Epic Advice and Encouragement (EAE)

Advice 5 ☼ Characters

How do I make my characters realistic? Do all of my characters need a back story?

Here we go!

—How do I make my characters realistic?

This is actually REALLY hard if you're starting out, and even for some who have been writing for a long time. When I first started out, I based the characters off people I knew, but never myself. Why? Because, when I was younger I didn't want to see the flaws that I had. But, without those flaws, you're not a real person. The same goes for your character. To make them 'real' they need two things: good traits and flaws. You want them to have traits that people can relate to, even if it's a bad character. They need a trait that people can relate to. Maybe the character is a genius, top of his class, never wanted or needed anything, but he's a complete jerk to everyone he believes to be 'lesser'. He's awkward around others because he doesn't think he needs them. Or, let's look at Bellatrix from Harry Potter. Why? Because she's evil, she's psychotic, but she's obsessed with Voldemort. Haven't we all been obsessed with something or someone at one point? Whether it's mommy, daddy, a teacher, your siblings, or even a significant other? If you say no, you're lying to yourself. We all have at one point of our life. That's what helps makes us feel bad for her when Voldemort pushes her to the side over and over again. She's still evil, but she has a trait we can all relate to. That's a powerful characterization right there.

How do you get there? One of my favorite things is taking personality tests as the character. These questions will help you think about your character in different ways and then help you develop them further.

The other thing is the history. To write a good story is to not give it an actual beginning or end. You want to leave people with the idea that the story lives on, even if the words aren't being written. You want people to think that your characters were always alive and will keep living, so that requires a back story! Your characters' family, history, friends, education, all of that needs to be addressed, refer back to past things that happened before the story started. Maybe they met an old friend who disappeared ages ago and all those memories are coming back. That will show depth to your character and your story and will make people fall in love.

—Do all of my characters need a back story?

I swear, I see this all the time and the answer is yes. You may not write it, your readers may never know the truth or the full extent, but you still need to know it. Whether it's some little kid who just gives your character a smile once or a teacher who the character sees every day. They all need a story, their own story, their own life. As the author, you should be aware of them all.

Yes, it's a lot of work and requires a lot of attention, but your story will develop beautifully when you give it all the love and attention it needs. Don't shy away from the work, embrace it, love it, need it. Only then can your characters and stories flourish.

-Star~