Home
>
Writing
>
8 Quick Tips on Creating Vivid, Memorable Characters

8 Quick Tips on Creating Vivid, Memorable Characters

These 8 tips on using characters in your stories will help you make sure that readers are involved with your story people right from the start.

Tip 1: Make sure that the reader knows as early as possible who the viewpoint character is in any scene. Do this by tapping into thoughts or emotions that can only be known by the viewpoint character.

Tip 2: Decide on and mention names early in the story. Carefully chosen names help the reader get a rounded picture of your character. (It also helps to stimulate the writer's imagination.)

Tip 3: Give an early "thumbnail sketch" of your character. While it is boring for the reader to suffer through a lengthy description of any character, don't make the mistake of being too sparing with your description. Give the reader enough to form a picture of your character - 'first impression' in looks and personality.

Tip 4: Ask: "Whose story is it?" If one of your secondary characters appeals to you more, and is 'taking over the story', you might have chosen the wrong protagonist. Whose story do you most want to tell? Whose story is likely to engage the reader more?

Tip 5: Use character tags (hair colour or style, annoying habits, distinctive voice etc) to help readers keep characters straight - especially if you have a lot of characters in your novel.

Tip 6: Don't reveal everything about your character in the beginning. Leave room for the character to grow; for the reader to become curious, and for you to get to know him/her.

Tip 7: Know each character's motivation for action. If the reasons for your character's actions and thoughts are not clear to you, the writer, then you will probably find your character doing or saying things that are unbelievable. Motivation is all important! Character motivation comes from two sources: from the inner nature of the person, and from external events that move that person towards making certain decisions. The character's actions will be a result of both internal and external motivation. Make sure you give yourself time to really understand your character.

Tip 8: Characters who have inner conflict are more interesting than more static characters. This does not mean you can have them act out of character "because they're conflicted". Their inner conflict IS part of their character. They can be pulled two ways? but the reader should be able to understand the reasons for both impulses.

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/

recurring cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

8 Quick Tips on Creating Vivid, Memorable Characters

Writing