How To: Characters

Do's and Don'ts of Characters

Do's and Don'ts of Characters

Readers always tend to prefer certain characters. Some prefer strong female leads (Tris - Divergent series). Others prefer the strong strapping man (Minho-The Maze Runner series) and others the quirky oddball (Luna Lovegood-Harry Potter series). But most readers will come together to create a list of characters traits they like and dislike. You don't have to follow these. These are just things others and myself think can make a big difference to a character.

Dont's

I'm going to start with the DON'TS seeing as there might be a longer list. Well I hope you're sitting comfortable because here they come!

Strong Female Leads - Now before you get riled up by the heading, here me out. Most strong female characters always seem to be either heartless/a jerk (looking at Katniss here) or constantly heading it to battle without a plan, but why? Why can't a strong woman be level headed, kind and badass all at the same time? Now this might be because of the way we're taught by society to think women are the weaker gender and authors want to show we aren't but the way they're doing it possibly isn't the best. A woman can be badass because of her smarts or her skills not just because she can hold a gun and shot a few bullets. Also why can't a strong woman also wear skirts and make-up? Society has decided that for a woman to be strong she shouldn't wear makeup, should constantly be wearing jeans, should look down on those who choose not to do these things or be better than most male characters? This isn't the case!

Names - Often in teenage stories, characters are given cringe worthy names such as 'Jayla Crystal Rosepetal' (no offence if your name is here, it was just an example) and you know they're going to be a Mary Sue (mentioned later on). Names mean everything. It's one of the first things you tell someone when you meet them and I know people want something unique and individual but don't try to hard e.g your character's name is one only used by royalty, she has impeccable speaking skills and she just so happens to be the same age as the missing princess. Their name should also be accurate for their setting/era e.g. a girl called Hanako living in Victorian England (looking at you Black Butler fandom). A name is everything

Looks - Now no-one wants to read a book where the character either constantly complains about their "plain" looks when they're obviously gorgeous or everyone is stunned by their looks. These kinds of characters usually meet a love interest then realise they've been beautiful all this time and this can make a very boring story line.

Hot Guys - Usually in YA and most definitely in Romance books there will be an absolutely gorgeous, muscled love interest who is emotional yet 'manly' and probably has no real character flaws (Damen-The Immortals). They're often boring characters and so much more could be done with them. But there are also the Bad Boys! DUN DUN DUNNNN! These boys have deep brooding eyes, expertly messy hair and a deep,dark, secretive past. This is slightly better than having no flaws but so many authors have used this thinking it's unique that it has become the norm.

Mary Sues/Marty Stus - Mary and Marty are becoming really common in YA and we need to put an end to this. Mary Sues are characters that are unbelievably gorgeous, kind, have heart-wrenching backstories and are still strong characters. Does this remind you of anyone? This reminds me of Snow White, but I know a lot of you are thinking of Bella Swan (The Twilight Series)

The Chosen One - The chosen one is very common and examples of this are Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Tris Prior (sort of) and many others. Some are born unto a prophecy where they are the only one who can defeat the big bad villain or they do it by accident or it wasn't supposed to be them (Thomas - The Maze Runner). The fates of these books are usually the same. They realise they're special, they defeat the villain even though they're clueless and the whole world loves them. In other words, BOOOOORING. Try something different. Maybe they're only a pawn in a large game of chess or there is more to the prophecy than meets the eye.

Diversity - Now before I write this, this is not supposed to be racist in anyway, these are just things I've noticed and would like to share. In a lot of books the main characters are mostly white with a few coloured characters for diversity. In some modern fiction diverse characters are sometimes stereotyped or the culture is portrayed wrong (Disney's Pocahontas showed Pocahontas eventually moving to England and peace between the races. In reality she was forced to become a Christian, was homesick and ended up becoming ill and dying). Facts are key and that means more research. But I've got a useful tip. JUST DO THE RESEARCH. I would rather read a book where you can see the author has taken time to learn the history of his/her character's culture (The Queen's Vow) than a book where a character's skin colour is different to the main character for diversity.

Do's

Now we've got all that out the way, we can move on to the good bits.

Strengths and Weaknesses - All characters have strengths and weakness and like the saying goes "Nobody's perfect", unless your name is perfect (Haha see what I did there). But joking aside characters need to be balanced to reach their arc. Their flaws will probably make the final boss battle a little harder and they might need help, but it gives the character more depth and readers can relate to this.

Different Backgrounds - Characters of different backgrounds makes your story more interesting and can add conflict that may not have been there before e.g. Madge and Katniss. Katniss had to work to provide for her family while Madge was the Mayor's daughter and had the perks of the Capitol. This also means the readers can relate to multiple characters.

Moral Conflict - Moral Conflict is always a show stopper. Imagine _____ has to either drop the food they've been working on for hours to save their laptop or let the 5 years worth of work be smashed for a plate of food. Obviously something as trivial as this wouldn't make a huge difference to the plot but something like this can be made bigger and better. This may also make the reader hate the character for a short while (Four in Allegiant) but develops their characters even more.

Motivation - Everyone needs a bit of motivation in their lives whether it be to get up and clean your room or to vanquish a terrifyingly evil villain. We all have our own desires and motives and that is an amazing way to make your characters more interesting. This also shows the reader why they are trying to do what they are doing (Jeanine Matthews is a great example)

Fear - All characters need fear. They might fear death, loneliness, spiders even germs but that makes them, them. This can also make serious scenes a bit more humorous e.g. the chapter where Harry and Ron go to talk to Aragog, a giant spider, in the Forbidden Forest at night. And as many Harry Potter fans know,boggarts helped develop so many characters and an example of this is Mrs Weasley. She feared seeing all her family dead and she overcame this when her daughter, Ginny's life was threatened by Bellatrix Lestrange.

Small Details - For anyone fans of Sherlock or CSI, you'll know small details are key. If you're writing mystery, the type of mud on someone's shoe might be the key to solving the case or for general fiction a character with a few undone buttons on their shirt might show they are distracted. Calloused fingers might show they play the piano or they spend a lot of time outdoors. "As I walked down the street, I noticed a small lump of melted ice cream on the floor. As I passed, I imagined the shock of a young boy who'd just dropped his ice cream, a mother who was frustrated and refused to buy another one and then the loud cries of the child and all the other mothers looking judgmentally on the pair." Even a small bit of ice cream that's been dropped on the ground can create a small filler.

History - Everyone has a history, no matter how old. Their history might even go beyond their birth (Edith Prior). This can account for their actions e.g. someone who has never felt love, tenses when embraced. Their history is apart of them and you can't take it away.

Remember - reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, BYE! - Bill Cipher

Liya xx