action superhero blockbuster.

Comfort in the dark

So why is it the campfire scene a trope and not a cliche? Because culturally, humans are conditioned to campfire moments, whether it’s the college cafeteria or the corner table in a bar. We know the part the campfire plays in getting to know each other. It’s the comfort in the dark. The campfire is the beacon that draws us in.