Crafting Characters
Who is your favorite person in the world?
Did you just picture them? Great.
So what makes that person your favorite? Their fun personality? Their humor? Their kindness? Their loyalty? Do you share common interests? What are their flaws? What things about this person drive you crazy, but in a good way?
Okay. Have you worked out the answers to those questions? Awesome.
Now when you think of your next character to write, craft them like you would when describing your favorite person. You're passionate about this person in your life so be passionate about this character you're bringing to life. Be passionate about all your characters. They aren't just vessels to use as plot tools. Accentuate what you like and don't like about them. Consider them like you would a real person. Would you really want to know the characters you're creating? Or would they annoy the heck out of you? What would you think of them in real life if you did? Would this character compel you to be their friend? Or would you run in the opposite direction?
Any character can be an excellent character if you make who they are convincingly real to yourself. Because if you're convinced this character has feelings and is worth knowing, your readers will be too. To craft a compelling character, the character must first compel you. No matter the setting of your story, or the alien world you have placed this character within, give them feelings and emotions that are far too familiar.
The hero of your story shouldn't be some perfect model whose actions are always just what they should be. Characters like this quickly become boring and predictable. However, this doesn't mean you have to swing the opposite direction and make your character a complete mess who can't seem to make a single sound decision either... (Tris from Divergent) *cough cough*. This will only frustrate your readers and make them stop cheering for your character's happy ending!
Do we want our characters to have conflict? Yes of course. We all have conflict, don't we? What makes or breaks a character is how they succeed when put up against this conflict. If you have a hero, let the readers know how hard doing the right thing really IS sometimes... If you're writing a villain, let the readers see the good that actually does reside far beneath that rough exterior. Because the truth is, no one is pure evil and no one is perfectly good. What determines a character's place in the story is the kind of decisions that character makes. But you have to know why they would make those decisions in the first place. Right?
So come to know your character. Spend some personal time imagining them in their entirety. What do they look like when they wake up in the morning? What kind of childhood did they have? How do they act when they are in awkward situations? Know their fears, loves and greatest desires. Flesh them out, and leave no shadowy area. Even if you don't necessarily write about every single detail of this character in your story (and I recommend you don't), still practice knowing everything about them. It will pay off!
What's creepy is when this character you're creating in your mind suddenly starts talking to you, and telling you what it likes and what it doesn't, and saying "I don't want to do that! I want to do this instead'. "No" I say! "Yes" it says! We wrestle back and forth, I get a headache, we call it a draw. That's when you know you've gone crazy.
Just kidding!
That's actually a good sign! It means that this character really has come alive inside your mind and you've succeeded in being a highly imaginative writer. At least, that's what I tell myself...
Hopefully this advice helps you. Wishing you luck!
Did you just picture them? Great.
So what makes that person your favorite? Their fun personality? Their humor? Their kindness? Their loyalty? Do you share common interests? What are their flaws? What things about this person drive you crazy, but in a good way?
Okay. Have you worked out the answers to those questions? Awesome.
Now when you think of your next character to write, craft them like you would when describing your favorite person. You're passionate about this person in your life so be passionate about this character you're bringing to life. Be passionate about all your characters. They aren't just vessels to use as plot tools. Accentuate what you like and don't like about them. Consider them like you would a real person. Would you really want to know the characters you're creating? Or would they annoy the heck out of you? What would you think of them in real life if you did? Would this character compel you to be their friend? Or would you run in the opposite direction?
Any character can be an excellent character if you make who they are convincingly real to yourself. Because if you're convinced this character has feelings and is worth knowing, your readers will be too. To craft a compelling character, the character must first compel you. No matter the setting of your story, or the alien world you have placed this character within, give them feelings and emotions that are far too familiar.
The hero of your story shouldn't be some perfect model whose actions are always just what they should be. Characters like this quickly become boring and predictable. However, this doesn't mean you have to swing the opposite direction and make your character a complete mess who can't seem to make a single sound decision either... (Tris from Divergent) *cough cough*. This will only frustrate your readers and make them stop cheering for your character's happy ending!
Do we want our characters to have conflict? Yes of course. We all have conflict, don't we? What makes or breaks a character is how they succeed when put up against this conflict. If you have a hero, let the readers know how hard doing the right thing really IS sometimes... If you're writing a villain, let the readers see the good that actually does reside far beneath that rough exterior. Because the truth is, no one is pure evil and no one is perfectly good. What determines a character's place in the story is the kind of decisions that character makes. But you have to know why they would make those decisions in the first place. Right?
So come to know your character. Spend some personal time imagining them in their entirety. What do they look like when they wake up in the morning? What kind of childhood did they have? How do they act when they are in awkward situations? Know their fears, loves and greatest desires. Flesh them out, and leave no shadowy area. Even if you don't necessarily write about every single detail of this character in your story (and I recommend you don't), still practice knowing everything about them. It will pay off!
What's creepy is when this character you're creating in your mind suddenly starts talking to you, and telling you what it likes and what it doesn't, and saying "I don't want to do that! I want to do this instead'. "No" I say! "Yes" it says! We wrestle back and forth, I get a headache, we call it a draw. That's when you know you've gone crazy.
Just kidding!
That's actually a good sign! It means that this character really has come alive inside your mind and you've succeeded in being a highly imaginative writer. At least, that's what I tell myself...
Hopefully this advice helps you. Wishing you luck!
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