Your favorite book quite likely has your favorite character. Some of the most memorable people you have ever "met" have come from books. But have you ever read a novel with such a strong lead, they the story required little plot due to their charming charisma? Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery comes to mind. If you think about it, not much happens in that book other than a series of girlish scandals and child's play. Yet because the protagonist, Anne Shirley is larger than life, she carries these events on her shoulders and the reader is so taken by her, we are content to sit back and watch her mistakes and adventures unfold without considering the plot. Every writer wants their book to be remembered, and one of the ways of accomplishing that is to create a character who will never die. How is this done?
1. Put Yourself Into It - I've created some characters that are very different from me. But they all manifest an aspect of myself, however small. I could argue that it is impossible to create a character unlike yourself, but I have not experimented enough to discover if this is true. When you have a little bit of you in your character, be it the protagonist, sidekick or villain, that nugget of reality is often sufficient to inspire some emotional hook that feels real. We've all seen those fantasy novels that you can't really get into, because none of it seems believable. When we combine fiction with reality, our reality, it enables us as the writer to work with our experiences and transform them into something magical. (How chessey.)
2. Give Them a Quirk - When I think of larger than life characters, people like Sherlock Holmes come to mind. I am not at all suggesting you make every hero a complete weirdo like him. Your character's quirk could be a simple as OCD behavior or a keen interest in pot holders. Apart from being a genius, Sherlock has his odd habits and weaknesses that romanticize his intellectual abilities. And while Holmes is one of the more extreme examples of a quirky character, I think there is no denying, we remember the weirdos.
3. Make Them 3-D - What I mean by that is, make certain your character is as complex as a real human. They need more than a motive and dilemma. There should be different sides to their personality, a distinguishable way of walking and talking. Give them a little fire, of whatever kind you like. Maybe it's a temper, sarcastic humor or narcissism. Don't let your character be that boring guy you know who sits in the corner with his hands in his lap and doesn't have an opinion on anything. He's boring in real life; why he be any different in the pages of a book?
Written by: Karoline Kingley
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Strong Characters
Your favorite book quite likely has your favorite character. Some of the most memorable people you have ever "met" have come from books. But have you ever read a novel with such a strong lead, they the story required little plot due to their charming charisma? Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery comes to mind. If you think about it, not much happens in that book other than a series of girlish scandals and child's play. Yet because the protagonist, Anne Shirley is larger than life, she carries these events on her shoulders and the reader is so taken by her, we are content to sit back and watch her mistakes and adventures unfold without considering the plot. Every writer wants their book to be remembered, and one of the ways of accomplishing that is to create a character who will never die. How is this done?
1. Put Yourself Into It - I've created some characters that are very different from me. But they all manifest an aspect of myself, however small. I could argue that it is impossible to create a character unlike yourself, but I have not experimented enough to discover if this is true. When you have a little bit of you in your character, be it the protagonist, sidekick or villain, that nugget of reality is often sufficient to inspire some emotional hook that feels real. We've all seen those fantasy novels that you can't really get into, because none of it seems believable. When we combine fiction with reality, our reality, it enables us as the writer to work with our experiences and transform them into something magical. (How chessey.)
2. Give Them a Quirk - When I think of larger than life characters, people like Sherlock Holmes come to mind. I am not at all suggesting you make every hero a complete weirdo like him. Your character's quirk could be a simple as OCD behavior or a keen interest in pot holders. Apart from being a genius, Sherlock has his odd habits and weaknesses that romanticize his intellectual abilities. And while Holmes is one of the more extreme examples of a quirky character, I think there is no denying, we remember the weirdos.
3. Make Them 3-D - What I mean by that is, make certain your character is as complex as a real human. They need more than a motive and dilemma. There should be different sides to their personality, a distinguishable way of walking and talking. Give them a little fire, of whatever kind you like. Maybe it's a temper, sarcastic humor or narcissism. Don't let your character be that boring guy you know who sits in the corner with his hands in his lap and doesn't have an opinion on anything. He's boring in real life; why he be any different in the pages of a book?
Written by: Karoline Kingley
1. Put Yourself Into It - I've created some characters that are very different from me. But they all manifest an aspect of myself, however small. I could argue that it is impossible to create a character unlike yourself, but I have not experimented enough to discover if this is true. When you have a little bit of you in your character, be it the protagonist, sidekick or villain, that nugget of reality is often sufficient to inspire some emotional hook that feels real. We've all seen those fantasy novels that you can't really get into, because none of it seems believable. When we combine fiction with reality, our reality, it enables us as the writer to work with our experiences and transform them into something magical. (How chessey.)
2. Give Them a Quirk - When I think of larger than life characters, people like Sherlock Holmes come to mind. I am not at all suggesting you make every hero a complete weirdo like him. Your character's quirk could be a simple as OCD behavior or a keen interest in pot holders. Apart from being a genius, Sherlock has his odd habits and weaknesses that romanticize his intellectual abilities. And while Holmes is one of the more extreme examples of a quirky character, I think there is no denying, we remember the weirdos.
3. Make Them 3-D - What I mean by that is, make certain your character is as complex as a real human. They need more than a motive and dilemma. There should be different sides to their personality, a distinguishable way of walking and talking. Give them a little fire, of whatever kind you like. Maybe it's a temper, sarcastic humor or narcissism. Don't let your character be that boring guy you know who sits in the corner with his hands in his lap and doesn't have an opinion on anything. He's boring in real life; why he be any different in the pages of a book?
Written by: Karoline Kingley
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