How to Make Your Book Characters More Realistic
Reread your whole story, top to bottom, fixing grammatical and spelling errors before you start redefining your characters., When you come to a point in your book where you're introducing your character, be descriptive!, Remember: The better the...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Reread your whole story
This makes it easier. -
Step 2: top to bottom
Talk about his clothes, the way he walked towards someone, his facial expression, the way the other characters immediately acted around him, and anything that reflects the character's personality. , Of course, this also means that his/her later actions need to connect with their personality or have some sort of consequence for the character, like emotional uncertainty or the sudden distrust of another character.
If you use the "I don't know who I am any more" trick, don't overdo it, that can end up sounding clichéd. , A phrase or word that reflects how they feel about a situation.
If a character says the word "Fantastic" when they're annoyed or aggravated, for example.
Don't overuse it, but you should have it present if you do use it. , If someone's eating an apple and the character is sitting by them, they could say, "I like pears better, apples are sour." Make sure this integrates smoothly into your text. , Again, don't overdo it, or your character will lose his/her humanity. (Even if he/she isn't human.), Use it, it's so much easier to write about characters loosely based off yourself or your alter ego.
Imagine that someone was saying every line to that character to you.
Beware of Mary-Sues, though.
Google this if you don't know what it means, as it's important. , Maybe the character wants to go out to a Chinese restaurant, therefore, he/she likes Chinese., Do the same for good habits. , If the character is angry, have him run his fingers through his hair.
Or if the character is shy, have that character use one of it's arms to rub the other. , Make sure you continue your characters' new traits as you're writing your book, if you're still writing. -
Step 3: fixing grammatical and spelling errors before you start redefining your characters.
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Step 4: When you come to a point in your book where you're introducing your character
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Step 5: be descriptive!
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Step 6: Remember: The better the reader knows the character
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Step 7: the better they can understand later actions in the story.
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Step 8: Give the character his own action phrase
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Step 9: or word.
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Step 10: Name their likes and dislikes throughout the story.
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Step 11: Note if the character is sarcastic
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Step 12: and apply that to most of the character's dialogue.
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Step 13: Your alter ego is very important.
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Step 14: "Read between the lines" is a good tool.
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Step 15: Make character's bad habits apparent (biting nails
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Step 16: disorganization).
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Step 17: People subconsciously do things
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Step 18: apply the actions to the character.
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Step 19: Apply all the rules above to all the other characters
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Step 20: starting from most important to least.
Detailed Guide
This makes it easier.
Talk about his clothes, the way he walked towards someone, his facial expression, the way the other characters immediately acted around him, and anything that reflects the character's personality. , Of course, this also means that his/her later actions need to connect with their personality or have some sort of consequence for the character, like emotional uncertainty or the sudden distrust of another character.
If you use the "I don't know who I am any more" trick, don't overdo it, that can end up sounding clichéd. , A phrase or word that reflects how they feel about a situation.
If a character says the word "Fantastic" when they're annoyed or aggravated, for example.
Don't overuse it, but you should have it present if you do use it. , If someone's eating an apple and the character is sitting by them, they could say, "I like pears better, apples are sour." Make sure this integrates smoothly into your text. , Again, don't overdo it, or your character will lose his/her humanity. (Even if he/she isn't human.), Use it, it's so much easier to write about characters loosely based off yourself or your alter ego.
Imagine that someone was saying every line to that character to you.
Beware of Mary-Sues, though.
Google this if you don't know what it means, as it's important. , Maybe the character wants to go out to a Chinese restaurant, therefore, he/she likes Chinese., Do the same for good habits. , If the character is angry, have him run his fingers through his hair.
Or if the character is shy, have that character use one of it's arms to rub the other. , Make sure you continue your characters' new traits as you're writing your book, if you're still writing.
About the Author
Joyce Gomez
A passionate writer with expertise in home improvement topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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