Characters

Characters are crucial to your story.  You can have a super great plot, amazing voice, and even a beautiful cover, but if the readers don’t care about any of the characters, they won’t read or enjoy the book.  They'll go through it once, and then put it on the shelf to never be touched again. 

Readers need someone to follow, a character that catches their attention, that they will fall in love with, and so therefore love the story world that he/she lives in.

But how does one create such a lovable character?  I have a few little tricks...

Give Them Problems

No one is perfect, and we all know that we aren’t perfect, which is why perfect characters are the worst.  Who wants to read about a character that always does the right thing and never struggles against sin?  It’s boring and we can’t relate to them in the least.  You almost want them to make mistakes...

So give your characters a dark side.  Perhaps they struggle with pride or greediness.  Perhaps they are afraid of something.  Perhaps they believe a lie or want something they can’t (or shouldn’t) have.

Give them struggles.  Even a hero can have a moment of “I don’t want to do this.  I might die, and I just want to run the other way.”  What makes the hero a real hero is having those thoughts of turning aside and still pushing past them to save the day.

And give your characters problems, sins, or dark sides.  And then show them fighting against these, and eventually making better, wiser choices, and striving to do better. 

The readers will thank you as they read the story, hoping that the character comes out alright in the end, relating to the mistakes, and being encouraged to keep fighting their own battles.

Make Them Stand Out

People are different, and not just in looks.  There are 16 personality types on the Myers Briggs for a reason.  God had made us wonderfully unique.  We all have our own thought process, quirks, habits (good and bad), and ways we see and react to things.

Characters should be no different, so strike out a brush and polish them up until they shine!  Do they walk with a swagger?  Chew on their fingernails?  Always say hello to strangers?  Bounce around when excited?  Slur their words?  Use colorful expressions?  Prefer to sit in a corner and read?  Be sure to describe their actions, clothing choices, and facial expressions in a way that defines each and every character and sets them apart from the others.

What kind of things do your characters do?  I’d love to hear about their habits, funny little gestures, or quirky personalities!

Make Them Relatable

This kind of goes with the whole “give them problems” trick.  No one is perfect, and so no one can relate to a perfect character.  Rather, we relate to ones that are scared of heights, spiders, or germs, or perhaps often bump into things, or are awkward when talking to new people or people they want to make good appearances before.

But I'm not talking just about personality or appearance.  We also can relate to their journey.  Now, I’m sure no one here has simply walked into Mordor, but we can still relate to Frodo’s journey.  We know what it’s like to be very tired, very thirsty, or carrying something very heavy.  We know what it’s like to make a tough decision to do something, even if we’re not sure we can complete the task.  We know what it’s like to have something you love that you know is bad, and have to struggle with destroying it.  So when Frodo finally makes it to the volcano and tosses the ring in, we can be encouraged in our own struggles, journeys, and general life.

So be sure that your hero (and maybe even some of the side characters) grow throughout the book.  They step out of their comfort zone and give a rousing talk in front of a whole room of people.  They push past their fear and go on to climb the great height they were scared of.  They give up their secret sins and strive to be a better person.

Encourage your readers by seeing characters being victorious.

Depict Them Well

You can have the most amazing character, but if you can’t convey everything about him/her to your readers, it’s pretty much pointless.  So while writing (or editing) ,watch your descriptive paragraphs.  Is there too much at once – an information dump?  Or do you even describe your character at all – does the reader have to look for clues as to the character’s appearance and personality?  Beware both sides of the spectrum.  Check out other books in your genre as well.  Depending on the type of book you’re writing, you might put more information up front (perhaps even stating facts), or perhaps reveal more information through the first few chapters.

But also remember that there are other ways to describe a character then just by stating facts.  You can show a reader (instead of telling) that a character is tall, by describing how his/her pants are always an inch too short, of how they don’t like looking down at all their friends, or how someone always jokes “how’s the view from up there?”  A character is shy by tucking into herself as she sits at the bus stop and doesn’t make eye contact.  A redhead is always getting called “sparks” or “carrot-top.”

Anyway, I hope this encourages you to create, love, and enjoy writing your characters!  Feel free to rant, fangirl, or describe your own (or your favorite) characters in the comments!