Creating Believable Characters in Your Fiction

Creating Believable Characters

Note: this post has been updated on June 15, 2015.

Who among us didn't weep over Dobby in Harry Potter? Did you fall in love with Noah and Allie in the Notebook? Have you ever loved a character so much that they became a friend that you revisited over and over again? As a novelist, creating believable characters who leap off the page is imperative.

So how do we do this? Well, I'm glad you asked. (Okay, you didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway.)

WRITE LESS THAN YOU KNOW.

Remember when J.K. Rowling shocked the world by revealing Dumbledore's sexuality? There was no mention of it (allusion can be argued), but yet, this was the truth. Knowing your characters beyond their books is important. If they aren't real to you, how can they be real to a reader?

GIVE THEM SOMEONE TO LOVE. 

No, I don't just mean romantic love. Any kind of love. Think Katniss and Prim. Think Sirius and Harry. If you show us a character's love, we'll not only believe it, but feel it too. Here are a few examples to think about:

1. Familial love. The self-sacrificing parent. The overprotective sibling. Everyone loves a good family bond.
2. Romantic love. Unrequited, broken, first, on-again, off-again. We can't help but root for a good love story. (Hint, hint: These Are the Moments.)
3. Love of cause. The fighter. The rebel. The activist. Readers love passionate characters.

MODEL FROM LIFE.

Learn from the people around you. Observe the details: the flaws, the strengths, and the quirks. Avoid perfect, cut-out characters by incorporating qualities that are true to life. In this way, your characters and the worlds you created will feel that much more realistic to us.

KNOW THEIR GOALS, WANTS, AND FEARS.

These are the big three.

1. Goals. These are what propel characters through the story. Goals can change, fail, succeed, but every character has a path.
2. Wants. A little different than goals, because they may not be the purpose of the plot. This is where love interests tend to fall.
3. Fears. How do these affect the goals and wants? How do they trip your character up through the story?

FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS. 

You know your characters. You know the way they act and why they act that way. Trust yourself and trust your characters. Because our characters are human (well, mostly!), they aren't always rational. They're going to make mistakes. They're going to act out of character. And that's ok.

WANT MORE? OKAY!

If you're interested in more tips on characterization, I highly recommend The Essential Guide to Character Creation by She's Novel:

Click the picture to learn more!

Creating Believable Characters

*Note: the above is an affiliate link.

Discussion Time: Are you creating believable characters in your fiction? What are your favorite character tips?

Books for Writers: The Mega List

Want to catch up on your reading? Why not read about writing? Genius! Here's a list of the best books for writers. 

Remember in school when you had to cite your resources? What if I told you how to put that skill to some real life use? Hear me out.

When it comes to writing, authors must be sponges. Read books in your genre, take creative writing classes, follow authors on Twitter, keep up with writing blogs (*cough, cough*). These are all important practices toward becoming a better writer. These are resources. Get it? Good!

Reading about writing makes sense. Before I even started to write a sentence, I purchased my first writing book: Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland. It's a book that I still revisit over and over again. You know why? Because it's a good resource!

Let's take a journey. Say we're hiking. What do we need? Food, probably. A blanket, I guess. Ok, scratch this metaphor. I'm not  a hiker, can you tell? My point is that we need to be prepared, so let's get down to business with Books for Writers: the MEGA list (in no particular order).

Inspiration

1. On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King
2. One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer's Art and Craft by Susan M. Tiberghien
3. Why I Write: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction (Back Bay Book) by Will Blythe
4. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
5. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury
6. A Year of Writing Dangerously: 365 Days of Inspiration & Encouragement by Barbara Abercrombie

Writing Basics

1. Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
2. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman
3. Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
4. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
5. Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton
6. The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman
7. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
8. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
9. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, Roger Angell
10. Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot The Grips Readers from Start to Finish by James Scott Bell

Anthologies/The Writing Business

1. The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing by the editors of Writer's Digest
2. Crafting Novels & Short Stories by the editors of Writer's Digest
3. 2016 Writer's Market byRobert Lee Brewer
4. Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents by Jeff Herman
5. The Writer's Notebook II: Craft Essays from Tin House by Christopher Beha

