How to Create Characters in Your Fictional Writing
By Tayyaba Batool
Do you want to be a fictional writer? If yes, then the most important factor is to know how to create a character. Creating an effective character is as important as the plotting of a novel itself. If you write an interesting story, and you do not take much care of fictional characters, you may not be able to draw the attention of your readers.
Readers may not be interested in knowing what happens next if they don’t find the characters compelling. Now you may be keen to know how you can create characters in your fictional writing, right? Don’t worry, you will get your answer right here. These are the five ways that help you create a character to grab the attention of your readers.
- Make Your Characters Real
Make your character likable. For this, you need to draw the people in real life by giving your fictional characters the same traits.
- Create Real-Life Characters
It is human nature that we like winners, especially while reading when we try to escape from an ordinary world. You may not need to create archetypal heroes in your novel or story. You must add something which makes them able to win through at the end. Just imagine, how would you feel if characters like James Bond failed to accomplish his missions and the baddies always successful in every mission? How would you feel if you read a book/novel/story and characters if they are vaguely created and never have been able to reach their goals? You got it right. You may not like such characters. Thus, make your characters, especially the main character a winner in your fictional writing.
- Make Your Characters Charismatic
While deciding on characters, add an element of charisma. You may not need to always focus on looks, you may add something about their personality which makes them somehow extraordinary. Well-created characters may be drawn towards the hero; thus, you may also draw your reader’s attention towards the hero through other characters.
- Make them Dynamic
Characters need to be dynamic. You can add this element by making your characters do-ers not only the bystanders. It means that if the odds stack them, they do not give up and keep on trying. It doesn’t apply only on the hero but rather every character of your story or novel must be able to act, and not only to react to the different situations. It is a great way to get the audience rooting for the characters.
- Create Obstacles/Hurdles
While creating characters, especially the lead character, leave plenty of opportunities to create hurdles and obstacles, throughout the story. This will help you in drawing sympathy from your readers for the characters which provoke them to read more about them. You can add this element by making a character lonely after losing loved ones or by making them suffer from unforeseen situations in life.