User blog:Creeper50/Character Tip: Characters Do NOT Need To Be Likable.

Hey guys, Creeper50 here to give some tips on character development, starting with...

Characters do NOT need to be likable. In fact, they shouldn't be. Making a character who is constantly acting on what is best is not realistic.

However, do NOT think this means that characters can't be interesting. You NEED to make these characters have numerous quirks. Other tips I have inculde:


 * How characters address each other is determined by who their addressing.


 * Describing what is in a character's home can significantly increase our connection to them. Why? Because homes reflect a lot about who we are. If you find a home filled with techonolgy and not much else, your mind will probably form the image of an absent-minded professor.


 * If you are describing a character who isn't well know by the narrator, don't say "23." No look would say that exact age. Instead, go for something like "Early 20s."


 * Don't spend too much time describing secondary characters. Readers are there to see a problem and see how the characters address it, not learn what they look like.


 * Don't make character voices sound too simliar. Mixing water with water doesn't create anything interesting except possibly a refreshing beverage.


 * Be sure characters have arcs. If he is the same person by the end, nothing is interesting. On the contrary. don't make them take 180-degree personality changes, even if they are gradual. Keep some traits the same.


 * In order to make strong villians, don't have them view themselves as evil. To make them realistic, they must think that what they are doing is right or at least justified.

Before we go, we will ask one more question to end this list of tips:

Should this part of the story stay?

You may be thinking "Why should I cut anything out?" Well, perhaps you don't have anything to cut out, but if your story spends too much time on unimportant aspects, you must be ready to lose some great scenes. In order to decide, ask yourself what the reason this should stay is. Bad reasons inculde:


 * It sounds good.


 * My friends like it.


 * I like it.


 * It worked in this story.

Good reasons inculde:


 * It shows information vital to the plot.


 * It is needed to support character develpoment.


 * It helps the charcters progress toward their goals.

Thanks for reading my advice, and bye.

Creeper50 (talk) 22:52, January 12, 2016 (UTC)Creeper50