Beyond the Basics: Editing and More

1. The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer by Sandra Scofield
2. The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master by Martha Alderson
3. Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books and How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence by Roz Morris
4. The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot by Charles Baxter
5. Rock Your Plot: A Simple System for Plotting Your Novel by Cathy Yardley
6. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne
7. The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within by Alan Watt
8. Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
9. The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself by Susan Bell

Self-Publishing Tips

1. Write. Publish. Repeat.: The No-Luck Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
2. The Fine Print of Self-Publishing: A Primer on Contacts, Printing Costs, Royalties, Distribution, Ebooks, and Marketing by Mark Levine
3. Self-Publisher's Legal Handbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to the Legal Issues of Self-Publishing by Helen Sedwick
4. The Self-Publisher's Ultimate Resource Guide: Every Indie Author's Directory to Help You Prepare, Publish and Promote Professional Looking Books by Joel Friedlander
5. How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon's Kindle: An Easy-To-Follow Self-Publishing Guidebook by Martin Crosbie
6. Self-Printed: The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing by Catherine Ryan Howard
7. How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon.com: Writing, Editing, Designing, Publishing and Marketing by Chris McMsullen
8. Createspace and Kindle Self-Publishing Masterclass: The Step-by-Step Author's Guide to Writing, Publishing and Marketing Your Books on Amazon by Rick Smith
9. Self-Publishing Books 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Publishing Your Book in Multiple Formats by Shelley Hitz
10. Let's Get Digital: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should by David Gaughran

Book Marketing Tips

1. Your First 1,000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book by Tim Grahl
2. How to Market A Book by Joanna Penn
3. Sell Your Book Like Wildfire: The Writer's Guide to Marketing and Publicity by Rob Eager
4. Book Marketing is Dead: Book Promotion Secrets You MUST Know BEFORE You Publish by Derek Murphy
5. Create Your Writer Platform: The Key to Building an Audience, Selling More Books, and Finding Success as an Author by Chuck Sambuchino
6. Supercharge Your Kindle Sales: Simple Strategies to Boost Organic Traffic on Amazon, Sell More Books, and Blow Up Your Author Mailing List by Nick Stephenson

So what do you think? Have you read any of these? If I missed anything, which I'm sure I have, please comment below so I can check it out!

How to Write a Love Story

Ever wonder how the great love stories are written? Learn how to write a love story that's believable and romantic! 

Last week, Valentine's Day got me thinking about some of the greatest literary love stories. Pride and Prejudice. Wuthering Heights. Gone with the Wind. There's a reason why these classics still have us swooning today. When it comes to writing romance, there are key factors every writer needs to think about.

If you're wondering how to write a love story, you have to ask yourself, what kind of love story am I writing? Is it a hopeful one? Is it a tragedy? Is the love story the main story or a supplement to the overall plot? Let me break it down for you:

The Meet Cute

Who doesn't love a good "how we met" story? I can think of some great ones off the top of my head: Gus and Hazel Grace in The Fault in Our Stars, Charlie and Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Noah and Allie in The Notebook.

When two future love birds meet for the first time, there has to be an impact: negative or positive. We need to feel that this person is important and a game-changer to the story. 

A few things to think about when writing the meet cute: 

• How do my characters meet? Through friends? By chance? How does their meeting set up the story?

• What's the initial reaction? Do they like each other? Do they clash? If so, why?

• What do they look like? Are they attracted to each other? Or does that come later?

• How do they walk away? After their initial meeting, how do they feel? Anger? Curiosity?

Read more about what makes a love story stick with us. 

Believability

In order for readers to buy your character's romance, ground it in reality | @blotsandplots #writetip (TwEEt This)

Chemistry: It's not just science, my friends. In the scenes after the meeting but before all the love, we need to see a progression in the relationship. We need to see the reasoning behind why they're falling for each other. These can be very simple scenes, but filled with emotion impact. Maybe she likes the way he reads to his grandmother on the weekends. Maybe he falls for the way she paints.

We need to know them as individuals, and we need to know them as a couple. It has to make sense. Are they compatible? Are they opposites? In either case, we need the proof. Pro Tip: learn how to write epic love stories. 

Obstacles

There are no perfect couples. Need I say it again? No couples are perfect! So why would you write them that way? Try to think about the obstacles to love, both internal and external. Then ask yourself these questions:

• What are their relationship flaws? What irritates your character about his/her partner? What do they fight about?

