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how do I make my charecters convincing and life like



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Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:09 am
tashgirl1604 says...



I need help on developig charecters I can moke some charecters quite convinvincing but I want make them like real people and not works of fiction.
Other charecters I can come up with slome ideas but I don't know how to make them into proper life like charecters.
If it helps answer my question my latest bit of work is a super hero/ super human story
Any help or advice you could give I would love to hear
  





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Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:33 am
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birk says...



Before honing your skills within developing good characters, I'd advise you to work on your grammar. I could read through a story with cardboard cutout characters, but I'd struggle through a story filled with grammatical errors. Grammar is key.

Alright, writing a well developed, fully realistic character is definately important, yet tricky. There are a lot of things that go into making a character believable. I'll quickly do an overview of writing checkpoints for good characters.

- Backstory
Backstory is pretty much the most important aspect of a character. Everything about your character has been shaped by something. All of the characteristics and character traits, including our fears, strenghts and weaknesses are all created by some turn of events. Our backstory. What is it?

- Description
The description of your character gives a whole lot of life to it. The characters physicality has a lot to say. They can be fit and healthy or they can be out of shape and unfit. The way they dress tells us a lot about them. Are they sloppy, or are they trim? Do they have a distinct way of talking? Maybe they have certain dialogue traits that define them. There's a lot of things to put into the description of your character.

Whenever I create a character, I often take a lot of them from people I already know about. It's rarely someone I know closely, but rather someone I have some knowledge of. For instance, at the nearby supermarked there is this weird, though awesome guy I'll often run into. He's a former drug addict that has been clean for several decades now. So he's a bit weird, but a nice, great guy. I like his look and personality, so I used his base as a character. If you just look at the people around you in your life, you will find a lot of real and good characteristics.

- Ambition
Most stories will involve a character seeking something. He or she has something to achieve, they have a goal to strive for. This will obviously shape who the character comes off as.

- Name
Of course, the name will be imporant. Jeff isn't a wizard who slays dragons and plays the lute for fair maidens. Jeff works at the video store and collects Pokemon cards. Likewise, Sauron doesn't do your taxes. Sauron is trying to cover all the lands in a second darkness. It's an obvious one, but the name has to fit with what kind of story you are writing.

- Lifestyle
The hierarchy in which your character belongs will also include into what kind of person your character is. Whether your character is within a high or low caste, being located high within society or low, is very important. Someone born into royality or riches has a lot of different characteristics and ambitions as a person born into powerty and labor.

- Mannerisms and quirks
One of my favorite things to write for my characters are their mannerisms. I like eccentric characters who maybe has a few ticks. Maybe they have some form of OCD, or perhaps they gesture a lot with their hands or uses body language a lot instead of talking too much. There's many things you can do with these small things and they could do a lot for a character.

Seeing as the story you are proposing is a superhero story, why don't we take a look at a couple of superheroes and see why they work.

Batman

So then, what shapes Batman aka Bruce Wayne to become the crime fighting badass he is? Well, he witnessed both his parents being killed right in front of his eyes. All for petty theft. This, thereby, leading him to become something greater than himself and fight the massive crime that is going on in his beloved home city. It shapes him in how much he is willing to give, how much he is willing to take and how much he can let go. He is afraid to get close to anyone again, for fear of losing anyone else, as he lost his parents. Which obviously comes into play in his life. (Because Batman villains are douchebags!)

Iron Man

Why do people love Iron Man? Well, he is a funny, eccentric character who doesn't delve into the regular superhero tropes. While other superheroes hide behind they masked identities, Tony Stark just casually lets it slip that yeah... 'I'm Iron Man'.
He's the superhero the audience has been waiting for. Someone who's badass, smart, charming and eccentric beyond belief. Someone everyone could sometimes wish they were. Not to say that Tony Stark doesn't have his own baggage and backstory that shaped him. Because he does. He isn't always all happy go-lucky.

There's a whole heap of information regarding the creation of believable characters and this is just a start.
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Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:51 am
TriSARAHtops says...



