Writing Better Part 6

ROMANCING YOUR CHARACTERS:

17 steps to creating characters your readers can’t help but fall in love with:

01) Establish reader identification with your characters as close to the opening as possible;

02) Don’t have too many characters - combine the roles and functions of two characters into one;

03) For maximum effect and drama, create sharply contrasting characters;

04) Give readers someone to hate as well as love;

05) Give characters visual traits or tags;

06) Show, don’t tell;

07) Keep dialog in balance with narration and body language;

08) Be original in descriptions - avoid overuse of metaphors and similes;

09) Give each character an extensive history;

10) Let your characters grow, while keeping them in character;

11) Keep all characters true to time period and environment;

12) Keep character names as dissimilar as possible, and make sure the names are appropriate for the time period and geographical location;

13) Always give characters a sense of purpose, even if just to survive;

14) Give characters positive and negative personality traits;

15) Give characters a problem to which readers can relate;

16) Make each character unique, with some quirk which sets them apart from other, similar characters;

17) When you have writer’s block, try writing everything you know about your major characters.

ONCE UPON A CHARACTER:

Rather than telling readers about a character’s quirks and personality traits, showing them allows the reader to participate in the characterization process.

Faultless characters are irritating. And villains with no redeeming qualities stop being human. One of the best ways to create memorable characters is to play against archetypes.

Always create a strong first impression.

Idiosyncrasies of speech can place a character in readers’ minds more firmly than anything.

The essence of a memorable character lies in his ability to rise above his human fears and longings.

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