• What is the biggest threat to their relationship? Is it external? Is it a character flaw? How do they deal with it?

• Can they overcome? Are their obstacles too great? Do they fight or do they give up?

Love stories must grab the attention and affection of readers, so that they never want to let go. I still remember the first time I read A Walk to Remember, and how invested I was.

Love stories are the kind of stories that readers revisit over and over again. For extra reading on how to write a love story, I recommend visiting this article from the Write Practice. Want more? Read this advice from twenty published writers.

Discussion Time: How would you write a love story? What's your biggest struggle? What comes naturally? 

Writing Playlist 1: Action Scenes

Writing Playlist

Music can make or break your writing flow. I’m all over the place when it comes to music. I know what I like when I'm just driving in my car or working out, but when it comes to writing, I just can't seem to find a pattern. I tend to find one or two songs that I really connect with, and I'll just play them on repeat until the words get on the page. Then I get bored with those songs and have to start all over again. It's a vicious cycle.

And of course, every type of scene requires a different sound. Action scenes, emotional scenes, heist scenes, romantic scenes. You have to tailor the sound to the scene. If you're killing off a character, you probably shouldn't listen to "Happy Days Are Here Again." Then again, who knows? We all have our quirks. So rather than waste hours trying to pick that "perfect sound," I figured I'd help you out with sharing a little from my very own writing playlists.

Where to get your listening experience: I use Spotify, which I definitely recommend, but any other music source works too. Some people think Spotify is a bit intimidating, having basically every song at your fingertips. For people who like a pre-packaged soundtrack, I'd suggest the 8 tracks website. If you follow the link, it'll lead you right to playlists with the "writing" tag. It's a wonderful resource.

Let's talk action. When I write action scenes, I want a writing playlist that pumps me up. I like songs that build, songs I can get lost in, and songs that reflect the magnitude of the scenes I'm writing. Music should enhance, not distract. So below you can find my writing playlist, and yes it's girly and yes it's cheesy and yes it's awesome in every way.

1. Dead Hearts by Stars

2. Stay The Night by Zedd feat. Hayley Willams

3. Clarity by Zedd feat. Foxes

4. Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding

5. Start a Riot by Jetta

6. Young Blood by The Naked And Famous

7. My Body by Young the Giant

8. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

9. Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine

10. Electric Heart by Sia, The Weeknd, Diplo

Writing Calendar: Keeping Count of Your Writing

writing calendar

As part of my New Years resolution, I decided to try and write every day. I'll admit it: I'm not a disciplined writer. I try my best to get work done, but between school and work, it was hard to make time. Now, I've got a lot of time on my hands, and there's really no excuse. I applaud those of you who can write 3,000+ words a day while balancing kids and jobs and what have you. That's amazing. As for me, I decided to take one small step at a time, and start with a simple 500 words a day.

Jeff Goins, whom I love and admire, created this program called My 500 Words. It's a 31 day challenge where you simply write 500 words a day. As Jeff says, "It takes me anywhere from 30-60 minutes to write 500 words. And if I keep up with that pace, I’ve got a book in 90 days." Above, you can see a glimpse of my writing calendar. As you can see, vacation kind of got in the way, but I'm not punishing myself. I just picked up where I left off. And that's good!

Writing Calendar

My writing calendar is based off of word count, and I've got the system down. The idea came from writer Laini Taylor, who recently posted her methods on her blog. I'm the kind of person that does well with visuals, so seeing my progress in front of me really kickstarts my writing.

Here's how my system works:

1. Word Count Colors. I found this little marker/stamp at Target that has three colors: magenta, yellow and orange. If I write my 5oo words, then I get a magenta dot. Yellow is for 1,000 and Orange is for 1,500. I write the exact number of words on the day, so I can tally my words for the week.

2. Cupcakes. Math lesson: 500 words a day for 7 days equals 3,500 words for the week. If I reach that 3,500, I get a cupcake sticker. Pretty cute, huh?

3. Congratulations banner. Not pictured above, if I reach 14,000 words for the month, then I get a "congratulations" sticker for the month.

There's no "right" way to make a writing calendar, but it helps to make it fun! The main ingredients are writing and reward. Celebrate your work! You deserve it!

Do you have a writing calendar? How has it improved your writing time? Comment below!