‘REAL’ CHARACTERS

‘REAL’ CHARACTERS by Lynne Armstrong-Jones

Of course, the characters in a story or novel aren’t real people! They can’t be! They’re artificial constructs! Someone thought them up! Therefore, they can’t be real! Yet, as an author, you badly want and hope to make them as real as you can for your readers. Sounds like an impossible task!

Channeling Childhood Imagination

Sometimes it helps to take memories of our childhood experiences and make use of them when we’re adults. Remember playing pretend? Sometimes you’d be that knight in shining armor; sometimes you were Superman. Perhaps you were Snow White or a make-believe person of your own creation.

Becoming Your Characters

You didn’t describe these characters as an observer; you became those characters. That’s what I do when I’m writing for my characters. It can be difficult at times. When a character is new to me, of course, I don’t ‘know’ him or her or them well, and so I need to put them in situations and see how they react. There have been times when my character has decided what the next step should be when I hadn’t yet made up my own mind!

Conveying Emotions Vividly

Once I’ve developed a good feel, or understanding of my character, I can step into their shoes and feel what they’re feeling. At this point, it is vital that I describe this as accurately as possible for my readers. If it’s described well, the readers, hopefully, will feel that feeling, too. If they can relate it to an experience in their own lives, they might begin to feel as though the story is happening to them. At this point, they are much less likely to put the book down and not finish it; after all, they feel like they are the character.

As the author, you need to describe the character’s experiences as clearly as possible to pull your reader into the story. You need to be very specific about what your character feels. For example, avoid vague terms such as ‘upset’. Upset could mean nervous, frustrated, angry, or something else.

Show, Don’t Tell

Which of the following is more effective? He was upset. OR Fury filled him. Everything inside him was hot, boiling. He was like a volcano about to shoot its lava into the sky and onto everything around him. His heart was pound-pounding like a jackhammer.

The second example might seem overdone in comparison with the first one, but it clearly tells the reader exactly what the character is feeling.

There’s a good chance that at least some of your readers will remember feeling that way, too, at one time or another, which makes it easier for them to understand and identify with your character. And this increases the chances that your reader will feel like the story is happening to them.

Using Literary Devices

Don’t forget the basic literary devices you might have learned about in high school. In my example, I’ve included a simile (a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’). He was like a volcano. This could also be used as a metaphor (a comparison without ‘like’ or ‘as’)—he was a volcano about to shoot its lava. Fury filled him is alliteration (two or more consecutive words beginning with the same sound). The repetition of the ‘ffff’ sound adds to the feeling of intense anger.

Conclusion

Enjoy creating. Feel your characters. And communicate that feeling as clearly as you can so that your readers can feel it too. There are many friends available for you in your imagination when you write!

Lynne Armstrong Jones

I’ve been writing since I was a kid. In high school, I wrote in a notebook a continuing story about kidnappers and criminals and gave them my classmates’ names. The kids loved it, and they checked everyday to see what was happening.

In the 1990s, like many other people, I purchased a personal computer and discovered word processing.  Suddenly writing was easier! I had 15 stories published by Marion Zimmer Bradley in her Fantasy Magazine, Darkover, and Sword and Sorceress anthologies. I began writing novels, but they weren’t picked up by publishers. Then working and raising kids became priorities.

Now that I have more time, it’s back to writing. A few years ago, I self-published my first novel – On the Trail of the Ruthless Warlock.  I began working on it about 30 years ago!

CONNECT WITH LYNNE ARMSTRONG-JONES: https://www.lynnearmstrongjones.com/

Lynne Armstrong-Jones is the author of:

On the Trail of the Ruthless Warlock
On the Trail of the Wind’s Tears
On the Trail of the Unseen
On the Trail of the Mountains’ Mysteries
Upcoming:
On the Trail of the Sunset’s Dawn

ASSIGNMENT EARTH:

Jared Collins was depressed, and he had good reason to be. After all, he’d graduated with his psychology degree in the spring, and here he was still unemployed in the fall. When his dad had passed away, he’d left Jared some money, but now that was beginning to run out. Desperate, Jared finds himself calling a help line. Speaking with the counselor eases his mind immensely—almost as though she has some sort of magic touch.

He senses something quite special about her, but he has no way of knowing how very special she is—she’s not from Earth. As their relationship develops, Jared is astonished to discover that he has the skill to help her people in their mission. And learning the reason for that will astonish him even more. How could he have anything in common with an alien?