How to craft a compelling character

I've always enjoyed reading fiction books.

Some of my favorite authors were Erin Hunter, Rick Riordan, and, of course, JK Rowling.

And I have always wondered what makes a good character.

I have recently been taking a class on creative writing, and a recent lesson was on the craft of a character.

So, I thought I would share the main takeaways I learned:

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Takeaway 1: Don’t show for the sake of showing.

Show to tell

Select sensory details purposely

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Takeaway 2: Voice

It’s important to understand what kind of physical ticks or quirks a character has. Do not overuse them and make the character seem ridiculous.

You have to feel the right to inhabit that character. You need to permit yourself to enter the character

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Takeaway 3: How to create very good dialogue

• Don’t use filler words

• Don’t telegraph information to the reader

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Takeaway 4: Heart of interesting character:

The goal of writing a character is to work on the language to put a character personal to you onto the page.

When creating a character image/body start from the top to the toe.

Any character you introduce to the reader.

The reader should be able to

• See

• Hear

• Smell

Them

Make sure it speaks to you

You have to invest in them

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Takeaway 5: How to create memorable dialogue.

• Advance the plot

• Deepen our understanding of the character

Dialogue is what people do to one another

Dialogue is not an information delivery system

It's an action. It’s the place where you show the reader who the characters are by what they’re saying and how they’re saying and when in the story they’re saying it

The most important aspect of dialogue is what it reveals about the speaker

Stop telling but show with dialogue

The writer requires to show and show and show some more and then you get to tell a little bit.

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Takeaway 6: Flaws and desire often mix

Often our desires are what cause our flaws.

For instance, if someone desires to earn enough money to buy a new Xbox. This may cause someone to lie to our parents to get our allowance. This is a less serious example and it would likely be better to explore deeper desires and flaws.

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Takeaway 7: Tip for entering a character

Try writing your story in 1st person and 3rd person

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Hope you enjoy this style of newsletter.

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Thanks, for reading!

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