Sometimes it is difficult to come up with likeable characters for you novel or story--it is all in the imagination that us writers hone them to perfection, or at least close to perfect. Our characters make the story believable or unbelievable. If they feel more like flat personalities then the reader will not like them or they will give a writer a bad review. Round out those characters and see where they go.
Characters, whether female or male need to have characteristics, which means they need to have issues, and many of them. With many different back stories that go along with these characters enhance them by adding something they must do, like a habit. One character in my book has a habit of rubbing envelopes before opening them. Believable right? Yes, people do have habits, no matter good, bad, or ugly. Insert one into your book before it is through.
Good characters bring a story together and enable the reader to finish the book from front to back almost in one sitting. Horrible characters are challenging for the reader to wade through and at times, readers put the book down and never pick it up again. There have been too many icky characters written out there. It is up to us writers to make them awesome!
Keep writing that book even know it is terrible right now--that is what editing is for. When a writer edits, we blow up our characters into something majestic and flowing. "They walked into a room filled with multi-colored balloons and happy smiles." A character with a debt is what readers want to scan, and not a character that is all balloons and smiles on every page. That is just not real-life.
Let's keep it real for the reader. Write not only what you know but what you are in the process of learning. Life is one huge learning experience and by adding something new to you, you are adding something new to the character. Make him or her something special to you and your reader. Keep this character grounded in reality or any other place, if they are too much of a loose cannon then readers exit the scene.
Love what you write. If you don't, neither will your readers. Always edit and edit again whenever something is finished or almost completed. And always write your characters well....
~Author Candy O'Donnell
http://authorcandyodonnell.blogspot.com/
Characters, whether female or male need to have characteristics, which means they need to have issues, and many of them. With many different back stories that go along with these characters enhance them by adding something they must do, like a habit. One character in my book has a habit of rubbing envelopes before opening them. Believable right? Yes, people do have habits, no matter good, bad, or ugly. Insert one into your book before it is through.
Good characters bring a story together and enable the reader to finish the book from front to back almost in one sitting. Horrible characters are challenging for the reader to wade through and at times, readers put the book down and never pick it up again. There have been too many icky characters written out there. It is up to us writers to make them awesome!
Keep writing that book even know it is terrible right now--that is what editing is for. When a writer edits, we blow up our characters into something majestic and flowing. "They walked into a room filled with multi-colored balloons and happy smiles." A character with a debt is what readers want to scan, and not a character that is all balloons and smiles on every page. That is just not real-life.
Let's keep it real for the reader. Write not only what you know but what you are in the process of learning. Life is one huge learning experience and by adding something new to you, you are adding something new to the character. Make him or her something special to you and your reader. Keep this character grounded in reality or any other place, if they are too much of a loose cannon then readers exit the scene.
Love what you write. If you don't, neither will your readers. Always edit and edit again whenever something is finished or almost completed. And always write your characters well....
~Author Candy O'Donnell
http://authorcandyodonnell.blogspot.com/
ABSOLUTELY! I was at a workshop where they recommended we keep a file with tons of back-story on each character, and maybe fill out job apps for them, really bring them to life in every sense. I personally go for long walks and talk to characters as a child would an invisible friend, you can do it aloud and everyone thinks you are on blue tooth and not raving mad. Enjoyed and shared .
ReplyDeleteLove this MCV Egan. You are absolutely correct. Being friends with them is what writing is all about. =)
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