Getting the reader to care about your characters

It's so important that the reader cares about your characters. If they don't care, they aren't likely to read on. So, for readers to care, you must care about the characters you create. You have to believe in them and be intensely involved with them.

To be honest, this rapport with your characters isn’t an immediate thing. Usually this bond develops as you write, as those characters start talking in the dialogue and reacting in the narrative – when they start thinking and acting for themselves. Often, it’s only as you get into the story that their true personalities emerge, and sometimes in ways that surprise you. Perhaps you’ll discover their changing moods, their fears, their humour – or lack of it, what spurs them on, what they love and what they can’t stand. Often you will discover skills that you never knew they had – yet turn out to be important later in the story.

On the other hand, as you get well into the story, you might realise that certain aspects are missing. Then it’s a case of going back to the beginning and blending in the important details you need for later. But that’s the great thing about writing, you aren’t writing in stone. You can go back over those early parts of the story and re-write, once you know your characters better.

As well as knowing your characters, you also need to understand them. It is not enough to have characters simply disliking one another, there has to be a reason behind this. Similarly, don’t expect the reader to believe two characters are in love, or falling in love just because you say so. This must come across through their interaction, thoughts, dialogue and emotions.

A fun way of really getting to know your characters, is to make a list of random questions to ask your character. For example, what do they keep hidden in the box at the bottom of their wardrobe? When did they last cry? When did they last laugh? What secret do they hope never comes out? Their answers will surprise you.

Probably only a fraction of your character sketches and traits will come to light in your story, but if you know all this and more, your character will be real to you, true to themselves and believable to the reader.

Spending time on creating well rounded characters with personality all add up to making the reader care about them. And if they care, they will read on, wanting to know what’s going to happen. The last thing you want is for your readers not to care what happens to your characters. You want some emotional response from the reader. They don’t necessarily have to love your characters – you might actually want them to hate your character. That’s great. But what you don’t want is some mediocre emotion where the reader couldn’t care less one way or the other.

 

Visualise your characters

Before you can write anything, you need to see your character in your mind’s eye, even if it is just a vague image to begin with. Once you start to write about him or her, they will become much clearer to you. Gradually, as you get to know their background, their skills, their personalities, their fears, their dreams and so on, they will start to become real.

As you start to colour in your sketchy outline and fill in the blanks, your character will become a living, breathing person with a mind and opinions of their own and with a background and a life that involves others. It’s worthwhile to spend time writing a character sketch for each of your characters. This would be just for your own reference, don’t even try to include all these points in your story.

                                                                                                                               

Appearance: Gender, age, height, shape, colouring, hair style, nationality, clothing; mannerisms, gait, habits. The way they speak and move. What’s their own opinion on how they look? Do they see themselves as others see them?

Normal life: Where they live; marital status, their work; education; birth date, star sign, intelligence; financial situation; hobbies and interests; family circle; friends; relationships; enemies; skills; fears and phobias; favourite things; likes and dislikes; aim in life.

Personality: Here’s a few traits to consider:  Shy, outgoing, talkative, quiet, moody, cheerful, optimistic, pessimistic, depressive, revengeful, timid, thoughtful, thoughtless, kind, unkind; forgiving, unforgiving, sense of humour; calm, easily angered. What’s their opinion on political issues, religion and topical issues?

Background: Past experiences shape a personality, just as their current situation affects their moods and behaviour. Make sure your characters have solid backgrounds.

Today’s Exercise

Working from the character you started to develop yesterday, now do a full character sketch covering everything mentioned here.  And if you find yourself going off at a tangent as certain traits take on a life of their own, then go with it, and see where your imagination leads you. You might surprise yourself by writing entire scenes that you might use in a later story.

Tomorrow:  Don't make those characters too perfect.

Thank you Rob Tysall, Tysall's Photography for the photos.