Robbi Sommers Bryant

Award-winning Writer, Developmental Editor, Copy Editor, Proofreader, Writing Coach

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Writing Characters Your Reader Won’t Forget

January 2, 2021

For any novel to truly connect with readers, the author needs to pay close attention to character development. Even if you’re writing an action-packed, plot-driven book where the characters are robots, it’s the human element that will resonate with readers.

Say you’re choosing between two books for your next read. The first recounts a voyage to a newly discovered planet. The second stars a lifelong space traveler on a journey to a faraway world. He was born on the ship and he’ll die there, never setting foot on Earth and never reaching the planet for which he’s charted his course. Once the ship lands, it’ll be his children who get to alight on that new ground — not him.

These two books share the basic concept of space travel, which might intrigue you from the get-go. But in the second one, you catch a glimpse of a protagonist juggling an intriguing set of practical and psychological issues: someone whose personal journey will grab you. If his character development is handled with subtlety and depth, he could elevate the book from a basic sci-fi release to a genre classic.

This article will show you how to develop a character who will linger in your readers’ minds long after they turn the last page. To write such a character, you’ll need to:

  1. Justify the character’s reason for existence by establishing the character’s story goal and motivation
  2. Make sure the character has both strengths and flaws
  3. Give the character an external and internal conflict. See More . . . 

Filed Under: Characterization

11 Secrets to Writing an Effective Character Description

July 7, 2020

REBECCA MCCLANAHAN

The characters in our stories, songs, poems, and essays embody our writing. They are our words made flesh. Sometimes they even speak for us, carrying much of the burden of plot, theme, mood, idea, and emotion. But they do not exist until we describe them on the page. Until we anchor them with words, they drift, bodiless and ethereal. They weigh nothing; they have no voice. Once we’ve written the first words—“Belinda Beatrice,” perhaps, or “the dark-eyed salesman in the back of the room,” or simply “the girl”—our characters begin to take form.

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(3 ways to introduce your main character.)

Soon they’ll be more than mere names. They’ll put on jeans or rubber hip boots, light thin cigarettes or thick cigars; they’ll stutter or shout, buy a townhouse on the Upper East Side or a studio in the Village; they’ll marry for life or survive a series of happy affairs; they’ll beat their children or embrace them. What they become, on the page, is up to us.

Here are 11 secrets to keep in mind as you breathe life into your characters through description.

1. Description that relies solely on physical attributes too often turns into what Janet Burroway calls the “all-points bulletin.”

It reads something like this: “My father is a tall, middle-aged man of average build. He has green eyes and brown hair and usually wears khakis and oxford shirts.”

This description is so mundane, it barely qualifies as an “all-points bulletin.” Can you imagine the police searching for this suspect? No identifying marks, no scars or tattoos, nothing to distinguish him. He appears as a cardboard cutout rather than as a living, breathing character. Yes, the details are accurate, but they don’t call forth vivid images. We can barely make out this character’s form; how can we be expected to remember him?

(The difference between character habits and quirks.)

When we describe a character, factual information alone is not sufficient, no matter how accurate it might be. The details must appeal to our senses. Phrases that merely label (like tall, middle-aged, and average) bring no clear image to our minds. Since most people form their first impression of someone through visual clues, it makes sense to describe our characters using visual images. Green eyes is a beginning, but it doesn’t go far enough. Are they pale green or dark green? Even a simple adjective can strengthen a detail. If the adjective also suggests a metaphor—forest green, pea green, or emerald green—the reader not only begins to make associations (positive or negative) but also visualizes in her mind’s eye the vehicle of the metaphor—forest trees, peas, or glittering gems.

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See More . . .

Filed Under: Characterization

3 Ways to Differentiate Your Characters

May 31, 2020

3 Ways to Differentiate Your Characters

Filed Under: Characterization

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