Interesting characters that readers care about are the most important 'ingredients' in your novel.
That might sound like a fairly sweeping statement, but think about it.
You can have a wonderful plot with twists and turns and a humdinger of a surprise ending... but if the reader doesn't believe in your characters, all that plotting has gone to waste.
You can have a setting that seems so vivid you could imagine walking into it... but if the reader is bored by your characters, you might as well have not described the setting at all.
Characters are all important. To identify with them, the reader must believe in them. The reader must like them (at least the main character) - otherwise, why bother reading about them?
TIPS ON CREATING CHARACTERS READERS CARE ABOUT
1. You have to get inside the character's skin.
Why? The reader 'becomes' the main character. What happens to that character happens to the reader. If she is cold, the reader is cold. If she is in despair, the reader feels that heavy weight of hopelessness. If she is scared, the reader looks over his shoulder. A common problem with beginning writers' manuscripts is that the story is told 'from a distance' - it's as though someone is looking on, rather than being in the scene and experiencing everything for herself.
2. You must have the main character stay 'in character'.
Don't let her do something foolish just because you need to get her into a sticky situation to suit the plot. Don't let her suddenly become 'helpless' just so someone else can rescue her. The same applies in reverse: don't let her suddenly start taking incomprehensible risks if you have shown her thus far to be sensible and moderate.
3. You need to give your characters a backstory.
Your characters should not appear as though they've sprung fully formed into the world. Our life experiences leave their mark on us all - it's the same with your characters. Take the time to sit and think about your character: build a profile on paper if you think that will help.
What were the key experiences in this person's life? What was the worst thing that ever happened to her? What was the best thing? How would she react if physically attacked? How would she react if verbally attacked? What was her childhood like? What were her parents like? What are her politics? When you really know your characters, their actions and words will flow far more eaily from your brain to the page (or screen!).
4. You must think carefully about your characters' names.
The number one rule: try to avoid having two characters with names that look similar on the page. Laura and Linda. Brendan and Ben. Nick and Mick. The reader can easily get confused.
The number two rule: choose names that are appropriate for the generation into which your character was born. Many new children's writers use names that are thirty years out of date. Think about the people you know of different ages. What are their names? What are their friends' names?
The number three rule: Choose names that suit the character. The reader can be totally turned off if you (for example) use an ugly name for a beautiful girl - unless this is relevant to the story, such as someone being teased unmercifully throughout her childhood because of an ugly name, so she still bears the mental scars when the story opens.
A FINAL TIP:
When you finish a book with a sense of regret because you don't want to leave well-liked characters behind, put on your writer's hat. Why did these characters appeal so much? Can you identify any techniques the writer has used? (Think about how the writer has appealed to the emotions of the reader - this is usually the key to strong identification with characters.)
(c) copyright Marg McAlister
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/
no-contract cleaning service Glenview ..In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors,... Read More
Ever wondered how the most successful children's book writers get... Read More
Characters in a good novel really carry the story along... Read More
Before I became a teacher, I was a sports writer.... Read More
You send me an e-mail. You tell me you've written... Read More
Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The... Read More
How to avoid mistakes that undermine your credibilityYou're probably already... Read More
Lately I've been noticing an odd trend amongst the freelance... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?What a plot is and what a... Read More
Welcome to the zany ideas of a productive writer. My... Read More
If your articles aren't getting published very often, or you... Read More
When one population in one century survived five wars, two... Read More
Mindmapping is better than linear outlining because authors can use... Read More
Griselda spent hours polishing up her resume. No detail was... Read More
As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think... Read More
Beginner's Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as... Read More
Structure in the form of frameworks, work processes and goals... Read More
1. Become an EavesdropperListen carefully to the way people REALLY... Read More
How do you describe a scene without slowing down the... Read More
1. PLAY A GAME LIKE SOLITAIRE....for half an hour or... Read More
In order to be successful with a newsletter, specialize in... Read More
One of the biggest problems that inexperienced writers have is... Read More
If you either want to write a book to help... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?It should.A theme is a one-line explanation... Read More
We've all been told that we need to use all... Read More
house cleaning company Glencoe ..Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane... Read More
Beginner's Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as... Read More
The urge to write fiction seems God given for some,... Read More
Plotting a book can seem an overwhelming task when you're... Read More
The rejection letter says: "Your story, on the surface, appears... Read More
This article is to help identify which style, technique or... Read More
William Faulkner, the great Mississippi writer, said, "The tools I... Read More
If you're a writer, you're in business. It doesn't matter... Read More
You must write a hypnotic persuasion letter to help you... Read More
If you are reading this article then you probably have... Read More
A writer can never be self indulgent whether writing fiction,... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?It's no use coming up with a... Read More
Have you ever wondered why some people can make millions... Read More
1. Use Logic: Check for External PressuresAre you under physical... Read More
There's nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just... Read More
User documentation is all too often written by programmers for... Read More
"Do I send samples, a media kit, or just the... Read More
I am sure that at in some era, at some... Read More
At some point along the way, most of us have... Read More
Just about everyone is familiar with this beginning: "In the... Read More
It's the funniest thing. When someone asks me what I... Read More
The hardest part of nonfiction writing is finding a subject... Read More
The creativity of Jaisini is not designed to be preaching... Read More
Freewriting is a release from the prison of rules. It... Read More
So you want to learn to research well, and not... Read More
Writing |