Friday Writing Essential—Connect With Your Readers Through Your Characters— May 1st, 2009

The secret (or not so secret) desire of many writers is to write a best-selling book. We've all seen the various best sellers lists and sometimes we may even wonder how a particular book became so successful. Not every best seller is well written, but all of them have one thing in common: the ability to make a personal connection with readers.

No matter how clever the plot or how riveting the action, if the reader finds the characters dull, they often won't keep reading. The trick is to write a story that the reader connects to through the experiences of the characters. The same is true of movies, plays, and even news stories: it's not just about what happens, it's what happens to the people that draws us into the story. We need to connect emotionally with the characters to keep us interested in turning page after page.

This is not to say that all characters should be likable or virtuous. In fact, any story would be boring if everyone in it were beyond reproach. Even the best people we know have flaws, and your characters should have flaws too if you want them to be believable. Sometimes it's necessary to the story to create characters that the reader will hate; the worst thing a reader can experience is apathy about them.

A great tool for keeping track of the characters you create is to use a simple system of 5x8" index cards. For each character, create a card that contains their name, age, whether they're a major or minor character, pertinent biographical information (that which advances the story), a physical description with any distinctive features, speech patterns or distinctive phrases they'll use, a list of their goals or motivations in the story, and any character flaws or personal strengths they'll exhibit. An important thing to remember when creating characters is to make them each distinct individuals with a well-defined role to play in the story.

Resist the temptation to add extra characters that don't advance the story—it confuses the reader, and you'll end up trying to fit them in to scenes where they don't benefit the action. Don't bore the readers by giving infinite descriptions of your characters. Tell them what they need to know, when they need to know it. Readers like to use their imaginations and create their own mental images to fill in the blanks.

When naming your characters, avoid using names that begin with the same letter or that could be both male and female. I once had a client that used eight characters in her story that all had names that began with the letter "T", and three of them were male/female names. It was enormously confusing to read, and I found the author herself was confused, repeatedly using one character's name when referring to another. When I suggested changing some of the names, I was told that she could not—it was a sequel to another book she had already published. Oops!

Don't create characters too closely associated with someone you know, or be prepared to deal with possible fallout later. While your family and friends may think it's flattering to have you base a character on them, they may not be happy with some of your character's traits ("Is that what you really think of me?") or when the character turns out to be a philanderer or a murderer.

There are many ways to make a character intriguing to a reader. Reveal secrets about your characters at appropriate times in the story or include enough hints that the reader can form their own conclusions along the way. Everyone has a past and something they don't share with even their closest friends. Again, make it relevant to the story, and keep the action moving forward.

Create conflict in the character dialogue. All great books contain conflict and a great place to light a spark is in conversation. No character should be talking just for the sake of talking. They must have something worth saying, and getting them to argue with each other can provide a way to express their personalities and add some tension to your story.

If it's a period piece you're writing, make sure the characters speech, dress, and behavior is in keeping with the times. Do the research—it will save you embarrassment and a lot of rewriting later on.

If you're not ready to undertake a writing project at this time, you can still create characters for future use. People watching is a great way to come up with characters. A conversation overheard in a restaurant or the man in front of you in line at the grocery store can provide a basis for a unique character. Create a character card and slip it into a file for future use. I keep an accordion file with snippets of character ideas, arranged by sex, age, and any significant personality trait. You can always pull these out and elaborate or make changes to them when you're ready to write a story. By periodically reviewing your character file you might find that your collected characters prompt an idea for a story.

Remember, your story will only be as good as the characters in it. Take the time to develop them carefully and make sure they always have a reason for appearing in any scene. Readers will appreciate your effort to keep them engaged. After all, isn't that the sign of a great story?

As always, I look forward to your submissions.