Round characters are complex, well-developed, genuine-sounding characters who evolve throughout the story as their complexity is explored. The term was coined by E.M. Forster as the polar opposite of a flat character, who is unchanging and only partly developed.<\/p>\n
Round characters…<\/p>\n
Writing round characters is the best way into your readers\u2019 hearts. Once you get the reader hooked and caring, you can confidently pull them through the story to its very end. Here are some tips on that.<\/p>\n
“No one is perfect” is a common saying that applies doubly to fiction.<\/p>\n
There is no perfect character. If your character is gorgeous, talented, a genius, compassionate, and good with animals, odds are you\u2019re writing a Mary Sue* or a Gary Stu*. Most people can\u2019t stand this kind of characters, for good reason. They\u2019re boring. They always have the perfect solution. They\u2019re never conflicted or stuck.<\/p>\n
In reality, we all have flaws and internal conflict. Embrace them. They\u2019re the stuff that makes your characters interesting. If you really love your character, burden it with some emotional or mental wounds. The more they struggle, the more readers will care about them.<\/p>\n
* A Mary Sue for female characters and Gary Stu for male characters is an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or low-rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Often this character is recognized as an author insert and\/or wish-fulfillment, and is heavily frowned up.<\/em><\/p>\n When you choose the traits that make up your character, don\u2019t bother with well-known combinations (unless you have a new twist on them). Choose surprising combinations that produce internal conflict and idiosyncrasies. For example, a geeky, shy, introverted programmer is clich\u00e9. But a lazy, fun-loving, and street-smart programmer will cause a lot of people to stop for a second look.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good sign if a combination of traits makes you go, \u201cWow, how did the character get like\u00a0that<\/em>?\u201d If the combination itself is interesting, there must be an interesting story behind it, and we all love an interesting story.<\/p>\n The characters you write are not you. Sure, they will always have\u00a0something<\/em>\u00a0of you in their psyche, but they\u2019re not you. You need to let them go.<\/p>\n That means your characters must have their own opinions on politics and religion. It means they can be optimistic or pessimistic, introverted or extroverted, sunny or sullen, regardless of what you are.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll know when your characters are getting a separate life when you feel yourself leaving your comfort zone, or even recoil from their actions, or at least think, \u201cWhoa, I wouldn\u2019t do\u00a0that<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be afraid to get their hands dirty.\u00a0Everyone<\/em>\u00a0has something she or he is ashamed of, or something they don\u2019t want the world to see, or something that makes them ugly. So should your characters. Show them in all the glory of their naked humanity (at least metaphorically).<\/p>\n Choose a trait, a belief, or a dominant emotion of your character and write a story that credibly turns it around. Keep your transformations reasonable. The shyest kid in class will not become an extrovert stud who dates the prom queen. It\u2019s the more subtle changes that leave the strongest impression, sometimes.<\/p>\n For short stories, keep the change to only one trait or emotion. For longer stories, you can introduce more intricate changes in character. But if your list of traits and beliefs is the same at the beginning and at the end of your story\u2014you\u2019ve missed something critical.<\/p>\n Give them a quirk, a turn of phrase, a tic, something that makes them stand out. Don\u2019t overuse it: don\u2019t give a tic to every character, and don\u2019t have your character display that tic all the time. A tic doesn\u2019t replace personality, but it can definitely enrich it. Celebrate quirks\u2014they\u2019re what makes us individuals.<\/p>\n Study your characters in depth and give them an inner world rich with emotions, beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes. Create unusual combinations.\u00a0Celebrate difference<\/a>. That\u2019s the fastest route into your readers\u2019 hearts and into their favorite author lists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[7],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Surprise the reader<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Let them go<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Sully them<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Make them grow<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Make them memorable<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Summing It Up<\/h2>\n