Developing Characters and Relationships

[chaoticfirefly]

How does one go about developing characters through out the story and their relationships? It's one of the main things I do really struggle with when I do write a story, my characters always seem so bland and their relationships always are paper thin.

 

[Strider1002]

Good question. I heard an interesting line somewhere: "Everyone is normal until you get to know them." So, basically, no one is normal. Everyone has something (or things) that make them unique... you just have to find out what makes these people you are writing about unique. Often there are aspects to people that would surprise us.

One writer's trick, that I know of, for keeping things fresh and interesting is to have your characters do or say the opposite of what's expected. Like, having a girl say "I hate you" to her boyfriend, who she loves. That's perfectly realistic; I've been in that situation. People often don't say exactly what they mean, especially in relationships, for a number of possible reasons.

That's all I can think of for now. But also, if you haven't read Stephen King's book, On Writing, you definitely should.

 

[ByGraceOnly]

I'm working on a mystery and a romance. Here are some tips from a book from authors to would-be authors on characterization.

--Character is conflict. Put obstacles in your characters' path at every turn. How they respond will show a lot about them.

--Most of the time, less is more when revealing character details. Show, don't tell. One telling detail will tell you more than a page of description.

--All persons are defined by their wants/needs. What drives them?

--The protagonist must have a code that's adhered to, no matter what.

--The story must move forward and backward at the same time. We're all products of our past. Feed in the past subtly.

--Balance story flow with characterization.

--Vonnegut's rule: Make sure everybody on the page wants something. All characters must be important.

Hope that helps,
Bill

 

[LadyNRA]

There are tools out there for crafting characters. One is a simple form (one or two pages) that help you categorize your character. Physical description, quirks, illnesses, mannerisms, speech patterns, backstory, hopes and dreams etc. Then go out and observe people. Some are bound to have odd habits you can use to make the character memorable.