Creating Characters That Come To Life

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_C_Andrews]Benjamin C Andrews
Characters are the backbone of any story. Setting, plot, none of the other major parts of a story are going to do much of anything without characters to bring the whole thing to life. With such an important role to fill, there must be ample thought and care when creating them. That's easy to say, but doing it is a totally different story. Here are some tips that may help you along the way.
You have to acknowledge all aspects of the character's personality. Imagining your hero at the height of his power, standing above everything that comes his way is exhilarating. More than likely though, there are going to be times when he struggles too. Even though those may be negative times, you still have to be able to write the times of weakness with as much power and passion as the greatest triumphs.
Try to find unique characteristics. By this, I don't mean give every other character a hook for a hand or a strange accent. Even miniscule personality traits that readers can identify make characters more endearing. Maybe your character displays a nervous habit in certain situations, or absolutely despises a certain food. Maybe it's something on a larger scale, like can't stand a certain person, or hold ideologies that are different from other characters. The ways you can make the personalities of your characters stand out are endless.
Relate to the situations you place them in. Think of how you would feel in those situations, but also how the character would feel. If you've been creating a personality, you should begin to see a pattern of how any given character would react to certain stimuli. Out of character actions can be off-putting to readers, unless circumstances are created to explain such actions. There are definitely going to be times where readers expect characters to act certain ways based on previous actions.
Finally, just go with the flow. The more you write, the more you start to recognize and feel how to shape character personalities. This may be something you've never considered. You might even be great at it already without even knowing it. The more bases you can cover while writing though, the better the chances are of writing success. Giving your characters an extra thought while creating them can do wonders for how likeable they are. Engaging characters will help your book reach higher levels.
I'm Benjamin C. Andrews, an author sharing my writing knowledge with others. Visit http://magicjarpublishing.blogspot.com/ for more writing tips and tricks, and other quality information.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Creating-Characters-That-Come-To-Life&id=6588220] Creating Characters That Come To Life