5 Reasons You Need to Spend More Time With Your Fictional Characters
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Have you ever chosen a book off of the shelf and been excited about it only for the characters to be less than what you expected of them? The level of disappointment that comes along with that often runs an entire book for the reader. Characters are the reason we follow books. They make you want to continue reading the pages and following the story. When you begin a book where the characters read like wallpaper robots, your interest is going to fall off quicker than you want it to.
If you’re a fiction writer, I suggest you get to know your characters on a personal level. By doing this, you will achieve the goal of writing those characters that your readers fall in love with, the ones that they want to follow through the storms and emotional trauma.
Let’s take a look at several things that can be achieved when you decide to spend more time with your fictional characters. Hopefully, this will aid you when take a seat in front of the computer to work on your next piece.
1. Evoke Compassion From Your Reader
Make your reader feel something!
I’m going to bet that if you’re a writer and an avid reader, you already know how important this is. You know that when you write to pull emotion from your audience you make all of the difference in the world when it comes to your characters.
This humanizes your characters for your reader. It gives them something that they can relate to. Your readers find a level by which they can see themselves in when you work to flesh out and understand what your characters are going through.
This can be done simply by putting yourself in the shoes of your character. Dig in deep and make yourself feel what your characters are going through in the situation that you’re presenting them with.
If there is one more thing writers are good at, it’s playing pretend. In order to get the most out of your characters, you’re going to want to make sure you evoke feeling out of the readers. What better way to do that than to make sure you understand exactly what your characters are feeling and how your audience is going to react to that?
