Get into character

The majority of stories consist of scenes or events which move the plot forward. These scenes will be propelled by characters. In your writing you will be breathing life into your characters through their actions and reactions. But how do you go about creating believable, relatable characters? Read on and discover the methods, and pitfalls, of constructing characters in your fiction.

Saying that Roger is lazy, boring or mischievous will gain little by way of traction. These traits need to be shown. Some of the methods used by authors to achieve this are explored below. By no means are they presented in order of importance. It all depends on what you are writing, after all. A thriller, for example, is unlikely to have much by way of interior monologue when compared to a work of literary fiction.

Actions and reactions

Remember the old adage of actions speaking louder than words. A bald statement that a character is cowardly will have less impact than having him running tearfully past a burning building – even more so if he happens to be a fire-fighter. In reading this example think about how the author gets across Malcolm’s characteristics.

As the acrid stench seeped under the door, Malcolm shrugged his way into the kitchen and put the kettle on; he then checked the biscuit barrel to make sure he had his favourite Bourbon creams. A huge smile lit his face on seeing he had a full pack.

Molly screamed into his midst. ‘F…f… fire. The building is on fire. Help!’.

‘Two lumps or three,’ Malcolm said, resting a hand on Molly’s shoulder above which he could see flames licking past the