Creating relatable characters in a story is a crucial aspect of engaging storytelling. In this post, we will delve into strategies that are highly effective in creating a deep connection between readers and characters, leading to a strong investment in their journeys.
As we dig into these ideas, always keep in mind that “show, don’t tell” is vital in character development. Instead of telling readers that a character is kind, show them performing kind acts. This technique encourages readers to establish their own connections with the characters, rather than being dictated how to feel about them.
Focus on dialogue and interactions. How characters speak and interact with others can reveal a lot about them. Dialogue should be natural and reflect the character’s background, age, and personality. For example, a teenager will speak differently from an elderly character.
Remember, the reader may not always approve of the character’s words and actions, but it is crucial for them to still be able to relate to the character. Even if the character does something abhorrent, the reader should understand why. Sometimes it’s OK to have a character the reader really hates at times. It’s the “meh” ones that are a problem.
The mind
Human beings will be consuming your stories. It is crucial to consider how a reader will relate to and interpret the reasons behind a character’s actions when crafting a character. Start by understanding basic human psychology.
Characters should exhibit recognizable human emotions and motivations. This doesn’t mean they all need to be likable, but they should have understandable reasons behind their actions. For example, a character’s fear could cause them to avoid specific situations, making them relatable to anyone who has ever experienced fear.
Imbue your characters with a mix of flaws and strengths. Perfect characters are hard to relate to and often uninteresting. Characters who make mistakes, learn, and grow are more engaging. Perhaps a character is brilliant but socially awkward, or brave but impulsive. This balance makes them more human.
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Embrace a multitude of perspectives and experiences. Your characters shouldn’t all come from the same background or have similar views. The presence of diverse thoughts, experiences, and backgrounds enhances the richness of your story, enabling a myriad of readers to find glimpses of themselves within the narrative.
Utilize sensory and poignant emotional portrayals. Creating a powerful bond is achievable by vividly depicting a character’s observations, sounds, scents, sensations, flavors, and emotional experiences. This approach makes the character’s experiences more vivid and relatable. It should feel like the reader is there.
Crafting backstories
Backstories play a crucial role in storytelling. As an author, having a thorough understanding of your characters’ histories is crucial for comprehending their current motivations and behaviors. Providing detailed and explicitly stated information is not always necessary, but it significantly enriches the depth and authenticity of your storytelling. For example, a character who’s distrustful might stem from past betrayals. This adds depth and relatability. Again, always show, and not just tell, whenever possible.
This is one way that Word Weaver Pro shines. You can put all kinds of information about your character, even a picture, in the character profile. That information is then available everywhere you are writing about that character. It can be a huge help in keeping the complexities of a character consistently in mind while writing what they say and do.
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Delve into the complexities of internal struggles. Characters wrestling with internal dilemmas or moral choices can be highly relatable. Inner struggles, whether they involve self-doubt, ethical dilemmas, or personal fears, add depth and complexity to characters, making them more compelling and relatable. Ensure that your characters possess goals and motivations that resonate with the audience. Universal themes such as love, success, acceptance, and revenge resonate with the shared experiences and desires of the majority of people.
Let characters undergo development and transformation. People change over time, and so should your characters. A character’s evolution in response to the story’s events makes them more realistic and relatable. Their goals may be achieved, or change drastically, as part of your story.
The reader’s perspective
Finally, keep the reader’s perspective in mind. Think about what they know and what they don’t, and how they might relate to each character. Sometimes, leaving something to the reader’s imagination can make a character more engaging.
In summary, creating relatable characters in fiction requires a mix of psychological understanding, character development, and storytelling techniques. Authors have the power to craft multidimensional characters with real emotions, conflicts, and growth, allowing them to create deeply resonating and memorable characters for their readers. Keep in mind that the objective is to evoke a reflection of the readers in your characters, establishing a deep bond that lingers on even after they finish reading the final page.
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