{"id":2908,"date":"2019-05-11T00:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T04:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eddiejones.org\/?p=2908"},"modified":"2019-05-11T17:51:59","modified_gmt":"2019-05-11T21:51:59","slug":"creating-compelling-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eddiejones.org\/creating-compelling-characters\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Compelling Characters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>What makes a character compelling? Simple. Something happens to them. Even if you despise your (_____), you enjoy telling others about his failures. \u201cDid you hear what happened to my ex? He got busted for\u2026\u201d We love to loath, meddle in the affairs of others, and watch them fail. Our participation in their lives expands our world, which explains part of what fuels reality TV.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHARACTERS MUST\u2026<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Reveal heart
\n\u2022 Face obstacles
\n\u2022 Pick paths
\n\u2022 Make a discovery
\n\u2022 Reveal a secret<\/p>\n

Characters Conquer Mountains<\/strong><\/p>\n

For your characters to be likable they should be witty, charming, wise, friendly, empathetic, authentic, encouraging, secure, or vulnerable. If your lead is perfect she\u2019s boring, so give her both redeeming qualities and flaws so the reader can relate.<\/p>\n

Give Your Lead Goals\u00a0<\/strong>
\n\u2022 What does she want?
\n\u2022 What is she willing to do to reach her goal?
\n\u2022 What WILL she do to reach that goal?
\n\u2022 What is she willing to sacrifice?
\n\u2022 What happens if the she fails?
\n\u2022 Is your Lead larger than life?
\n(Does he lay in the middle of highway, hang from a Ferris wheel, and rebuild an old house for the girl he loves?)<\/p>\n

Want, Need, Motivation<\/strong>
\nIf the reader questions why a character reacts in a certain way, then you\u2019ve lost credibility. There are two reasons your characters act \u201cout of character.\u201d
\n1. There is no clear motivation for the character to perform the action.
\n2. The motivation provided isn\u2019t sufficiently developed.<\/p>\n

That’s the start of character development. Question: Is your character such that others cheer for you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What makes a character compelling? Simple. Something happens to them. Even if you despise your (_____), you enjoy telling others about his failures. \u201cDid you hear what happened to my ex? He got busted for\u2026\u201d We love to loath, meddle in the affairs of others, and watch them fail. Our participation in their lives expands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[738,733,739,740,741,742,743,744,737,745,746,747,748,730,749,750,751,752,753,754,755,756,729,411,757,758,759,760,761,762,735,763,764,765,766,767,768,731,118,769,770,771,772,773,774,775,736,776,777,778,732,779,780,781,734,782],"yoast_head":"\nCreating Compelling Characters - Eddie Jones - Author<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eddiejones.org\/creating-compelling-characters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating Compelling Characters - Eddie Jones - Author\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What makes a character compelling? 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