Writing Tips and Techniques (Writing Help)

Character

Character is obviously a large part of your story, so you want to make sure yours is a good one. What makes a good character? Depth. Dynamics. Realism! 

A character should have a personality and a few traits. How do I decide which traits to give him/her? A character's traits should be tied to her setting. Just think about how your own upbringing affected who you are. Someone who grew up in a well-off blended family is going to turn out differently than a nuclear working class family. It's helpful to write some scenes from the character's perspective that won't be included in the main story. Maybe write a flashback to when the character was young or make him/her confess something to another character. Some writers even write daily journals from their character's pov to get a hold on who they are.

I noticed a weird tendency people have to make their characters these perfect(and typically flat) people. It reminds me of those t-shirts that say "perfect boys only exist in books." But it applies to most characters, not just the guys. They're beautiful, they're talented, sometimes they're adorably dorky or they don't stand out from the crowd, but they're okay with it, and they always do the right thing because they also happen to care about the greater good 👍. I guess it's fun to fantasize, but it's not believable. Real people aren't just one thing. No matter how many people there are in the world, they're all different... so shouldn't our characters be too? Real people have conflicting traits. For example, Jane might a generally friendly person, but if your ideas conflict with her politics, she'll shut you out and turn all of your friends against you. Lucas is the dream guy personality wise. He's pretty decent looking, he'll listen to your problem and empathize with you, he's optimistic about most things, he notices when you get a haircut, he likes kids, has a puppy, and he is a good guy in general. But he smells bad and his friends are vulgar jerks. Ella is lonely and longs to make friends, but sees herself as superior to most people so she can't connect. See what I mean? And when I say to make flawed people, I hope you aren't thinking that I'm talking about those characters that strictly hate everyone and/or are social outcasts. Have a little good and bad in everyone, no matter which side dominates (Ash might have a prickly off-putting exterior and be generally mean, but he had a rough past and really loves his little cousin, whom he takes care of).  People are complex creatures.

Another thing that all characters need is desire. They have to have some kind of goal that drives them. If Lumen is going along with the prophecy because that's what people are telling her to do...eh. What if she only goes along with it because the people that tell her she's the chosen one can protect her wounded best friend and she wants to stay on their good side? Try thinking of an abstract desire, then find a way to make it come true. Jeremy, a billionaire who has it all, wants to unearth a talent within himself so he can fill the jobless hours of his day (abstract goal). Concrete goal: He decides to take a bunch of intro courses so he can find something that catches his attention (Of course, a story needs conflict to get in the way of the goal to make it interesting. Maybe, because he's so rich, he's in the public eye and has to worry about the media getting in his business). 

Also, a good character will change from what they were at the start of the story. It doesn't have to be big, but they should go through some kind of alteration. Lumen, who only went along with the prophecy for her friend, gets to know the people that look up to her as their savior and starts to care about the cause. See? Dynamic. She had to work up to caring about helping people. It makes her more real.