Write Books People Read
Every story is composed of a few basic elements. I like to think of them (in no particular order) as places, people, prose, plot, and pacing—the 5 Ps!
Which one is most important? Which one makes an average story good or a good story great? Why do so many people, young and old, love the Harry Potter series? Is it because of the plots or settings? Both are good, but what is remarkable about a young wizard who reluctantly becomes a hero? It sounds kind of familiar. Countless stories use the same launching pad.
When I think about my favorite books, I always think about the characters first. The rest follows as a distant second. I enjoy the Harry Potter series because I relate to the characters; I’m invested in them, and I want to know what happens to them next. Characters are the secret ingredients in our sauce.
How, as writers, do we do we make memorable characters? How do we make readers love or hate our people? This is a big topic and deserves multiple columns.
To start, think about the great characters you’ve read. I bet they all have virtues and faults. What intrigues me most are the faults. Good characters need to be multi-dimensional, but not only must they be multi-dimensional—their faults and virtues must have consequences. Otherwise, they are nothing more than stock characters, and a story based upon stock characters quickly becomes boring no matter how good the plot, prose, or pacing. As an example, one of Harry Potter’s virtues is his unrelenting loyalty. He’ll do anything for his friends. This virtue or fault, depending upon the situation, accounts for most of the trouble he gets into.
Next we’ll start discussing ways to make characters pop, so readers read and stories get told.
I donate half of my proceeds for the thriller, Fourteenth Colony, to the Covenant House, so enjoy a great book and help homeless kids at the same time. Click here to find out more – http://www.amazon.com/Fourteenth-Colony-ebook/dp/B00C2D97OS/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=13747132…
You can also follow my incoherent thoughts on Twitter at @JeffAltabef or on Facebook at Jeff Altabef Author.
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