Halp! D:

I have a huge problem regarding the characters in a horror story I'm writing.


Basically, the main character is unwillingly forced to kill other people in self-defense and ends up getting into a lot of bad situations because of his sympathetic nature. However, he still comes off as boring and doesn't really stand out. The same goes for other characters in the story. None of them stand out in any way or are memorable.


TL;DR what can I do to improve in character development and dialogue? How can I make my characters stand out more?

Join my usergroup for character development!

No, seriously, don't worry too much about it! You're probably just doing the first draft. Write the thing first (no, seriously, just write!) and see what happens. If it gets boring, add some action. First drafts are supposed to suck. Afterwards, force yourself to read your draft. It'll suck--no worries. Then ask yourself, what would you REALLY want to read? And write that.

Actually I'm on the second draft D:

Don't worry; my characters didn't get personalities until the eleventh draft.

What worked for me was making the MC's backstory more interesting. The past shapes us, so it should shape your characters. Give the MC a little phobia that dates back to the eighth-grade marching band (random example). and have that phobia show up in the plot a lot. Make him fight with himself (What he wants to do) and his responsibilities (what he has to do) near-constantly. Put in some major internal conflict to spice him up.

The same goes for other characters. Give their backstories a little more richness, give them opinions and have them stick to those opinions, give them loves and hates, the works.

At the same time, finish this draft first! It's important to have a completely written novel to make edits from. One of the reasons it took to draft eleven for my character to get a personality was I kept editing unfinished drafts. My work suffered for it. Also, you might discover a new twist right near the end that will make your MC more interesting when you re-write.

I'd not worry about the first... at least three drafts, maybe five. You're still working out kinks with each draft, and it takes a long time to hone your craft. So just write each draft, look at what you can make better (Remember that twist? See where it comes from and rewrite with that backhistory in place.) and rewrite.

11th draft Rosey? You must be one of those types that is never completely happy what she writes.

Anyway Rosey is right, you need to develop their past. Also you should analyze their actions, if you see a pattern of something then make sure you keep up the pattern. It sounds confusing but it works.

For example on of my characters avoided conflict whenever he could, when the others in his team wanted to save people he wanted to just forget about the situation and stay home. Such a pattern developed and I realized that he was selfish and didn't want to put his friends and family in danger. With that new knowledge I was able to go back and re -write parts to further show such selfishness. First you must subconsciously develop personalities then once you become conscious of it you must continue to expand and tweak.

Like I said, I kept editing unfinished drafts. The beginning has eleven drafts, when the rest has gotten three drafts at best (and only in some parts. Others don't even have a draft behind them). It's true I wasn't happy, but I kept thinking of things I wanted to change. Which leads to another bit of advice: If you think of something you want changed, put that thing into another document labeled "changes." It will give you more willpower to stay with one draft until the end.

So my advice "finish a draft before editing" is from hard-earned experience.

This kind of relates to Mary sue/ Gary Stu characters; since boring usually equals generic and generic can some times equate to perfect... kind of.
You get the idea.
Don't worry and keep writing are really helpful and useful pieces of advice; you want to worry about these things on a later date.
However..
You can also fill out one of those character questionnaire sheets; those always help me "find" my character.
Their questions like
What is your characters' most cherished object?
In what situation would your character chose his personal safety over the lives of others?
What is his favorite flavor of ice cream?
And so on. I love these sheets; they're so thought-provoking.
Okay, you're thinking. That's swell. But what do I do with this information?
You don't just dump it in your story. You let it trickle out, little by little. Once understand your character inside and out; the dialogue becomes easier, his movements and action are less of you puppeting him and more of his own creation; and he just has that extra dimension.