The Secret to Writing Characters Yo ur Readers Love! - Charlli
What is the true secret to writing powerful books that readers can’t put down?
No, the answer is not a gripping story. Even the most interesting story can fall flat if one single element is overlooked. The answer is not perfect editing, an excellent use of proper English (or your writing language of choice), or even having plot twists readers don’t see coming. When we think of great stories, we don’t think of stories. We think of heroes, heroines, side characters, and villains. If the characters are boring, one-dimensional, or unlikable, readers won’t enjoy the story, no matter how well written, edited, or exciting the plot of the story might be.
So how do you write characters that readers love or love to hate? Well, that’s a little more complicated. But if you think back to every book, movie, or TV show you’ve consumed, I bet you can pick out favorite characters. And if you think about them, you can identify why you love them, or even why you love to hate them. Are your characters ruining your book? There’s this common misconception that your plot or story idea can make or break your book. That if your book manages to be fantastic, gripping, and thrilling, that readers will look past editing and other issues to just enjoy a great story.
Unfortunately, this misinformation can ruin an otherwise promising premise, or worse, ruin an author’s career before they have a chance to get off the ground. So how can authors starting out avoid this potential pitfall? Well, let me share the true secret behind books that readers can’t put down: the characters. When we think back to our favorite stories, we don’t think about the plot of the story nearly as much as we think about the characters. Likewise, our emotional attachment isn’t to the idea of the book—we become attached and emotionally invested in the characters.
Creating complex characters with depth, flaws, and arcs isn’t an easy task, but it’s a worthwhile step that can mean the difference between writing success and failure. So how do you create a character with depth and a complex arc? Well, a great first step is to look at everyday people, or even yourself. You probably think of yourself as a good person—and you probably are!—but I’m sure you’ve done things you’re not proud of. Hey, everybody makes mistakes.
So we’re safe to assume your character has also made mistakes. Same goes for your life. I know that I’ve done both good and bad things, had good and bad things happen, and I strive to be better yesterday than I was today. That’s growth and progress, right? Think about where you’ve been in life and how you’ve progressed. Now you have an excellent example of a character arc.
What is a character arc? The character arc refers to the inner growth of your character over the course of their journey. They tend to fall into three different categories: The positive “Heroes” arc. Think Harry Potter. He’s young and naïve at the onset of his story, but he grows into himself and becomes the hero. The Redemption arc falls into this category too, as farfetched as that might seem. Think Beast from Beauty and the Beast. He’s shallow, mean, and awful to start, but he redeems himself by the end of his story. Thus, we consider him to have a positive character arc. Keep in mind that the positive arc is not a straight line.
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