Welcome to Wacky Words!Wacky Words is designed to be a frequent series on the fundamentals of writing, as well as tips, tricks, and advice for bettering your writing! So without further ado, lets get into it! What makes a great character?I have found that what makes a great character is realism. The best characters are grounded, have a past, have flaws, and have goals. What kind of story would it be if the character didn't want something, and didn't have to overcome something? Giving characters flaws makes them human, and making them human makes them relatable to the reader. And a relatable character is one that your readers actually want to follow. The best characters are grounded, have a past, have flaws, and have goals. So what should my character outline look like?There are a few things that a character outline should always have. One of the most important things is to make sure you have a thorough physical description of your character. Some authors have been known to accidentally change a characters eye color across different books because they didn't keep track of how they looked. The next thing you should have is a list of what drives them? What motivates your character to do what they do? This allows you to know what makes them do what they do. You should also have a list of your characters strengths or special skills, and weaknesses. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and so should your character. Along with weaknesses, you should have the fears of your characters. What are they afraid of? Monsters? Love? Commitment? And the last thing, one of the most important things is backstory. You as an author need to know the past of your characters, to further know what drives them and what has shaped them into who they are as of the beginning of your story. A good place to start with backstory is with 3 big parts of their backstory that have shaped them into who they are. Final WordsNow you have the basics for creating a good character. Now obviously there is a lot more to making great characters, which I will touch on in later Wacky Words, but this is a good start. For your convinience I will include a link to download a basic Character Outline Template that I have created. I hope this was helpful, and will help you design all kinds of amazing characters. Until next time, Keep on Writing!
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Welcome to The Writers Block!AuthorKen Mears is a new 17 year old author, here to share his wisdom, advice, and experiences with you, the reader! Archives
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