As much as I wish I could tell you that there is some magical solution to developing characters, there really isn't (although if someone knows one, let me know :-) ). The fact is that some things will work like a charm for some writers, but then be totaly useless for others.
I'd first suggest finding what it is that separates the characters you feel are more convincing from those that are less so. Is it imporance in the story, personality based or something else? If you can figure out why one character is more developed than another, it might help you to be able to create more characters.

Some people swear by character templates (which you can probably find a million versions of online). Personally, I'm not a fan of them, but you might find them useful for getting to know your characters.

Probably the most important thing is to understand what makes your characters tick. Why do they act in a certain way, what motivates them, what is their objective? Consider how their past has influenced them,as well as their current situation.

Really, I wouldn't get too anxious over whether your characters are 100% perfectly developed, not in your first draft. Use the story to get to know them, then use the editing process to fill in the blanks, so to speak, and make them more complex and realistic using what telling their story has taught you about them.
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Wed Aug 20, 2014 5:17 am
Rosendorn says...



Birk's given you quite the nice list of how to develop characters, and I wholeheartedly support it. I will, however, add to it.

Relationships
How do they relate to other people? Family, friends, strangers, acquaintances? Did they have a lot of friends growing up or were they loners? Are they happy with their relationships right now, or not? Why are they happy or unhappy? How did they relate to their parents growing up?

Relationships affect people, past and present. Figuring out how characters have related to others and relate to others now is an important step in fleshing them out.

Society
This is broader than lifestyle. It's how society as a whole would treat the individual based on various factors, such as race, class, orientation, gender, and various other things that society likes to condemn people for.

--

Past that? Write them.

Stick them in different emotional situations. Figure out how they react. How do they react to loss, love, surprise, joy, shock? Who'll they save when given a choice between two people or things they love? What morals will they never compromise on? What's flexible?

By writing them, you force yourself to figure them out. It took me years to get my MC's voice down, but now it's down and it stays remarkably consistent. I did that by writing her.
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Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:06 am
Biluata says...



Hi there. I am new and I know the other people who have already responded have really good answers, but Ii think that what makes a character is the hardship and how they respond. If your story is realistic or even fiction, I think one of the best ways to add life to a character is to have them befriend or reject the outcast because that really adds character and depth. Smiles!
  





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Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:32 am
zafae0333 says...



Hi there!

Well, I'm not really answering a question completely, but it's more like a 'thank you' kind of message and I'll share what works for me. I just read it out of whim, but I believe some people over here have actually give quite the amount of useful information that got me thinking about my own characters.

Funny enough, when I first began writting my story I just taught about it. I did a mental sketch of ways, finding certain moments (adversity or humor) that I liked and somehow some characters just came and fit. For example, my main character is really molded quite a bit after myself. Most of his reactions match what would be my own, as well as point of views and such characteristics; but he looks like a friend of mine, just 'cause I decided I didn't really look like a main character and had his image stolen a bit.

Likewise, my female protagonist is molded after another friend of mine (both main characters are really based on my own two favorite friends; funny, right?). But, more than 'being bad at creating characters', I really must say I used them in my story because I like their personality (well, one it's mine and the other a friends). Like, I simply love how he will react later on, and I believe that the wish and eagerness of actually writting, creating, said moment reminds me to keep writting, if only for the sake of that one moment.

Well, I believe I've only used such way to create characters with these two protagonists. The rest of them I think from scratch, but may use a habit, or the appearance, or maybe just a characteristic I know about someone I've seen or actually known.

My work is fiction, as in fantasy and a bit of sci fi. Because of that, I believe I have quite a bit of freedom for character creation and development. But, I do agree that when making up a character the first thing I think about (before looks, or habits, or context) its, like they've said already, his or her's drive. I like to think about their motivation, goals or mindset, and then, I come up with a moment, not necesary scene, that would portray it the best. And it's not just for the actual creation, but I keep using it to better picture the same character, get to know him and use him the best I can.

