Love Your Characters

     Characters are usually the first thing people think of when the title of a book or movie is mentioned. For that reason, we need to create characters that maintain a lasting impression in readers’ minds.

     Everything that happens in a story happens to the characters. They are the driving force in any story because without them there would be no one the story would happen to. They are who we associate with, empathize with and they are how we can interact in their world. They are the people we believe we can be. Heroes, villains, sidekicks and teammates need to have a life of their own if we’re to resonate with them. They need traits and flaws. They should have a past, present and future, even if you never use any of it, it helps to flesh them out so we know their every thought and action.

     Regardless of what species they are, we give them qualities humans can relate to then we throw them into some sort of tragedy so readers can get invested in how they transcend their obstacles and make the world a better place. We need to relate to characters. Their journey is the reader’s journey, their pitfalls, wins, pleasures and pains. The more we can identify with a character, the more compelling and believable that character will be.

     When a story starts, it generally involves introducing the main character or sometimes the antagonist, to help set the vision of who we are going to follow throughout their quest. Since the main character is the most important, you need to ensure they are driving the plot forward. We need to make sure the hero isn’t just wading through an environment dealing with conflicts that just arise, they need to be taking active steps to achieving the overall goal and discovering the theme. They need to be pro-active. The problems you give them must have solutions that move them towards completing their quest.

     We don’t have to divulge every tiny detail in our first description, just enough to let the reader get a good image of them. We shouldn’t flat out write a paragraph or two on who our character is and what they look like. When you do this it feels like the reader needs to step outside the story for a minute to get a picture of the character when we should be keeping them involved. Try weaving a character description into the scene, perhaps blending it in with an action sequence. Maybe they’re just getting dressed, or another character is taking notice and the description comes from their point of view. Our brains are really good at filling in details with only a little bit of information and if we spread that information out, work it in with the rest of the narrative, we can get the impression across to readers without taking them out of the story. We have the choice to leave out pertinent details and weave more characteristics and features into the flow of the story. This avoids info-dumping in one scene so we can move the story along. If a certain bit isn’t important to the story at that time, write it in someplace else.

     In Jacob Derigo and the Phantom Menace, I didn’t describe Jacob until almost the end of the chapter. I wrote the book in first-person, so I wanted to set the tone with his personality and the setting first. Since the genre of the story is steampunk, I felt readers can fill in certain banks about how he would look before I needed to get into the particulars. When I did describe him, I used the first-person perspective by having him check his own attire in a mirror before he got off the train and met his soon-to-be commanding officers.

     Describing characters isn’t just their physical appearance. We can get an impression of personality traits through how they move, how they talk, how they react, how they stand up straight or slouch. Think about what other attributes that would make for a more interesting and relatable character. Give them specific traits – does their flaw that makes them unique come in handy somewhere in the story? What drives them? What are they willing to sacrifice to accomplish the quest? What do they want out of life or the particular journey you’ve put them on? People have layers and your characters should have layers as well if they are going to feel real to the reader.

     We don’t just put these kinds of details into our main characters; our secondary and tertiary characters need some love too. Readers need to get attached to them on some level because these characters enrich the story. It will be in much greater effect too, if we decide to kill one off. How did you feel when Dobby died in Harry Potter? Supporting characters serve as sidekicks, comic relief, or the antagonist’s minion who turns good and helps the hero. Don’t be afraid to give them personalities, no matter how quirky, adorable or grotesque. It helps to define the main character while shaping the world they live in and our stories will feel richer and more full.

     Love your characters. Give them a lot of thought, care and attention and they will reward your effort with an epic story and memories that will stay in the hearts and minds of readers for generations.

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