Love Your Characters

Love Your Characters
by Nanette Littlestone

A bank was robbed. A baby was born. A death occurred. The statements are flat, lifeless. They give the reader no pertinent information, nothing to care about. Without characters, there is no story. Readers want to know about other people. They want to feel that someone else shares their problems. They want to know that somewhere out there is the same sadness, the same misery, the same hope, the same dream. They want to invest in your story.

1. Bring out the Details
Well-rounded characters bring a story to life. In a bland story, Jolene has a baby girl. The author tells you she’s happy, but you have no basis for her happiness. You know nothing about her. And because you know nothing, you can’t relate. In a well-developed story, when Jolene has a baby girl, you care because you know how long she’s tried to get pregnant. You know how many times she’s seen another woman’s baby and wished it was her own. You know the years she’s cried herself to sleep at night, doubting the possibility of pregnancy, despairing of ever having a family, swearing at the injustice of her infertility. You know this because the author delved into Jolene’s fears, hopes, dreams.

2. Make Them Bigger than Life
Great characters are more than just human, they’re bigger than life. They’re superheroes in their own comic strip. Waking up, eating, going to work, coming home and going to bed is not enough for an interesting story. Readers want more. Your characters need to make decisions, take action.

When I started writing, my heroines were dull. Not rather dull, but plain dull. Which made my stories worse than dull. In my favorite books, the heroines were adventurous, courageous, and determined. They knew what they wanted and they went after it. When sticky situations arose, they waded through the muck and emerged victorious. They didn’t let circumstances dictate their future. They decided their own outcomes.

Do the same with your story. Use the circumstances to force your characters to act in ways they normally wouldn’t, to make those choices that will cost them peace, love, their dreams.

3. Don’t Forget the Flaws
Memorable characters have charisma. They leap off the mountain you would never climb. They face down the gunman that would make you faint. They rescue the child from the burning house you’re afraid to enter. But don’t forget their weaknesses. Think of spoiled Scarlett O’Hara, the center of attention. Han Solo the scoundrel, out for himself. The too impulsive Romeo who acted rashly. Mr. Spock and his logic that hid his feelings.

In action/adventure stories, it’s less about the character’s emotional makeup and more about whether he can vanquish the villain through brute strength or mental dexterity. Women’s fiction, historical fiction, stories about relationships—those require more skill and manipulation. Emotions matter a great deal. People in relationships get caught up in their feelings. Love is a complex tangle of wants and desires, of should’s and shouldn’ts. What will happen if he does? What will happen if she doesn’t? Throw in fear of commitment, fear of intimacy, low self-esteem, and co-dependent behavior, and see how your characters dance in circles.

Now that you know how to build your characters, ask yourself these questions: What makes your characters bigger than life? What are their greatest attributes? What are their greatest flaws?