For Authors: May 06, 2020 Issue [#10154]
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 This week: Characters
  Edited by: Max Griffin šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆ Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

What's the difference between a trick and a technique? One answer is that a technique is a trick you can use more than once. As authors, we all have our own bag of tricks. Craft is just the collection of tricks that authors use and share with each other. The purpose of this newsletter is to share the tricks so many generous folks on Writing.Com have shared privately with me over the years. I claim no special knowledge or ability, just wisdom others have granted. I hope you find these tricks, er, techniques, as helpful as I have.


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Letter from the editor

What makes a compelling character?

It would be great if there were a definitive answer that question, but of course thereā€™s not Nonetheless, there are some tried and true things you can do with your characters to make them and their fictional world more engaging for readers.

One of things that itā€™s useful to remember is that your story is about your characters. Alfred Hitchcock taught us that the audienceā€”or the reader in our caseā€”cares about the characters. The plot, he continued, is there to give the characters something to care about. So, one of the tricks to a compelling character is to have your characters care about their story.

This leads to the related ideas of goals, stakes, and obstacles which connect the characters to the action of the story.

Characters need to have a goal. Vonnegut once said that every character should want something, even if itā€™s just a glass of water. A character drifting through life with no purpose or goal might be realistic, but itā€™s not going to make a very compelling story nor an interesting character. At first glance, Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye seems to such a purposeless character, except he does have a goal. Itā€™s revealed in the metaphor of the title, to save children from the corruption and phoniness he sees everywhere in the world.

Next, the goal needs to matter, at least to your character. Something bad needs to happen if the character doesnā€™t achieve their goal. These are the stakes. Your character could want something destructive, but must have compelling reasons to desire the goal. An addict seeking a fix, for example, could have competing goals which are both compelling.

Finally, there has to be something standing in the way of achieving the goal, an obstacle. This could be an internal obstacle, such as the potentially conflicting goals of an addict. Or the obstacle could be external and structural, such as poverty or social pressure. In Flowers for Algernon, the obstacle arises from the protagonistā€™s own limited abilities. Of course, the obstacle could be another character, an antagonist, who works against your protagonist.

Goals and obstacles give rise to conflict. The outcome of the conflict matters because of the stakes. This gives rise to tension, the engine that drives your plot. With these in place, readers will understand your characters, what they want, what their challenges are, and why itā€™s important they succeed. That connects your characters to the action and is a big step in making them credible.

Not all characters have to be likable. In some ways, evil antagonists can be the most compelling characters in a story. Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca comes immediately to mind.

Itā€™s important to reveal character traits, good or bad, through the actions of the characters. Having your character perform a gratuitous good deedā€”a ā€œsave the catā€ moment--is one way to show they are benevolent and thus encourage readers to cheer for their success. When Evelyn, in Fried Green Tomatoes, decides to befriend the lonely Ninny Threadgoode, she has such a moment.

For an antagonist, the oppositeā€”a ā€œkick the dogā€ momentā€”might be the way to go. The first thing we see Darth Vader doing is torturing the Princess, for example.

Of course, a ā€œkill the dog momentā€ could reveal a positive trait. In Old Yeller, for example, itā€™s an act of mercy that shows strength of character.

Tropes like ā€œsave the catā€ and ā€œkill the dogā€ are well-known to screenwriters. Thereā€™s a whole website of TV Tropes  Open in new Window. thatā€™s well worth scanning.


Goals, stakes, and obstacles are fundamental building blocks for characters, tension, and plot. Showing character traits is a way to delve deeper that helps readers understand who your characters are. Never forget that readers want to get to know your characters they way they get to know people in the real world, through their words and deeds.

Whoā€™s your most memorable character from fiction? What makes them memorable?








Editor's Picks

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"Told You So"  Open in new Window. by Mara ā™£ McBain Author Icon
"Coming Home"  Open in new Window. by Bikerider Author Icon
"Greyson Dante "  Open in new Window. by šŸ’™ Carly - aka Joan Watson Author Icon
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