bookgeekconfessions:

Tips by Ali Hale

Originally posted on DailyWritingTips

The success of a story rests on its characters. We remember truly compelling, vivid characters long after we’ve finished reading a novel or watching a movie: I’m sure you can recall characters from books you read in childhood.

Great characters can compensate for a weak plot or a so-so writing style – but if readers don’t care about your characters, they’ll put your story down. That clever plot twist or beautiful passage of writing might hook them briefly, but without characters that leap off the page, readers won’t stay engaged.

If you need more evidence that characters are crucially important, search Google for “fan fiction”. Many, many books, TV series and movies have spawned a huge amount of creative writing by fans – and this writing is all about the characters. The plots and sometimes even the settings are different from those in the original, but the characters remain the same.

Simply knowing how important characters are doesn’t help you much, though. You need to figure out how to create truly compelling characters who readers care about, laugh about, even cry about. Here’s how:

What Does Your Character Need?

All compelling characters have a strong need, longing or desire. They should have a problem to overcome. They may not recognise this need (and indeed, many stories are about person coming to understand themselves better – for example, learning that they need companionship).

I picked up a great tip on figuring out what characters need from Holly Lisle’s Create a Character Clinic. Use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Pick a level on the pyramid (you can find all you need to know on Wikipedia’s page) and then figure out what your character is seeking.

At the most basic, physical level, your character might be in a survival situation and need food and water. Going up a level, you might have a character whose security is threatened: perhaps she’s lost her job, or he’s facing a health crisis.

Quirks Don’t Equal Character

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