5 rules to writing unforgettable characters that breathe on the page

Hi!

Someone asked me to write about how to create realistic and likeable characters, and since I struggle a little bit with this myself, I went on a journey to find the best articles on it. So... I didn't get any sleep last night either... But now I know how to write an awesome character. Win!

Here are some "rules", and at the end of this post are five links to the articles I read.




Rule nr. 1: All of your characters must change

In real life, people don't change that much, but in fiction, they have to. It's just unrealistic if they don't. Crazy, right? So, the theory is this:

• In the beginning of your story, let's say your protagonist hates magic. 
• Then something happens to her that forces her to use magic.
• In the end, she realizes that magic is a good thing if you use it the right way, and uses her magic to fight off the bad guys. Happy ever after.

 or

• Your protagonist is really sad because their life sucks.
• Something happens that makes their life even worse.
• They learn that they have to stay strong and not be miserable because life will suck anyways. The end.

 (That was a pretty depressing example, but you get the point.) Your characters have to change in some way. It doesn't even be very drastic, but it has to make sense and be realistic. The characters have to have reason to change.


Rule nr. 2: Know your characters

If you don't know your characters better than yourself, then how are you going to write an entire book about them? The secret here is to write down as much as you think you need to know about them and then put it on the wall next to your writing desk or in a story bible. But don't ever make the mistake of info-dumping! Your readers don't need to know everything about the characters. When we talk about world building, we are often advised to know as much as we can about the world, but only spill the most important information to the reader, and that way, they'll automatically know that there's much we aren't telling them. And that same advice goes for characters too.

Character questionnaires are perfect for this. One is in the links below, but there's also plenty of them everywhere on the internet :)


Rule nr. 3: Listen to peoples' conversations

If you travel to school or work by bus, leave your phone in you pocket and your earphones at home. Dialogue is an enormous part of who we are, and its importance is unfortunately often underestimated. To be able to write good dialogue, you have to listen to people and also read a lot of dialogue in books. If you're an introvert, just watch a movie and make notes of how people speak and what their choice of words tell about them.

A big part of our personalities can be seen in the way we speak, so take your time to figure out how your character's voices stand out from each other.


Rule nr. 4: Study body language

There are great scientific articles online, and also a lot of helpful charts on how to write natural body language, so I won't write much about it. It's just as -- if not even more -- important as dialogue. Body language is what people say with their actions. Body language is extremely important when you for example want to show someone lying. Do your research!


Rule nr. 5: Don't neglect your secondary characters or villain

This is hard, because you don't want your secondary characters or your villain to be more fleshed out or more likeable than your protagonist, right?

No, no, no. No.

You have to flesh out all of your characters. It may be the protagonist and villain who make all the big decisions, but unless the reader cares about your supporting characters too, then why are they there? I hate it (and I know I'm not alone) when secondary characters are clearly only there to entertain or advise the protagonist. They need to have lives of their own too -- back stories, preferences, favorite foods, own voices -- or your story will be boring and flat.


I hope these "rules" (=tips) helped you. I'll see you again soon!

1. http://www.novel-writing-help.com/character-change.html
2. http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/he-said-she-said
3. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/the-9-ingredients-of-character-development
4. http://www.liferichpublishing.com/AuthorResources/Fiction/Five-Traps-and-Tips-for-Character-Development.aspx
5. https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/character-questionnaire/proust 

Please tell me if you know any websites that I haven't listed so that I can add them in :)

Happy writing!
Em