CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Your story's characters are living, breathing entities; feed them and they'll flourish, neglect them and they'll wilt.

Picture your character as a Sim, running around freely in the open world. Is he/she attending birthday parties and making friends, or is he/she crying on the kitchen floor on fire after burning toast? In either of those examples, you may not have written that into your story or character background, but if you've developed the character well enough it may not be that far of a stretch of the imagination.

CREATE A CHARACTER PERSONALITY

Give your character personality. Make him/her brave or cowardly, courteous or self-centered, blank or blank, the choice is yours. Don't just tell your reader, though, show your reader by describing the actions surrounding the trait or feat. The way you describe your character will paint a picture that shows the depth he/she has. Use positive adjectives to create a sense of good about him/her while using negatives to describe a villain or antagonist. Again, don't just use the word, describe what makes the character embody it.

Using consistent positive and negative descriptions can also come in handy for foreshadowing or if you decide to throw in a twist. Nothing plays on someone's heart strings more than suddenly turning a character heel or vice versa, especially if the build up has the reader convinced that the character is a certain way and it turns out they're not. These character twists can keep readers guessing and on their toes, not daring to put the book down until they uncover the truth. When a reader develops emotional attachments to a character that's when they become hooked. The same goes for creating mystery around a character - give enough to incite interest, but leave enough out so the intrigue remains until you're ready to reveal it.

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, REAL RELATABILITY

Create a sense of wonder about your character that resonates with the reader. It's not necessary to give your characters superpowers, unless they're superheroes in which case that's the point. Instead, decide who you want your characters to appeal to. Know your audience well enough that you can sense what characteristics they'll appreciate.

Relatability can seperate whether the reader cares what happens to a character or not. Setting up a side character to be killed off without much notice or uproar? Neglect descriptions, limit dialogue or interactions with main characters and watch it wither away. This is especially useful in stories with deaths that build up or shape the main character without putting much limelight on the death itself. On the other hand, the more information and relatability that the reader has with the character the more impactful an event will be.

How you develop the personalities in your story is up to you, just remember that what you put in is what you'll get out. If you find yourself stuck, envision yourself as a reader and ask yourself what you want to know and what you should know about the characters. Once you build the foundation, the rest will come.

By Philip Vladimir

From: Canada

Website: https://www.philipvladimir.com

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