How to Get the Most Out Of Your Characters – Part 2
Part 1 looked at creating a compelling character using
realism, emotions, fears, goals and motivations. They’re elements that an
interesting and memorable character should have. But there are even more ways
to get the most from your characters.
The one thing characters do in any given situation is they
display certain behaviours, depending what is happening. Actions often speak
louder than words, so the reader will be looking at how your character acts
and what he says. If you have developed your character well, they will have
their own personalities – which in turn determine how they act.
How would they act in a tense scene, or a confrontation scene,
an action or love scene? And what they
say, and how they say it, is also important. That’s why dialogue plays such an
important role in characterisation. Characters have to carry emotion not just
in their actions, but also in their conversations – characters can sometimes be
profound in what they say, in a way that resonates with the reader and makes
them understand the character better.
Of course, with character actions, there comes something else
that is a must for creating compelling, realistic characters, and that is reactions.
Character reactions tell us much
more about what lies beneath. Reactions reveal personality traits not normally
apparent. Their responses to certain things can show us their deep emotions or
show us that something is bothering them. It’s what we don’t normally see that
makes it so fascinating when we glimpse flashes of their true selves when they
are reacting to other characters and situations.
They may be able to keep their
true emotions hidden from other characters, but not from the reader. The reader
will notice these things. That’s why writers should use character actions and
reactions to create great characters your readers will love (or hate). Actions
and reactions are a way of revealing your character in subtle ways, but they
can also be used to show key revelations, where subtlety won’t cut it.
How your character responds,
through how they react, don’t react, what they say, don’t say or how they say
it, gives the reader hints and insights into whom your characters really are.
It can be overt or subtle - actions and reactions share equal importance.
In addition to their physical reactions and dialogue, the
other aspect that writers often forget is internal thoughts. How many times in a novel can you say the
reader gets to see what your character is really thinking? Inner thoughts create immediacy; it allows
the reader to connect with the character. That’s because they will be privy to
your character’s inner most thoughts and emotions, while other characters are
not, so don’t be afraid to show what your character is thinking
when reacting to situations and other characters.
Remember that your characters carry the story, and that great
characters make the story – the kind of people who are believable, realistic,
flawed, emotional, motivated, driven, and most of all, interesting and compelling.
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