Character in a book (or movie) is king for me (wait, queen?). If a character doesn’t reach out from the pages and grab me, I won’t enjoy the book and probably won’t even finish it. Because for me, a good story boils down to one simple truth: Story is what happens to a character. So if your character doesn’t rock your book, nobody’s going to care about the story.
I know, I know. Books heavy on plot…you know the kind, with lots of twists and turns and car chases and bombs going off…often rule the bestseller lists and end up on the big screens. They make the author a ton of money and attract a huge following, but I probably won’t be one of them (the rich author or the groupie!).
Characters I can fall in love with, hate, want to hug or slap or follow to the ends of the earth — that’s something I can sink my teeth into as a writer and as a reader. I want characters I can learn from. Characters who make me feel things. I want to go through 300 pages of what life is like for that character, of what their journey is at that moment in time, of what happens to them and why and what they do about it.
Don’t get me wrong, plot is important too. Plot keeps the reader turning the page. But without deep, well-drawn characters, a plot-dominated book quickly turns into a bad James Bond movie — all flash and no substance.
So. What are the keys to writing good characters?
The big one is for you, the writer, to really know your character (and your secondary characters too). What do they want? What are they most afraid of and why? What happened to them to make them the way they are? What makes them happy? What makes them sad? What do they laugh at? Who are the most important people in their lives? How far are they willing to go to get what they want? And don’t forget this: What haunts them? What do they regret? What things in this world and in this life do they deeply question?
When you discover the answers to these questions, you’ll know your character. You’ll know their motivation, which feeds the plot. You’ll know their fears and goals, their strengths and weaknesses, all of which will help shape the character’s journey. You’ll never struggle with what will my character do next if you know her really well. You’ll never have to scratch your head over how she’ll react to something or what she’ll say, because you know her as well as you know your best friend!
And speaking of best friends, be your character’s best friend, their confidante. Or their therapist. In any case, write it all down, as much as you can, and pretty soon, you’ll be on your way to writing captivating characters who will drive that plot while keeping the reader entranced.
If you can do one thing well in writing your novel, make sure that one thing is your characters.
Why Character Needs To Trump Plot
