How to Fix a Flat Character
- Something that really sucks in my old short stories, is how many horrible characters I’ve written. I mean, they just suck. No personality, no depth, and probably not likeable by the readers. So here are some tips for you to learn from my mistakes.
- Make sure your character has a character arc. Even if it is something small. If they are a main character, GIVE THEM THEIR ARC. Arcs can be anything. They are supposed to be inner journeys. It gives your reader something to root for and shows your character’s growth throughout the series. If you want some tips on writing arcs, I mentioned it briefly in my post about Descriptions and Describing Clothes. Here are some ideas for simple character arcs:
1) Going from overly uptight to learning how to relax and allow themselves to have fun.
2) Going from stuck up and thinking they are the best to realizing that they can work on themselves.
3) Going from being self centered to noticing people around them and making an active effort to help them.
4) Going from hating something that is a big deal (can be like a holiday or ritual) to finding the joy in it.
5) Going from hating a feature (physical or mental) that they hate about themselves to embracing it and finding the beauty in it.
- Give them hobbies. This makes them not only more dimensional, but it helps readers relate to them. Of course, not everyone is going to relate to one hobby, but a group of people relating to a character is going to make the character more loveable. Here are some basic hobby ideas:
4) Being an activist for something they believe in
- Show how they act around different people. Most people act differently around their friends, family, teachers, and strangers. Show the switch in their personality. Define who they like to hang out around and who they don’t. But give them reasons.
- Give them a style or aesthetic. This includes what genre of music they like and how they dress. Again, going back to my post about clothes and how they are great for defining the personality of a character. Clothes can tell so much about a person. So every once in a while describe how they are dressed. Just don’t go overboard, keep it simple and brief.
- Give them people they hate with a burning passion and give them people they love so much they would die for them. When a character has people they care deeply about it makes them more likeable and more relatable because (most) people have someone they love to the end of the Earth. It doesn’t have to be a romantic partner either. It can be a friend that they love the most or a family member.
That’s it for now! I hope that helps!
turnnoffyourmind
kaledo-art
germansingergirl
pixelskylines
izzy806
