Characters Must Be Believable in Your Story

Who Are Your Characters?

How do you know your characters? Would you audience understand and believe in them? Hero or villain, they must be authentic and also written to be easy to follow. Ask your characters questions about themselves. Asking is an action that will get you thinking about their personalities, desires and goals.

“Character sketches are pretty similar to questionnaires, in that they involve asking questions, but they can also be a bit more fleshed out. Just like questionnaires, there are a bunch of worksheets to get you started sketching your characters, but you can also create your own system by considering the following:” More…

Create the characters’ routine to show their thoughts, goals and motives. This routine will either help or hinder the obstacles your characters must conquer to reach that goal.

“Creating believable characters can be accomplished by writing internal dialogue that shows the struggles going on inside. The reader is allowed into secret places that build understanding and often empathy even if they choose the wrong path. More…

One more thing, after you fill out those characteristic profiles for each character, put them together in a short story form. This brings life to your characters and is helpful while you write your story. You’ve seen them in action in your short story form. You know who they are and how they will move your story along.

All well and good. But how are you going to lead them past the first few pages while they make a snap judgment about your story? Again, it’s in the way you craft your words. Give your readers a clear view of your story, and you as an author, so they will know your story is well worth their time reading.

Need more help to make your characters more believable? More…

Don’t forget to edit your story. Are you using the right words to describe them? More …