No matter how strong your story is, your characters are the most crucial factor. They are what drives the plot forward. It's easy to put a name to a face, but what if they have no personality? No need to fret any longer. Try out these 7 tips on character building, and you'll come up with hundreds of personalities!
1. Go people-watching
As weird as it sounds, people-watching is the best way to get inspiration for a character. You've got the look, the type of clothing, and maybe even a name. The next step is to take other guesses about their life as needed. Just don't get caught staring!
2. Research
If you want to write about a hospital patient or a lawyer, and you are neither of those things, you're going to have to research them. Even if you are writing a fictional story, you have to have your facts straight. You never know who might end up reading your work (If it is an actual lawyer, you might be in some hot water).
3. Show don't tell Proving to your reader that a certain character has a certain trait, it is more effective to show it and not tell it. For example, if your character is tall, tell your reader that she may have to duck to enter a room rather than stating, "She was tall."
4. Weaknesses
Weaknesses are my favorite element to incorporate into my characters, especially in the evil ones. The vulnerabilities or flaws don't allow your character to be too perfect. This creates a realistic feel to the story since nobody's perfect.
5. Hate? Love?
This is pretty self-explanatory; What do they hate? What do they love?
6. Dreams
Everyone (almost everyone...hopefully) has dreams; your characters should have them too. What gives them a purpose? What motivates them to reach their goals.
7. Location
The location/setting is one of the most important aspects of a character. It gives them their accent and dialect. It also adds other concepts, such as economics, society, and education.
I hope that you found this week's post in good health. I wish the best of luck to you in your writing. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave it down below and please look forward to next week's post!
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