Character development: where to start

We all have our favorite characters in novels, that is safe to say, however how do the authors create such relatable and likeable characters? It is a skill to turn words into characters with such loved personalities amongst the readers! But the big question is – how do they do it and are we missing something?

Well, look no further! I am going to open your eyes to some elements that every great character needs. They may help you in your endeavor to create the next most-loved character!

Motivation

It is in the character’s interest to get things. There are things they need. Throughout the entire story, they spend an entire chapter trying to meet these motivations and requirements. A story is a series of character acts prompted by their motivations but are hindered by obstacles (frequently other characters). It is important to understand what motivates a character.

Why does she act the way she does? When we don’t comprehend her motivations or aren’t able to understand them, we can’t relate to her. It is all about the ways in which we can understand them truly!

Connections to other characters

This “lone-wolf ronin-without-clan” nonsense gets pretty tiresome pretty quickly. There need to be connections between characters. Connections don’t have to be desired. In some cases, a character might be actively trying to deny these connections. Their presence, however, is required.

The characters strive to make the character who she is and continue to push and pull on her throughout the story. Friendship. The family. Contacts. Workmates. The enemy. Friend-neighbors. We can all relate to human connection!

Flaws that we can relate to

There should be some balance between the characters’ strengths and weaknesses – they cannot be overly good at everything. The person who does something better than anyone else should be terrible at the thing they do better.

Conflict lives here; it is so taut with tension that a potential story might snap, tearing someone’s eye out. A person who has a good grasp of everything and a bad grasp of nothing is boring and unreal. We cannot all be perfect, even book characters!

A voice

Their style of speaking and their reactions to situations are what make their voices distinctive. How do they express themselves Who says these things? Is their voice similar to yours? Are they trying to get away from where they grew up or is their way of speaking a reflection of where they came from? Where can they hear the voice of their mother? Is it the fathers? How do all these things reflect who they actually are?

Character expression and relatability is such a wonderful way of reaching out to the audience. If you master this then you have set yourself up for a novel of great interest amongst many. We all like to feel that we can relate to someone else and a character is the best way to do this.

An app called Ohwrite is perfect to showcase your wildest character dreams. It is a platform where you can store your words and share them with friends, as well as write alongside them. I wonder who can make the best character of them all!