Character Development

Lesson 2: Character Development: Do you know your main character?

After reading the material in this lesson and completing the Character Profile Form (physical description and background and personality), you will know who your main character is, understand why he or she behaves the way he/she does, and how he/she will react in any given situation. This will make it much easier to write your character's story. If you are having trouble figuring out your character's personality and behavior, The Writer's Guide to Character Traits, published by Writer's Digest Books, will help get you moving in the right direction.

Creating Compelling Characters

Compelling characters bring your story to life and involve your readers. Your readers must care about your characters, or they will not care about finishing your story. Regardless of the kind of story you are telling, your main character must be someone your reader can root for, someone they can identify with. That doesn't mean your character must be perfect. Your character must be believable, must be human to your readers. That means your character must struggle, must try and occasionally fail, must have flaws.

How do you create believable characters that will keep your readers intrigued until the end of the story?

1. Name your characters carefully.

2. Create vivid descriptions of your characters, making them as human and believable as possible.

3. Know your character's background, know why he/she would act/react in a certain way

4. Reveal your characters through narrative, dialogue, introspection, and plot action.

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