Writing advice: Characters
Characters are the foundation of a good story. If you don’t care about the characters, if you don’t learn to love and hate them, you won’t care about what happens to them. For those who struggle with writing believable and interesting characters, here’s what I find most important:
Flaws. I repeat: Flaws. It’s what makes us human and real. Readers will relate more to characters with strengths and weaknesses, with talents and quirks, than to a Mr./Mrs. Perfect. I don’t just mean flaws as in abilities, but also personality, looks and behavior.
Know your characters. Make a profile, „interview“ them, write about their past, draw them...
Think of them not as characters, but as people. Everyone of us has weird/funny habits, give your characters some, too.
Don’t force them into things; let them do it their way. That’s what good scenes are made of. If you know them well enough, you will know how they act in all kinds of situations.
Have a diverse cast of characters in your book. If everyone looks and acts the same, there’s little to no conflict, and conflict is what keeps your story interesting.
Be careful with stereotypes. They’re not always bad and can be changed into interesting concepts. But if your whole book consists of stereotypes, it will become predictable and therefore boring. Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Feel free to add to the list. :)
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