Making Your Characters Come Alive

To me, one of the key elements to a great book is how the author describes his / her characters.  If I can’t get involved with the characters of the book, then I might as well not waste my time in reading the story.  I want to feel what the hero and heroine are feeling.  I want to know what they’re thinking, and I want to see what they’re seeing.  To me, it’s not the premise itself, but the way the characters play out in the story.

How do you make your readers fall in love with your characters?  Well, I’ve found from the stories I’ve read lately, that if I can’t relate to one of them, I’m not going to have much sympathy for them.  Which really means—make your characters real!  Give them real problems and real conflicts.  Don’t make them perfect, because since nobody in this world is perfect, we’re not going to relate well to them.

One of the steps in delving into your characters go give them more depth is to kick up their GMC.  If you have not read Debra Dixon’s book, GMC, Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, I suggest you find it soon.  This book is so very good and is really easy to understand.  Give your characters obstacles they have to jump over, and when they’ve jumped over those, give them more.  Torture them if you have to.

I have to tell you about a book I read recently that had me falling in love with both characters immediately.  The book is from our very own RaeAnne Thayne called, The Quiet Storm. http://www.xmission.com/~rthayne/ Although her heroine was wealthy and beautiful, she had a flaw.  She’d been called dumb all of her life, and so she believed it, which in turned made it extremely hard for her to talk to people.  I can’t believe how much my heart went out to this tortured soul, and I couldn’t wait to read the fairytale ending that was written for her.  Throughout most of the story, the heroine struggled to talk to people, but she knew she had to in order to find the person who killed her best friend.  The heroine overcame her fear and it was rewarding to see her struggles finally come to an end, especially when she became a better person because of it.

Give your characters emotion.  Let them feel.  Allow them to be hurt and come back struggling to heal their hearts.  Believe me, it makes for a great read!