Creating Wonderful Characters
Creating a wonderful character means enabling the reader to sympathize with them
Snuggling in your comfortable spot to revisit your favorite character is one of the best feelings there is.
I can’t tell you how many times I have re-read some of my favorite books solely for revisiting characters that feel like an old friend. This got me thinking.
Why do readers and writers connect so much with characters in stories?
Relatability
Truthfully, reading someone’s inner thoughts, especially thoughts we can relate to, is invaluable.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some books where it can feel like an invasion of privacy. I mean, that’s why none of us can read minds, right? However, it’s comforting to know that the author can create a character that can connect with you in a way you hadn’t known they could.
It’s also comforting to know that you are not the only one who feels this way. There is a character for everyone out there that can suck you into a book and stick with you. That’s just the reality of it.
Risks
Let’s face it.
Reading is a way to travel without going anywhere. A way to be someone else, to take risks in someone else’s shoes. Millions of books can do just that for any reader. It only takes the right book to do so.
I love getting attached to a character who takes risks I would typically not take or step out of their comfort zone. It’s thrilling as a reader and fascinating to see how another person could react.
Great Writing
There are millions of writers in the world who are working tirelessly on a story for the right person.
After numerous edits and long hours of writing and outlining, they finally reach the point where they can kick the thing out of the proverbial nest. Could you do it?
As a writer, it was difficult for me to do it.
As an avid reader who held so much respect for books and their authors, I too wanted to create such incredible stories and memorable characters that sucked people in. I wanted to write books that made people hungry for the next one. Am I there yet? I hope so.
So why is good writing a way we connect with characters in stories so much?
Because that writer can show you the characters’ emotions and attributes so that they feel like they would know them if they saw them on the street. Good writing is giving someone a clear picture of the character without burying the reader in precisely every excruciating detail that character has, but leaving a little bit to the imagination.
It’s a tricky skill that takes time to hone in on.
Do you have a favorite character or a disliked villain?
What character did you like the most? What sucked you in about them and made you want to know more about them?
As much as we enjoy talking about our favorite characters, it’s essential to talk about the ones we dislike too. Why? Because as much as we would like to forget about them, they affect your favorite character in some way.
In each villain or annoying character, we all see aspects of things we dislike in people in general: greed, jealousy, obnoxious behavior, cockiness, and even doubt.
We can also relate to these characters because they have qualities that we can recognize and relate to our real lives. This is what also makes them great characters. Characters that seem HUMAN.
Honestly, people are not going to always win or ride off into the sunset. There are times when life leaves them bitter, and they change as a result of that.
How to cover your character completely
Believe it or not, creating character outlines is one of the most useful things you can do.
When you do this, you can plan ahead for:
Who the character is connected to in the story
Where they are from
Hobbies, favorite things, and small details
Plan how they are introduced into the story
If you want to take the next step into making sure that your characters are resonating with your audience, planning them out ahead of time could prove the key to doing so.
Next Time
The next time you re-read your favorite book, go on a new adventure, or revisit some characters, I hope that you can appreciate them a little more just for the fact that they hold you for that entire book.
Being able to be a part of something like that is extremely special.