Monday Motivation: Ten steps to a compelling character

 In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog, Tips for Writers

Once in a while, when I have the time, I allow myself the luxury of writing an extremely abbreviated Monday Motivation.

I was trawling through old notes of mine and came across a short and concise advisory list for anyone wishing to create a fictional character. It’s one I devised some years ago for a weekend retreat.

I thought, reading it now: gosh, difficult to improve on that.

So here it is: a recipe for creating a compelling and relatable character:

  1. Give them a goal.
  2. Give them a vulnerability.
  3. Give them a flaw.
  4. Give them a history.
  5. Give them a personality.
  6. Give them a distinctive voice.
  7. Make them complex, and contradictory.
  8. Make them active; give them agency.
  9. Let them fail.
  10. Make them suffer…

Happy writing,

Richard

 

 

 

 

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