Moore_Attuned_Ed
Acolyte
How to paint realistic character development and bring them to life on the page.
Relatable, realistic characters are the backbone of story. If we don’t empathise strongly enough with them, we won’t care for the outcome of their story or their transformational change.
The key word here being ‘empathise’. Not every character has to be loved, or even liked, but empathised with and understood – as John le Carré said, ‘the opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s apathy’. They’re strongly interlinked; you need love to be able to hate.
Inconsistency is the bane of character development. Every action the character takes or every word they utter has to remain true to their personality and voice.
If one of a character’s core values is family and happiness over work, yet they eagerly accept a new opportunity working torturous hours, that rings as untrue to the reader. (Unless there's a very good reason for doing so.)
So, how to avoid this? Interview them. Get to know their:
- ins and outs
- pet hates
- innermost fears
- their secret obsessions
Even invent situations: what they would do faced with an ex, or if an old friend betrayed them, or something as trivial as a barista getting their name wrong on a Starbucks cup!
Will they react to conflict with outward displays of anger or shy away? Will they plan revenge at a later date or leave it be?
Get to know everything you can about your character and how they’d react in situations that won’t make it into your story (better yet, this exercise may help find moments you want included!). This way, you can ensure characters act and react authentically to themselves, avoiding a breakdown of suspension of belief.
How far do you go with this and making character sheets etc?
Relatable, realistic characters are the backbone of story. If we don’t empathise strongly enough with them, we won’t care for the outcome of their story or their transformational change.
The key word here being ‘empathise’. Not every character has to be loved, or even liked, but empathised with and understood – as John le Carré said, ‘the opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s apathy’. They’re strongly interlinked; you need love to be able to hate.
Inconsistency is the bane of character development. Every action the character takes or every word they utter has to remain true to their personality and voice.
If one of a character’s core values is family and happiness over work, yet they eagerly accept a new opportunity working torturous hours, that rings as untrue to the reader. (Unless there's a very good reason for doing so.)
So, how to avoid this? Interview them. Get to know their:
- ins and outs
- pet hates
- innermost fears
- their secret obsessions
Even invent situations: what they would do faced with an ex, or if an old friend betrayed them, or something as trivial as a barista getting their name wrong on a Starbucks cup!
Will they react to conflict with outward displays of anger or shy away? Will they plan revenge at a later date or leave it be?
Get to know everything you can about your character and how they’d react in situations that won’t make it into your story (better yet, this exercise may help find moments you want included!). This way, you can ensure characters act and react authentically to themselves, avoiding a breakdown of suspension of belief.
How far do you go with this and making character sheets etc?