For example, recently I've thought about a particular scene with my male protagonist. Leo (main guy),would be speaking to himself, a monologue of kinds that goes like this :
The idea kept dancing around in his mind, though. To leave Isara's side, even if only to help her -and ultimately fulfill her wish and desire- still worried him. He knew Chester would do his work, keep her safe and out of trouble. Clara would even be by his side to lend a hand and put him on the right track, were something to happen.
He trusted her, and hoped Chester would be of enough use to their cause. Still, he wondered the sanity of his judgement. He'd put his own life on the line any day, knowing Clara would stand by his side, and rather recently Chester besides the two of them, but not Isara's -never, Isara's.
.....

See what I mean? The scene is filled with both wonder and devotion, mixed in with a bit of paranoia. That's the kind of idea I had of my character when I first began thinking about the story. His drive to protect this Isara marked his past, the way he deals with today and his plans for the future, almost driving him insane with worry about what may happen, and what he'd be able to do to keep her save. Going so far to even inspire his own abilities, being a jack of all trades just 'in case' (cooking, fighting, some degree of medical knowledge...damn, he even learned to play a musical instrument for a possibility to pose as a musician as a way either out or in of somewhere), etc...

So yeah, that's how I manage character creation, and even if I'm still working on it and improving, it has been working for me. And now that I've decided to post my work over here (the past month and a week, and well, I'll save you the story of my sorry writting progression), and fixed my own grammatical nitpicks (really, word/Open Office's proofreading rocks like you have no idea since I do a lot of typos and tenses mishaps while writting in computer.... I don't have that issue when writting by hand though -.-), people have been actually telling me they like my story, even if just a couple. So I must be doing something right besides just trowing them a fantastic scenario and some cool context!!

Good luck! :3
  





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Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:35 am
PrehistoricEchoes says...



This is a question I've often had trouble with when writing, and I don't have a truly definite answer. Usually, I just kind of get a rough outline of a character. What do they do? What are their passions? What are their goals? What are some fears they have? Just some basics. Then, I just kind of throw them into the story and see what happens from there. Sometimes, they develop traits as they go.

When making superheroes specifically, I would go to lengths to show how they solve problems, both external (physical) and internal (emotional). Showing a pyromancer weld together a breaking bridge (generic, but this is just an example) shows them using their abilities creatively, and different characters solve problems different ways.

One thing I know that's helped me is writing in a character's voice. Call me crazy, but when I write, I like to think of a "voice" that character has and think of their dialogue in that specific voice. If it doesn't fit, I try to change it.

I know this isn't good, but I hope it helps!
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Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:49 am
Griffinkeeper says...



Here's my two cents:

1. Don't give your characters super powers. Instead, treat them as regular powers. Treat the ability to throw fireballs, to fly, or whatever as just another talent, like juggling or writing. I'd go even further and make these powers accessible to anyone; so that anyone that puts in time to study can learn how to toss a fireball. In this manner, your character won't become special because they can toss a fireball; but because they had the patience to learn it.

2. Base aspects of your characters off of people you've met or know. They don't have to be major details; it could be as simple as observing that one of your friends always taps their foot to the beat of a song and incorporating that detail into a scene with music.

You shouldn't try to capture your friend perfectly; after all they might not appreciate your portrayal of them. But the ability to say, "What would Grif do if he was in this situation," will help to get you unstuck.

The other authors have good advice about getting into your character's head; my advice will help in creating them.
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Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:07 pm
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ajruby12 says...



Hey! Character development is pretty tough to do, as I know from experience. But it can be done, believe me. My first suggestion is to find a person that you know that you can base a character off of. It makes things so much easier. Another thing you can do is fill out a "form" for each character, like my best friend and I did for our book, Core Cities. Basically, you put the name, age, personality, etc down for each character. It makes keeping track of various characters so much easier. Finally, make your characters creative! Don't think you have to have "sane" characters. :)

-ajruby12
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