Creating a Character
It doesn’t matter what genre of fiction you’re writing; you’re going to have to create a large number of characters. These will be the major protagonists and antagonists as well as minor characters that may only appear in one scene. Here are a few tips on how to create those characters.
Don’t start a character with a name or physical appearance. Start with their backstory. You need to know how these characters will react to certain situations and delving into their past is the best way of doing this. That said, don’t waste your time writing every detail of their past. Only write the basics and anything else relevant to the story; you don’t need to know every single detail about their life, just the important bits.
Give your characters problems. The main character in your book must have the biggest problem but the other major characters should also have problems, whether they are the same as the main character, or something else entirely. Start by thinking about this question; “What does this character want more than anything else in the world?”. When you’ve worked their main aim out, start creating problems that will get in the way of that aim.
Empathize with your characters, do not sympathise with them. Understand what makes them tick and understand what causes them to act the way they do, but don’t let that understanding change tempt you to go easy on a character. If they’ve done something bad, don’t let them off the hook if they had a good reason for doing what they did; they need to face the consequences of their actions
Write from your life. If you’ve had a particular experience you want to put in your story, use what you remember to write it. Emotions, feelings, hopes and fears are all a lot easier to write about when you know exactly what it’s like from past experiences.
It doesn’t matter what genre of fiction you’re writing; you’re going to have to create a large number of characters. These will be the major protagonists and antagonists as well as minor characters that may only appear in one scene. Here are a few tips on how to create those characters.
Don’t start a character with a name or physical appearance. Start with their backstory. You need to know how these characters will react to certain situations and delving into their past is the best way of doing this. That said, don’t waste your time writing every detail of their past. Only write the basics and anything else relevant to the story; you don’t need to know every single detail about their life, just the important bits.
Give your characters problems. The main character in your book must have the biggest problem but the other major characters should also have problems, whether they are the same as the main character, or something else entirely. Start by thinking about this question; “What does this character want more than anything else in the world?”. When you’ve worked their main aim out, start creating problems that will get in the way of that aim.
Empathize with your characters, do not sympathise with them. Understand what makes them tick and understand what causes them to act the way they do, but don’t let that understanding change tempt you to go easy on a character. If they’ve done something bad, don’t let them off the hook if they had a good reason for doing what they did; they need to face the consequences of their actions
Write from your life. If you’ve had a particular experience you want to put in your story, use what you remember to write it. Emotions, feelings, hopes and fears are all a lot easier to write about when you know exactly what it’s like from past experiences.
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