MUCH EFFORT GOES INTO CREATING A CHARACTER FOR A NOVEL, PLAY, SHORT STORY OR SONG. YES, ALL OF THESE KINDS OF WRITING NEED GOOD OR BAD DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS WHEN CREATING INTEREST FROM OUR READERS INTEREST IN ANYTHING WE WRITE. THIS POST WILL GO INTO KEY EXAMPLES WHICH CREATE A GREAT CHARACTER IF YOU USE THESE SUGGESTIONS.
BEFORE WE DO THIS, LET US TAKE A LOOK AT THE DEFINITION OF CHARACTER IN OUR WEBSTER DICTIONARY AND OUR DAILY WISDOM WORD DEFINITION. WEBSTER DEFINITION OF CHARACTER-THE MENTAL AND MORAL QUALITIES DISTINCTIVE TO AN INDIVIDUAL. 2. STRENGTH AND ORIGINALITY IN A PERSON’S NATURE.
DAILY WISDOM WORD DEFINITION OF CHARACTER-FEATURES ON THE OUTSIDE AND INSIDE OF A PERSON WHICH DISTINGUISHES WHO THEY ARE.
I LOVE LOOKING UP THE DEFINITIONS OF WORDS AND IT NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME HOW ENLIGHTENING THE DEFINITION OF A WORD CAN BE. LET US GET BACK TO THE CURRENT QUESTION; WHAT MAKES A GOOD CHARACTER WHEN WRITING?
1. NAME-THE NAME OF A CHARACTER IS SO IMPORTANT. IT IS LIKE HAVING A PIECE OF CLAY AND DECIDING THE OVERALL CHARACTER OR SHAPE OF WHO A PERSON IS. NAMES ARE SIGNIFICANT AND IF YOU WISH TO BE A BESTSELLING AUTHOR, START WITH A NAME THAT MATCHES a character WHO YOUARE SHAPING.
2. AGE-THE AGE OF A CHARACTER IS CRUCIAL IN DETERMINING SUCCESS WITH YOUR NOVEL. THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY AGE MATTERS. LET’S SAY YOUR NOVEL SPANS TWENTY YEARS. THERE IS MUCH DIFFERENTIATION WHEN A CHARACTER IS TEN YEARS OLD AND THIRTY YEARS OLD. YOU WILL NEED TO CREATE DIFFERENT BIOGRAPHIES OF FOR EACH AGE OF THIS CHARACTER.
3. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS-AS WRITERS IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CREATE VISUAL ACUMEN FOR EACH OF OUR CHARACTERS WHEN WRITING ANY STORY. HOW TALL IS OUR CHARACTER? HOW DOES HE OR SHE STYLE THEIR HAIR? WHAT KIND OF CLOTHES DO THEY WEAR? WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR CHARACTER’S EYES AND HAIR? IS HE OR SHE ATTRACTIVE? EACH OF THESE ITEMS COUNT WHEN BUILDING YOUR CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY.
4. DOES THE CHARACTER USE PROPS? PERHAPS THEY HAVE A CUSTOMIZED CASE WITH THEIR INITIALS FOR THEIR CELL PHONE? MAYBE THEY USE A CANE? BACK STORIES DESCRIBING HOW THE PROPS BECAME PART OF A CHARACTERS LIFE HELP DISTINGUISH EACH ONE. USE MORE DESCRIPTIVES ABOUT HOW THESE PROPS LOOK, AND WHAT COLOR THEY ARE. IF WE DON’T PAINT A CLEAR PICTURE THOROUGHLY DESCRIBING THESE CHARACTERS, WE DO NOT ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY WITH OUR READERS. WE AS WRITERS MUST BUILD DESCRIPTIVES WHO OUR CHARACTERS ARE OR CHARACTERS ARE GIVING THEM A PERSONAL IDENTITY. DO THEY HAVE DENTURES? WHAT KIND OF COLOGNE DO THEY WEAR? DESCRIBE THEIR HANDBAG. BETTER YET, ADD A SENTIMENTAL STORY ABOUT WHERE ITEMS CAME FROM. ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, AND CREATIVITY ARE ALL YOUR BEST FRIENDS WHEN CREATING YOUR CHARACTERS.
5. HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK? DOES THE CHARACTER HAVE A LOW OR HIGH PITCHED VOICE? DO THEY STUTTER? DOES THEIR SPEAKING FLOW EASILY OR DOES THE CHARACTER PAUSE THINKING CAREFULLY ABOUT EACH WORD THEY USE BEFORE SPEAKING THE WORDS? DO THEY ARTICULATE WITH EMOTIONS WHEN THEY TALK? DO THEY HAVE A LISP IN THEIR SPEECH? EACH OF THESE ITEMS CREATE A VISUAL IN THE EYES OF OUR READER TO SEE.
6. WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER LIKE AS A PERSON? ARE THEY HONEST OR DO THEY LIE? DO THEY CHEW GUM OR SMOKE? DO THEY HAVE A PET AROUND? WHAT IS THEIR TASTE? IN MUSIC? HINT: CREATE A FAVORITE FOOD FOR YOUR CHARACTER. CREATING AND CRAFTING EACH CHARACTER IS PART OF WHAT MAKES EACH CHARACTER BELIEVABLE WHEN WRITING A STORY, YOUR BOOK IS ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR CHARACTERS BELIEVABILITY ARE.
7. WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER LIKE OR DISLIKE? WHAT MUSIC DO THEY LISTEN TO? DO THEY PREFER OPERA OR KARAOKE NIGHT? WHAT DO THEY WATCH ON TELEVISION? WHAT KIND OF HOLIDAY DOES YOUR CHARACTER PREFER? DO THEY LIKE CLEAN AND CONTEMPORARY OR DO THEY LIKE TRADITIONAL ITEMS? ARE THEY TIDY OR MESSY?
8. GIVE A BACKSTORY TO THE CHARACTER. YOU MUST CREATE SOME KIND OF PAST. SHOULD YOU NOT COME UP WITH AN INTERESTING BACKSTORY, BELIEVABILITY BECOMES AN ISSUE. MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE A FEW EVENTS THAT HAS SHAPED THE CHARACTER INTO WHO HE OR SHE IS IS THE PRESENT. IT IS SHARING SOME EXPERIENCES THAT HELP THE READER CONNECT WITH YOUR CHARACTER.
WHAT IS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MAKEUP OF YOUR CHARACTER AND WHAT EVENTS BROUGHT HIM TO WHERE HE IS WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME OF THE STORY? THERE ARE MORE THINGS TO LOOK AT REGARDING CHARACTER ANALYSIS. IF YOU ARE NEW TO WRITING ON YOUR FIRST NOVEL, I RECOMMEND A CHARACTER OUTLINE PAGE FOR EACH IMPORTANT AND SUPPORTING CHARACTER WITHIN YOUR WRITING PRIOR TO STARTING YOUR STORY. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING ABOUT CHARACTERS TODAY! SAMANTHA LEBOEUF/FOUNDER
DO YOU WANT TO BE A BETTER WRITER? FOR A ONE TIME FEE OF $10 YOU CAN! JOIN DAILYWISDOMWORDS.COM NOW AND ENJOY DAILY LIVE PROMPTS FOR POETRY AND WRITING EXERCISE. READ ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE AND LEARN AND UPLIFT YOUR SPIRIT. IT IS HARD TO BE CREATIVE WHEN YOU ARE BLOCKED WITH EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS. IF YOU ARE NEW OR A PRO, YOU WILL LEARN NEW THINGS IN OUR WRITERS COMMUNITY WHICH HAS A GLOBAL REACH, ONLINE STORE, COMMUNITY WRITING PAGE, A PERSONAL PROFILE PAGE YOU AS A MEMBER WILL DEVELOP EXPLAINING YOUR WORK AND UPLOADING PICTURES OF YOU FOR A BIOGRAPHY AND YOUR WORK. YOU WILL LOVE BEING A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY!! WE EVEN OFFER FREE COUNSELING TO ALL MEMBERS THROUGH OUR ADVOCATES. CONNECT WITH OTHER WRITERS BY SENDING/RECEIVING A FRIEND REQUEST TO A PROFILE YOU IDENTIFY WITH. A WRITING COMMUNITY LIKE THIS, GIVES YOU THE PROPER TOOLS TO BE THE BEST WRITER YOU CAN BE MATCHING YOUR FULL CAPABILITY!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! SAMANTHA LEBOEUF TO JOIN OUR COMMUNITY GO STRAIGHT TO OUR WEBSITE, DAILYWISDOMWORDS.COM AND SIGN UP NOW! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??
