How do you make your characters come alive? Make them the kind that readers can relate to, feel happy or sad for?
A. Give them goals Maybe Elena is a waitress who wants to be an actress. Or Sam is a detective who wants to write novels. Or Marianne is a retail clerk whose biggest desire is to be a fashion designer.
B. Make sure they have a few flaws. Nobody is perfect, and if you want your character to feel like a real person, they had better not be meandering through life with a halo over their head.
C. Also give them strengths. Let them be good at something.
D. See your character in your mind, then describe him/her physical traits and habits and possible quirks. You must have a good picture of your character in your own mind in order to allow the reader to 'see' him/her.
E. Dialogue When writing dialogue for your character, keep in mind the kind of person he/she is. Don't use perfect or stilted English for a homeless man. Don't use street slang for an heiress. Make the language fit the person. Use contractions like 'she'd' or 'we'll' instead of 'she would' or 'we will' as it's the way we speak in everyday conversation.
F. Show your character's emotions. Note that I said 'show' rather than tell. You don't want a mere report of how the character feels. The reader needs to see this.
G. Base him/her on someone you know or have observed. There's nothing wrong in doing this. It helps you 'see' your character's habits, traits, way of speaking and more.
H. Physical descriptions don't need to be done all at once. Sprinkle bits and pieces of what your character looks like throughout the early part of your story.
Some writers create a history of their main characters before they ever begin writing the story. Much of the details they include aren't necessarily going to be in the story, but they're meant to let the writer know his/her character intimately.
No comments:
Post a Comment