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Question: Writing my 1st novel: how to bring my characters to life!?
OK so I want my characters to stand out and I want the reader to be able to love them or hate them or really feel what they are feeling!. Sometimes I don't know if they can relate to the reader!. What are so good ways of knowing they are good characters!? I based my characters off my crazy Imagination or people I know in real life but sometimes I find it hard to translate what I want the reader to know about my character while I'm writing!?

any suggestions!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I had this problem too and solved it by:
Interviewing my characters- Ask them questions and have them respond or react the way their personality fits!.

Write down facts about them- This person is ____________

Start up a casual conversation with them!.

I dream about my characters, think about them 24/7
They are real people to me!. Once they are real to you, they will be real to your readers!.

Best of luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com

If you don't know how to bring your characters to life, you should put novel writing on hold until you develop those skills!.

Two things you can do to develop those kills:

Read until your eyes bleed!.

Analyze the fictional characters that speak to you!. What makes them real!? What made you relate!?

You have to understand that makes characters "real" before you can write believable characters!.

Use character development sheets, too!. All details, whether they play into the story, are relevant in shaping a character!.

http://mysterymanonfilm!.blogspot!.com/200!.!.!.

http://www!.ifvchicago!.com/process/wr_cha!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Don't write based on what others think!. I feel like thats the biggest mistake writers make, i've done that before!. Just write how you feel, write how YOU picture them!. Maybe you can first imagine the scenario and the chapter and then write it from there!. Really think about it in your mind in a while and then it will come out beautifully on paper because you've put so much thought into it!. I've been writing a novel for a while, a lot of people say they can SEE the novel happening, (its cause im a visual person i guess i dont know), but yeah if you want to take a look feel free!. :) I had been thinking about these characters for years, and then they finally came to life on paper somehow, here is just short version of it enjoy:

http://www!.writerscafe!.org/writing/Greta!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Get out of your character's head and into the head of somebody else!. How will they respond to what your character is saying or doing!?

A good character is one who the other characters in the story plausibly respond to the way you'd like your readers to respond!. If what your character does should have people walking away rolling their eyes, then either have them walk away rolling their eyes or don't have your character do it!. The problem many writers have is that they have the other characters love them anyway!.

And please ignore the answers effectively saying "Make your character a Mary Sue"!. No, describing them in every detail won't help, and nor will giving them a tragic past!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Imagine what you would hate, or would love or want to punch something when YOU read a good book!. What makes YOU fired up!? Or if your characters are people you know, you obviously know what would get them fired up, so use that in your writing!. You have to add a lot of details and make it obvious to the reader your point of view!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

make them round characters by adding likes, dislikes!. and what kind of person they are small,tall, angry, sad, gay, strait,boy, girl, wnats something, has a problem with him or herself!.!.!. and so on if need help s!.birkan@yahoo!.com

i was in acreative writing class it helped me a lot Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think if you're writing a novel!.!.!. you should already know how to do that! i know what you're saying, but in all honesty you should not be having that hard a time!.!.!. a novel is a huge undertaking!

maybe take some writing courses first :)Www@QuestionHome@Com

DERAIL, DETAIL, DETAIL!. YOU MUST DESCRIBE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM!. LOOK AT OTHER NOVELS FOR REFERENCE!. MAKE THEM ABLE TO IMAGINE THE CHARACTERS IN THEIR HEADS!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

use adjectives!. lots of adjectivesWww@QuestionHome@Com

become your characters, act like they would sometimes to get a feel for them, or relate them to people you already knowWww@QuestionHome@Com

maybe add some tragedy to their lives!. like maybe one of them had a hard childhood because he always got picked on in high school or he had parental issues!. or that their life was changed by an incident that happened to them!. life is full of tragedy's you just got to add them!. when you are making the character base his attitude over the things he saw in his or her life!. base their personality on their background and get to know your characters

for example!. lets say tommy is always quiet!. why is he always quiet!? what in his background could say that he is shy or afraid to speak his mind!? or brad is a bad@ss!. was he in a gang!? was he always a bad *** or did he decide one day he wouldnt take anyones crap anymore!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

This is super long, sorry, but I feel I gave a good answer, and I hope you have the time to read it!



Before you begin writing, you should write out a detailed sequence of events that will take place in your novel, and MAKE SURE to write the ending!. Now you can begin to develop your characters!. By writing the sequence of events, you already know what is going to happen to each character and how they will be affected by it!. This already says something about each one!. For instance: "Sally goes to the store!. The baby cries!. Sally punches the baby" lol!.!.!.obviously, you already know that Sally is either really impatient, or she was having a bad day!. But let's focus on the character of "impatience!." You can build on this characteristic!. What traits in a real-life person would accompany someone who is impatient!? Maybe jealousy, and spoiled!. So you can build off that!. Let's take spoiled: her parents giver her everything she wants and she's not used to being said no to!. She gets away with anything and everything bad she does because her parents don't want to punish their only child!. (These examples are all stereotypical and a bit extreme, but I'm trying to make a point haha) You now have an entire background about Sally: 1)She's spoiled 2) Her parents are probably rich 3)She's an only child, and you found out all of this from those two sentences!. Now how would she treat the other characters!?
Character development is about understanding who your characters are, why they do the things they do, and who they will become in the end!. Some characters are static, and do not necessarily change!. Sally, on the other hand, could be a very dynamic character and become a good person in the end!. Emphasize on these characteristics by finding other traits that are similar and asking yourself the questions: Who are they!? What do they do and why!? Who will they become!? And your story will develop along with it!. Good luck, and I hope your story turns out in book stores! :)Www@QuestionHome@Com