Thanks to Elana Johnson, Jennifer Daiker, and Alex Cavanaugh for hosting The Great Blogging Experiment. The subject for the day, which everyone who has signed up for the experiment will write about, is "How To Write Compelling Characters." Good question!
What qualities make characters effective? Irrisistible? Compelling? Well, think about your favorite characters....what makes you cheer for them? Become invested in their lives and stories? It's their flaws, right?
Interesting characters aren't perfect. They make mistakes. They learn from them. They're vulnerable. They're needy. Often they're brave and determined to overcome. They're human.
Even though it sounds simple, it's not always easy to do. It's tempting to write the undefeated hero, or the indestructible heroine. But that's boring. There's nothing at stake. No room for conflict.
Satisfying characters allow us a glimpse into ourselves, help us see ways we can be better. They give us ways to try on lives we would otherwise never experience. We want to see people with our own flaws and doubts succeed despite their weaknesses.
So my ...ahem...sage advice for writing compelling characters is to give them imperfections and personal challenges to overcome. Put them through the ringer and see how they react. Make them mess up and have to fix it and learn from it.
Perfection is boring. Make your characters messy!
52 comments:
I agree with making characters flawed. No one's perfect and no one wants to read (or be with) someone who is (or thinks they are).
Totally agree! The messier the better! :o)
I love the last bit. "Make your characters messy." LOL, that is perfect but not boring at all. ;)
perfect answer ;-) Messy is so much more fun than perfect :)
Perfection is boring and flat. The cliche "nobody's perect" is a cliche for a reason. It's the flaws and way in which the character overcome them are what make them interesting. Great post! :D
Solid Advice... great post!
:)
Jeremy
[iZombie]
All very true. I'm part of the experiment too and now I'm your friend.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
Nancy - I love making new friends! Welcome!
Messy...YES! :)I likemessy characters and messy stories, too.
I found you from the blogfest. I'm your newest follower. *waves* Nice to meet you.
~Lola
I agree about flaws. I'm perfect, but I wouldn't be very interesting in a book.
Messy is a great choice of words! People are messy, and have lots of baggage.
Great post!
Lola - Hi! *waves* Glad you're here!
clp3333 - I can so totally relate. hehe.
3 cheers for messy characters! :)
What I'm learning through this experiment is that most of know what makes a compelling character but the application of that knowledge is the hard part.
Dude, excellent point. And I'm not just saying that because I said to make them human too. Ha ha! But seriously, no one wants to read about someone so perfectly perfect. That's just annoying.
Flawed characters seem to be a popular topic, but I totally agree with you. It's what I wrote about, too. A character who has all their ducks in a row isn't interesting to me until they come undone.
You make a important point. I want to read about a character who I could think of as a friend and not some untouchable paragon. It's important to feel a certain sense of identity in order for us to understand the character about whom we are reading.
Lee
Tossing It Out
It's difficult to identify with perfection. I love flaws and eccentricities and the inability to always make the right decisions. Great post!
I agree, messy = memorable. Great post.
Who wants to read about perfect, boring characters? Not me!
Nice post...The characters need to be human even if they are talking, dancing, cake baking zebras. :)
Messy...that's perfect! Your post reminds me of Alex's. Flawed characters are compelling. Great post! :-)
I love the way you put this - characters need to have flaws in order for there to be true conflict. Nicely put!
My characters have strong traits and areas where they excel - and then areas where they are a mess!
Flaws seem to be the word of the day. I totally agree!
Yes! I really like the part about characters giving us glimpses into ourselves. The best fiction, my favorite characters, are all mirrors to some extent. :D
Yay for messy characters! That's such good advice.
I am not a writer of books but write poetry.
I write mainly about my life experiences , friends, family the whole lot, I too don't believe in flaws, I am honest about what I write and don't white wash anyone albiet myself or family, let's face it no one is perfect.
I enjoyed your post and found it highly interesting.
Good Luck
Yvonne.
Messiness is SO important to making a character compelling! Nice post. :)
Excellent post. I especially like the part about allowing us to "try on lives". That is exactly what great characters do, they take us with them.
Messy it is! We need to empathize with the characters. It has to feel real, and yes, sorry to say, messy.
If we remember that truth is stranger than fiction we can draw there's plenty of food with which to fatten our characters. Give them chocolate smears around their mouths....
"Make your characters messy" -great way to put it!
Messy characters scrub up nicely after they've been through the ringer ;)
They should make mistakes and be flawed. Good stuff! =D
'messy' - I like that!
Yes, yes, yes! Can't be too messy or too flawed. And make sure some of those flaws are still there at the story's end. It helps keep the story alive for the reader.
I like the idea and image of making your characters messy. Very realistic. Thanks!
I love that - messy is good!
Perfection is boring. Messy is the new perfection (read: your characters will be perfect if they are messy!)
This is an excellent contribution to the experiment.
It's challenging to make our character's live suck. And yet, it makes their story so much better!
I agree, but I think the challenge is to show your characters' weaknesses rather than telling about them.
Thank you for sharing your secrets. I really appreciate participating in this awesome blogfest! :)
Come and visit me!
I totally agree! I love the 'They make mistakes. They learn from them. They're vulnerable. They're needy.' part. They stuck out to me. I'm now following you! :)
Great post! I really resonate with that last statement "Make your characters messy!"
Thanks!
Haha I found you!
I've been looking for someone else who went for "interesting" since yesterday...
:-)
Hi, I'm dropping in from the blog fest. Nice to meet you. I really enjoyed your blog, you've got some good stuff, and am happy to follow you.
You hit the nail on the head with how satisfying characters allow us a glimpse into ourselves. We read to walk a mile in other shoes, to envision our potential nobility. But that only happens if the shoe fits first.
"Satisfying characters allow us a glimpse into ourselves..."
Love this.
Great post!
Love this line: Satisfying characters allow us a glimpse into ourselves, help us see ways we can be better. Awesome!! :)
Sounds just like being a parent and raising kids:)
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