How does one write characters for bestsellers?
1. Voice
What is “voice” in writing? Voice is you, your choice of words, and how you use them. John #Grisham, readers know, will always give them a legal thriller, (unless the book is a poignant story of growing up.)
Mark #Twain wrote, “You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter.” (Readers know Tom’s voice too.)
Jerry #Jenkins teaches, “…voice is your distinct:
- Personality
- Character
- Passion
- Emotion
- Purpose
Your voice sets the tone and conveys your message in your own unique way.”
The thing I do at the beginning is a “voice journal,” a free form doc that is the character speaking to me. I just work on it until I start to hear different from my own, or the other characters.— James Scott Bell, on Five Key Ways to Create a Character’s Distinct Voice
2. Want. Need. Goal.
What goal will you give your protagonist(s)? (Carol #Berg’s new series is for YA, and her protagonist is three individuals.)
Ray Bradbury is quoted as saying: “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!”
Have you read, Where the Crawdads Sing? The protagonist, Kya, rips at readers’ hearts and shows them what she wants, and there’s no other choice but to follow her.
‘But when Kya ran to the porch, she saw her mother in a long brown skirt, kick pleats nipping at her ankles, as she walked down the sandy lane in high heels.’
Kya’s brother attempts to comfort her: ‘“Ma’ll be back,” he said.’
‘“I dunno. She’s wearin’ her gator shoes.”’
‘Her throat tight, she whispered, ‘“But Ma’s carryin’ that blue case like she’s goin’ somewheres big.”’
Block character’s goals with obstacles to test them, teach them, and make them question who they are and what they really want. Which leads to,
3. Conflict
People never get along all the time. I suggest conflict can also be between man and nature, man and himself, his weaknesses, and man against the place in life he finds himself in, in the first chapter.
4. Important considerations for your characters:
A character is what he does, yes — but even more, a character is what he means to do. — CS Lakin, from Create Key Moments with Secondary Characters
You cannot have an effective protagonist who simply responds to events happening around him or her. Your protagonist must act, not just react. — Rachelle Gardner
An author should know their character intimately, they should know their history, how they would react in a situation, they should know their look and mannerisms down to the smallest facial tick. Yet all of this need not be revealed to the reader. — Aaron Miles, On Character Construction
Don’t just use visual details, but also include kinesthetic details, or how the character moves. Graceful, limping, stutter-step, lumbers, waddles, stomps. — Darcy Pattison, 5 Tips on Character Descriptions
Make your characters complex, but not so much so that readers can’t keep up with them.
Every person has a history. What we’ve experienced makes us what we are today. Will the history of your characters affect what they are at the beginning of the story vs the end?
Flaws. We’ve all got one, or five. Fear of spiders? Fear of failing? Fear of not winning in court. Indiana Jones hated snakes.
Great fiction is fueled by bad decisions and human weakness. — Kristen Lamb, from Great Characters–The Beating Heart of Great Fiction
Do readers remember your characters long after they’re done reading their story? The following quotes sum up great, unforgettable characters:
“The only characters I ever don’t like are ones that leave no impression on me. And I don’t write characters that leave no impression on me.” ― Lauren DeStefano
“You don’t really understand an antagonist until you understand why he’s a protagonist in his own version of the world.” ― John Rogers