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7 Essential Things To Remember About Very Important Characters
Writers Write is a comprehensive resource for writers. In this post, we look the very important characters in your books and what you need to know about them.
We will look at how stories revolve around protagonists and antagonists and why it is a good idea to introduce them in the first chapters of your book.
I believe these are the Very Important Characters (VICs) in a story. Their motivations drive your story and we want to know what happens to them at the end. Other characters like love interests and friends play supporting roles in well-plotted stories.
I think it’s a good idea for authors to know as much as possible about VICs. Even if you never use all the information, you will know them better than you know yourself. I suggest you complete a good character biography template, like the one we use on our Writers Write course, or create your own.
[Use our Character Creation Kit to create great characters for your stories.]
7 Essential Things To Remember About Very Important Characters
Seven ways to ensure you give VICs the attention they deserve:
- Make them powerful enough to make choices.
- Make them the centre of attention. Even if they aren’t in a scene, the other characters should talk about them or think about them.
- They must make frequent long appearances throughout your book. If they don’t, you may have cast a character incorrectly.
- Make their actions and decisions memorable. As VICs, they are responsible for taking actions or responding to events.
- Make the reader empathetic towards them. Your reader does not have to like them, but they need to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing.
- Make these characters viewpoint characters. Readers like to see the story through their eyes.
- Make sure they are worthy opponents for each other. If you want to create a compelling, memorable protagonist, you need a strong, three-dimensional antagonist. (Read 10 Essential Tips for Creating Antagonists)
If you do this, you will probably find that it’s easier to write your book. You won’t be giving prime time to supporting characters and you’ll be concentrating on the plot, not the sub-plots.
Top Tip: Use our Character Creation Kit to help you create great characters for your stories.
© Amanda Patterson
If you enjoyed this post, read:
- A Fabulous Resource for Writers – 350 Character Traits
- The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices
- 4 Ways To Get Your Reader To Identify With An Unsympathetic Character
- 5 Ways Setting Affects Your Characters
- A Tense Situation – Five Tips To Help You Write A Gripping Read
Top Tip: Use our Character Creation Kit to help you create great characters for your stories.
Posted on: 14th January 2014
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1 thought on “7 Essential Things To Remember About Very Important Characters”
Great advice! Always looking to sharpen my craft and this helps. Hope you don’t mind, but I reposted on my blog.
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