What makes good character

And the thing is, you can use these emotional responses to highlight for us who the characters are. Why does this thing that would make everyone else happy make him want to cry and punch a cabinet instead? Questions drive narrative.

We continue reading sometimes just to answer questions. Who killed Mrs. Who stole the Shih-Tzu of Darkness and for what nefarious purpose? What happens next? The audience is driven in part by the need to answer mysteries. Thing is, the audience and the characters have a kind of narrative quantum entanglement; the same things that draw us through a story are the same things that urge a character forward, too. We want to solve the murder same as the cantankerous detective does. Give the character questions that are unanswered — variables in her equation that she is driven to complete.

It goes the other way, too. Just as a character has questions, he also has answers — answers that he never wants to share with anyone, answers that would be otherwise known as secrets. Heroic secrets. Dark secrets. Sexy secrets. Weird secrets. Underpants secrets. The moment a character loses the ability to surprise us, they might as well be a dead body floating down a slow moving river.

Now I own a parrot! EEEEeeeee eeee. Think of it like the reveal of a murderer in a murder-mystery story. You want that murderer to be revealed in a way where the story outsmarted you and yet, it still makes sense , right? When they reveal something about themselves or surprise us, it should be a thing that has us nodding our head — not scratching it like a confused chimp. Still, while quirks are no substitute for actual character traits , they are useful in small doses when a letting the character stand out in our mind and b lending some depth of character through a seemingly shallow expression.

She has life. Things that happened to her and things that she did. First kiss! First breakup! First sexual experience! That time Billy Grosbeak tried to grab her boob and she broke his nose.

That time she did the thing with the girl at that place. What we see of a character in a story is just the tippy-top of the iceberg, just a nipple poking out of the water while the rest of the body remains submerged. Characters grow and change. Okay, fine — not all of them do, an in certain modes of storytelling a stagnant flatlining character arc is sadly a feature and not a bug. But just the same, the most interesting characters are the ones who at least have the capability of change, who are part of an unfulfilled arc that is unseen but keenly felt.

Readers want to go on that journey with a character. They want to go along for the ride: breakups and marriages and babies and revenge and redemption and resurrection. Some animals grow only as big as their cages — so give your character room to move around, yeah?

Give them scope! Envision for them an incomplete arc! They have to be someone we can — and want! How do you accomplish this? You do this by giving them gravity. Making them as big and as interesting as can be so they draw us to them — like moths to a flame, like meteors to the earth, like cat hair to a new sweater.

The greatest crime you can commit against your character and your reader is making them boring. A good character needs you. You are a very special ingredient indeed, young captain. See, the idea goes that no story is original, and maybe that translates to character, too. But you are an original. You can bring something fucking amazing to every character you write: yourself.

You are the puppeteer. You are parent and deity. So go, create. Give them life. Give them soul. Give them character. And then kick their ass. Share this:Like this:Like […]. Buck Wade September 11, AM. They need to be interesting. I can think of multiple characters that are interesting while having next to no relatable qualities. Carmen May 11, PM. Rapido February 23, PM. This is nonsense because, if we could control our destiny, it would be destiny.

Control and destiny do not belong in the same sentence. Fiction is full of similar nonsense advice, slogans and what not. You cannot control your destiny. Jayson April 18, PM. But…in this you are God. Behaving in a just manner and treating people equally and consistently can make a person come across as decent and objective.

Dependability is also a desirable characteristic. Being dependable and reliable shows that you respect other people and their time. It also shows that you have a diligent and hard-working spirit.

Some signs of dependability include keeping your word, being punctual, cooperating with other people, following directions well and paying close attention to detail. Selfish behavior can be a major turn-off to other people. To demonstrate good character, a degree of selflessness can go a long way. If a person shows a genuine concern for the well-being of other people and puts their own needs last , people will notice and appreciate the rarity of such a quality.

Lars Tramilton has been writing professionally since His work has appeared in a variety of online publications, including CareerWorkstation. Tramilton received a bachelor's degree with a focus on elementary education from Kean University. By: Lars Tramilton. Flexibility One good character trait to have is flexibility. Honesty Honesty is integral for showing good character in your daily life, whether you are at work, with family or with friends. Fairness Fairness also can give the impression of solid character and values.

This makes him more three-dimensional. Like that cliched idea that you can change a bad boy. People get to play out their romantic fantasies in their heads, no matter how… interesting they may be. This is part of what makes rockstar romances and paranormal romances so popular. Books allow people to fulfil that, at least in their heads. Which is why making sure that the reader can relate to your character is vital. Everyone can relate to that. An emotional journey is just as valid as a physical one.

But characters will change between the first page and the last. That is what gives readers a reason to keep going. Even if they know what happens next spoilers are everywhere! The change a character goes through is a character arc, and we have lots more to share about character arcs next episode! Another way to make character more interesting is to give them unique or unexpected hobbies that may help with the story, or even ones that contradict the type of person they are.

You can also add a dark side to a seemingly good person, and show their different sides based on how they interact with different people. Oh wait, forget that! The show This is Us is really great at showcasing a variety of different generations, times, races, and families. The Dresden Files Jim Butcher includes multiple characters from multiple different family dynamics, and he does a great job of demonstrating how that can have an impact on the person. Not that it becomes their defining feature.

It resonated with a lot of women who change themselves to suit society, or to be the kind of woman that most men want, and when they try to be themselves, it backfires. Gillian Flynne, the author of Gone Girl , had to embrace her anger and a multitude of other negative emotions to accurately portray them in the book—can you imagine how emotionally draining that must have been?

All the positive scenes mean so much more when you know how many negative things the character has been through. We had a friend who needed to write quite a cold, angry character, but was afraid to express those emotions herself.

It allows you to freely express all your pent-up emotions. You have to make sure you are not afraid of experiencing the emotions yourself, or of what people will think of you when you go to that dark place. That book is messed up in quite an impressive way. For instance, we all behave slightly differently around different people. This is often subconscious, but it is a useful technique in showing more depth of your character without having to spell things out for your reader.

You can do this through altering language, tone of voice, body language, etc. It all adds up. When they do go on stage, they end up having a panic attack.

Someone who wants desperately to sing but is held back by previous trauma is a great story premise. Their character arc is how they get over the stage fright. Sometimes, if you have a long running series, where characters have built up various experiences that influence who they are, you know them quite well and can anticipate how they might react to certain things.

Of course, sometimes writers change, and things can become inconsistent, which is incredibly frustrating. You can tweet her if you want to find out!