Characters That Work

I’ve heard countless times that agents when looking for the next great manuscript (and readers who want a great book), want compelling characters. But, what does this mean? Compelling? And why have I never thought of characters as compelling when I can’t put the book down? Sure, these characters are amazing and sometimes I want to be in the middle of the stories as if they were my own experiences.

But why?

Compelling characters make me --force me-- to be in love with them as they find their way through trials or charge fearlessly down hidden hallways and dark forests. This makes for wonderful literature and for fascinated readers. But how do we do this? How do authors create compelling characters -- ones that not only we want to read but others too -- and convince our readers that they should care about them?

Here’s a tiny list by which I try to strive:

Make them human: This is a given. And most writers would tell you this is. Give your character flaws that lots of people have or even flaws that only some of us have. Give us your poor and needy, and you’ve got a character most everyone can identify with. Fears, insecurities, bad habits. These human characteristics are all critical for a true character, which in turn, makes them compelling.

Give them a goal: If the character isn’t striving to overcome a huge goal, or meddling with a huge personal sacrifice, what’s going to make me turn the pages? Why would I care about a perfect character without any goals? I wouldn’t. That’s a non-compelling character no one identifies with. Plot-less, character-less books don't make for happy readers. Give your character goals, and you’ve got attractive people.

Give them a problem: I’ve heard this, most recently from Mary Kole from a Writeoncon “class,” to absolutely, without a doubt, give your characters a problem. In other words, what’s the worst possible thing that could happen to this person? Or take it the other way and figure out the best thing that could happen? (which, should inevitably lead to a problem). This propels the story, makes it more personal the character for the reader to relate to, and gives the writer awesome characters

Make them learn: Don’t forget to make your character learn through this goal/problem that they overcame. If they’re worse off than when the story began or didn’t learn a thing, talk about an unfulfilled reader! And really, as a writer, it should be unfulfilling for you if, by the end of your story, nothing's changed. Your characters, especially the protagonist, need to learn something about themselves and the world around them to create a great story and satisfying characters.

If you utilize these four things, and yes there are many more layers to this list, it’s the basics for some amazing characters. And if you have compelling characters, then more importantly, you will have both agents and readers compelled to read your works.

If you're looking for a couple good books to peruse while working on said characters, I highly recommend Stephen King's novel On Writing and Writing Down the Bones . Both are fun books to read that are filled to overflowing with solid and helpful writing advice. Things you can use for your compelling characters right now.

-Heather

* This blog post would not be possible without the gentle coercion from Elana Johnson, writer, and writing teacher (Writeoncon, Query Tracker Blog, and League of Extraordinary Writers). Thanks for the inspiration and for reminding me how to write compelling characters. *