Writers Tips

Characters

It is vital that the reader is drawn to the characters of your story. Even if you have created the most profound plot, built a fantastic alien world or redefined magic as we know it, none of this will matter unless we care about your characters. Here are some pointers for making the actors in your tale connect with us:

a) Make them believable

This is more difficult than it may first appear. Your people must be both interesting and realistic, which can often be a contradiction in terms. Therefore you need to add precisely the correct amount of masala to your text. Too little and the dish will be bland, too much and you will over power our taste buds. Imagine some interesting flaws or habits to inflict upon your characters. Examples of such could be a quick temper, drinking problem or superstition. This will help to make them memorable.

b) Avoid clichés

Avoid clichés like the plague. The reader will find your characters much more interesting if you apply some imagination and stay away from the norm. Here are some obvious examples:

 The naïve farm boy who is suddenly allotted a quest of great importance
 The strong, silent, nameless, gallant hero
 The hero’s love interest who is perfect in every conceivable way - beautiful, intelligent, rich, honest, loving etc
 The huge breasted bar wench
 The wise, old wizard who knows everything about the quest, but is reluctant to explain it all to the hero
 The inexplicably evil overlord

c) Give them a goal

The reader should be aware of your characters motives and objectives as early as possible. We need to understand why the hero is putting himself through the ordeal presented to us in the story so that we can identify and sympathise with them. Do we believe that his motives justify the pain that he is going through?

d) Introduce conflict

Give your characters some difficult choices to make. These should be real choices, with realistic outcomes. Should the hero destroy the evil overlord and free mankind from his oppressive reign? The answer seems obvious, but then again, should he accept the bribe of immense riches and limitless power? Not all choices should have a black and white answer. Your character ought to pick the wrong choice from time to time as well.
Conflict between characters is also a key tool for bringing additional life to your pages. Not all of the members of a group need to get on, even if they do share a common goal. You will find that if you plan your character traits correctly, there will be plenty of opportunities for them to disagree. Maybe one of them even has a hidden motive?

e) Don’t name the walk-on characters

By telling us the name of characters in your story, you are indicating that they will be key players and have some part to play in the overall events. Your readers will have a hard enough time remembering the names of characters who they need to know, never mind the extras who are there to chat with in their work place, ye olde inne or space port.