Underneath the Fireflies by Marianne Scott Guest Post and Giveaway! {Ends May 19}

Creating Relatable Characters

In my opinion, a story without characters is an essay, a piece of writing that supports a thesis. Essays are great, but aimed primarily for an academic audience. It’s basically just about the facts. All you need is supporting evidence from other writers along with your personal narrative on a particular subject and voila! You’ll score an A on your story. But a story, especially a fiction story, doesn’t work like that. It is nothing without characters. The people in your story are responsible for emotions and actions that move a story in a planned direction. Together with supporting characters, they keep the action moving. They propel the plot forward by fascinating the reader. And, it’s the emotional response from your reader that keeps a reader turning the page. When your characters engage your readers, you get fans that return to read more of your work. You may even find your characters become so memorable that they become household names. Think of characters like Harry Potter, Bella and Edward in the Twilight series, or Jack Reicher in Lee Child’s novels. Well rounded characters become real because they are so identifiable. It’s the reason film makers adapt a novel to the big screen because we love what they do and say.

Through description, I try to make my characters visually real. But that’s not enough. I try to get inside their heads, so I can think like them, feel their values, and anticipate what they’ll do next. When you know your characters that well, it not only allows a writer to determine how they will react to a particular situation, but sometimes it will seem like they are actually talking to you, telling you what comes next in your story. I know that sounds weird, but it’s no different than being able to intuit what your child will do in a certain circumstance. Exceptional character development will give your readers that same opportunity. Then, there’s the twist. The writer can surprise a reader by making them act in a completely different way. That’s how a writer adds intrigue and suspense.

I spend time on making a profile for each of my characters. It’s a written document with their complete history. I may not use everything in that profile but by understanding character motivations, fears, ambitions, and weakness (especially their weaknesses) your character come to life.

Marianne Scott,
March 29, 2023