Interesting characters with conflicting desires are the heart of your story. There is no story without them. Five elements make up a character that immediately grabs the readers attention:
1. Exaggeration The exaggeration can be physical, mental or emotional, or a combination of them. Exaggerating your characters makes them inherently stand out and makes it easier for your readers to create a mental image of them in their heads as they are moving through the story. 2. Unusual Position Putting your characters in an odd position or situation that conflicts with their personality makes them immediately stand out and grabs the attention of the reader. 3. Introduction Get the bare bones of who your character is into the readers mind the first time they meet them. People judge a book by its cover. You're not going to get a second chance to make a strong impression. Create a memorable characteristic entry action that introduces the character to the reader and provides context on who they are, how they're likely to behave in situations throughout the story and how they contrast with the other characters around them. Another powerful tool used to describe and visualize your characters whenever you introduce or reintroduce them in the story is to use a collection of two to four words set aside in the entire story to apply only to describe your characters physical characteristics and their personality traits which include their clothes and the props they carry with them. Main characters like the protagonist and antagonist can get more to strengthen their mental image in the reader's mind. When we first meet people, we notice their eyes, face, hands, and clothes first before we get to know their personality through interacting with them or seeing them interact with others. Use this to your advantage when introducing characters while moving through the story. Sight offers the most substantial amount of information in the shortest amount of time than any of our other senses. Use the other senses and details to complete the vision. A few examples of Harry Potter characters introduced with this tool are: - Hagrid. Large, hairy, beetle bright eyes, Large overcoat, pink umbrella. - Hermione. Lots of bushy brown hair, large front teeth and a bossy sort of voice - Snape. Greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. - Professor McGonagall. A very stern face and this was not someone to cross - A Goblin. True, swarthy face and long fingers Use the names of the characters itself as allusive to who they are in addition to the visual descriptions and traits used to describe and identify them in the course of the story. Can you trust a Snape? Root for a Potter? The role of the character, their obsessions, and dialog can add to the help crystalize the visual image projected into the reader's mind. Introductions are essential; you can't afford to screw it up. Take your time to get it right. 4. Believability The most compelling character becomes a cartoon if they don't act and behave believably in the story world according to who they're set up to be. They need to be a whole person with a life of their own outside the events that happen in the story. You'll do most of this work in Sequels, where you'll show their emotions, reaction, and decisions to the scenes that happen to them throughout the story. 5. Empathy This element takes time and the course of the entire story sometimes to get right. You'll need an exaggerated character, placed in an unusual situation for them to be in, have them introduced and reintroduced well, and have them believable to start. After that, you'll need to put them in situations that relatable to the reader, like paying bills, grieving after a loved one dies, having a crush and being afraid to make a move. Get this right and get the reader to love who you want them to love and hate who you want them to hate, and you 'll have to reader come back to your stories and characters over and over again. How can you add these five elements while creating your characters?
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