What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?
Faults... Something that makes them less than perfect but still trying to do the right thing. Or if they are a bad person, a legitimate reason as to why they are the way they are.
As for mine, they come and present themselves and I catch them. It isn't so much as I create them, as they really, in me catching them tell me who they are. It happens over time. And as the stories go forth they reveal more of thier own personalities and quirks and the things that make them what they are.
The first place to start when trying to establish a unique character is summarizing their most defining characteristic. A well-written character has many traits but there should be one that molds all others. Is he a cynic? Optimist? A nihilist? Pessimist? Christian? Satanist? A necrophiliac?! This trait, the defining trait of the character, will shape every word the character chooses, every gesture they make, every stance they take both physically and mentally. All great characters are multi-layered and should have many pronounced attributes but there should be one that all others either stem from or work against.
For a character to be believable I find that giving them certain hang-ups or flaws but aslo great strengths helps that character be real to your reader. There are many great characters that have uncanny strengths but they also have their achillies heal so to speak, something that makes them real to the reader, maybe it's even something the reader can relate to. For example, making your main character painfully shy, many people can realte to that and will feel for your character. You want the reader to be rooting for the charcter and you want them to be concerned as to what happens to your character.
I need to have met this person in my life...
Since my books are plot-driven, I need a character who fulfills a particular function within the plot. To be believable, I think the character has to have the normal doubts and fears that any real-life person might have. "Larger than life" characters are fun to read about, but I think they are ultimately unsatisfying because the average reader cannot identify with them.
Most of my characters are composites of people I know quite well, so they're completely believable
Knowing a character's heart & soul.
I would try to get into the mind of my character so that I would know where he/she is coming from and what they are going through. That way I could portray them approriately.
Each character must seem to be a person you might meet in real life. They cannot be perfectly good or bad, but must be flawed. Characters must grow and change. My characters are amalgams of people I know, especially members of my family and people I met in my reading. I often ask myself, "What would Dad do in this situation?"
Enthusiasm, motivation, talent, inspiration and experience
Knowing how to create a character and what are the characeristics which make it up.
I create mine up from living through life and deciding on what will attract people to read about it.
Often i try to imagine melody and drama into new ideas that no-one has come up with and that makes it more difficult and challenging.
I create mine with natural thoughts and being creative in what i intend to be the content of the person.
A believable character is a imaginery person full of mind and vision.
Again, I have to say I look for flaws in a person. I tend to rely on dialogue and snappy exchanges between my characters to highlight tension and angst. The way a character reacts to stress is very revealing, especially in a verbal exchange.
If you've researched your character and if you are interested in your character, he/she will be believable
A believable character is one who acts in a way that's believable, regardless of the situation, and whose dialog sounds real when you read it. They should be 3-dimensional, and have character flaws, like we all do. Also, real people have weaknesses, whether emotional or physical.
If your character is from the city, he shouldn't speak like a farmer, and vice-versa. If he's in a fight, he shouldn't be able to take a lead pipe to the head and keep fighting (unless he's got supernatural powers). If your character is a 'stereotype' (a cheerleader, a jock, a nerd, a lawyer, etc.), then don't make them too stereotypical. That's just lazy. Give your quarterback some insecurities or an abusive parent; give the science geek a hot girlfriend. Shake things up instead of creating cardboard characters.
A character can not be believable all by themselves. The supporting characters also need substance and the circumstances in which they find themselves in cannot be contrived. One important aspect of character is dimension, however. The larger impact the character has on the reader, the more dimensions they should have -- with the exception of comedic tales and stories in the "horror" genre.
I create my characters by first identifying the genre I'm writing in, then setting up the characters' dimensions based on what the tale requires, then I build supporting characters to reveal the dimensions in the main characters.
There's a way to create dimension in character, but it's difficult to explain here.
They have to have flaws. A character without flaws in not only unbelievable they are also boring. Isn't that what we like about our favorite superheros? Superman has kryptonite, Spiderman is riddled with self-doubt. It's the feet of clay that makes a character interesting, the achilles heel that makes you root for the hero.
I created a character for a science fiction story. I made him rich, powerful and wise. I also made sure he made mistakes and had a near fatal weakness.
They have to be relatable. People who are reading your work need to feel connected to the characters.
My characters are mostly taken from people I have met in my life. Through your writing you make them real, give them emotion and life. |
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