Your Novel and Your Character

Characters are perhaps the most essential element of any story. In fact, without characters, there can be no story. A narrative revolves around a character or a group of characters. That is the reason why character development is a skill that a budding writer has to master. Obviously, any creative writing such as books and short stories, and even poetry

Creating the right characters is as important as making intriguing plots. That is why you need to learn how to create the right characters for your novel. With uninteresting characters that do not perform things out of the ordinary, you can forget about your reader turning the other pages of your novel. Sometimes, even with a moving plot, if you are unable to develop characters which the reader does not care about, you may not be signed up for a sequel. This is what character development is all about – making the reader care about what happens to them. If you do not properly develop the individuality of your protagonist, even if you place him on a ledge, your reader won’t care if he leaps to his death or not. The moment you learn how to create characters that your readers will care about, most of your readers will not be able to put your book down until they finish reading it.

The Connection Between a Good Plot and Excellent Characters

As was mentioned already, effective characterization is all about making the reader care. The challenge would be to get your readers become passionately involved with your story’s character. Here are a few pointers on how you can do that.

Create a clear definition of your characters. Understandably, characters in a fiction story should not be equal. There is the protagonist, a few extras, and the antihero. Once you have defined all your characters, what comes next is introducing them to your reader. But before you can do that, you as the writer should get to know your characters first. If you do not know them well enough, you will not be able to bring them to life in a credible and convincing manner.

Characters in Your Book: Living Large

Believe it or not, there are writers who create profiles and biographies for their characters. This helps them ‘personify’ their characters, making it easier for them to create plots that people can relate to. Once you become familiar with your characters’ personalities, you can easily bring them to life by giving them jobs, allowing them to have fun and do activities that regular humans do.