Make Your Characters Jump Off The Page!

Writing a stirring novel is a bit like being a good cook. All of the ingredients are important, but you have to know which flavors to bring out.
All of the following aspects of a novel are vital, but which is the most important ingredient?
• The plot? Maybe, because there has to be some action, some movement, to engage readers and keep them involved.
• Or the setting? If your descriptive powers are excellent, you could set a scene in some exotic place that could really transport your readers.
• The point of view? Through whose eyes are we seeing the story unfold?
• A symbol? Maybe… in my novel You Never Know, a gigantic Mega Millions lottery prize is a powerful symbol of wealth, power, control, and more.
• Conflict? Now we’re getting close. Without conflict, there’s no story. Think of this scene: boy meets girl; they have a first date; they meet again and walk on the beach; they announce their engagement; and they get married. So? Happens every day. Where are the obstacles to happiness?
• Character? Aha! This is it. Good character development is the most essential feature of your writing plan. Compelling fictional characters line up all the preceding bullet points to compose a novel that invites you to read the first page and won’t let you go until you get to the end.
Here are five ways to create realistic and engaging main characters.
1. Identification. Readers should be able to identify with each principal character. These characters might be sublimely intelligent and good-looking, but they also need some very human flaws and quirks. Example: Tobias, the future lottery winner, is home from college on winter vacation. He’s got gifts for his family in his suitcase. He’s eager to see his younger brother. So far, so good. But he’s also dreading this visit and can’t wait for it to end so that he can return to his real life away from home.
2. Description. You don’t have to be F. Scott Fitzgerald to describe your characters well enough that readers can see them. The trick is to be economical: Say only as much as you need to, and the reader’s mind will fill in the blanks. Using the same character example, readers learn that Tobias is tall, lean, athletic, and has dark hair and eyes. You don’t have to tell them that he has long arms or good posture. Readers also find out that his younger brother, Simeon, resembles Tobias quite a bit, except that he wears rectangular glasses. They get a mental picture of the two brothers right away.
3. Interaction. A good technique in character development is to have characters interact and even engage in gossip. Readers find out so much about a character by watching how he reacts when someone is rude, or demanding, or insulting. Plus, your other characters can provide physical descriptions. In this way, they can tell your readers what your protagonist is wearing and what mood he or she is in.
4. Inner monologue. This involves more than simply saying that your character is brooding about something. Example: Tobias reveals his innermost thoughts in several ways. He delays phoning his father to come pick him up near the bus stop when he first arrives home on college vacation. This hints to the reader that there’s some reason why Tobias doesn’t want to go home. Later on, when faced with new and gigantic responsibilities he never expected, he makes a heartbreaking list of his new priorities. This list is more revealing and more evocative than pages of narration or description – and more interesting, too.
5. Testing. Soon after you introduce a main character, put some serious obstacles in his or her way. Tobias is faced with a terrible decision after the car he’s driving is involved in a fatal accident. He struggles with intense conflict, he’s embroiled in a dilemma, and no one can make the ensuing life-changing decision but him alone.
As an exercise, invent a character and assign him or her a name. Outline your own details for each of the five steps above. Read what you’ve sketched out, and you’ll see that you’re on your way to developing a complex and believable protagonist. Doing so could well be the start of a novel worth writing – and worth reading.