Great advice, but there is another approach to characters that I love.
Pick some friends that you know well (over 16 of course), put them into stimulating fantasy situations and 'observe' their reactions.
I always get my characters to review the draft story prior to submission (sharing on google docs is excellent).
Change their names slightly if absolutely necessary.
I always apply 4 principles to every story I write. 1 Plausibility: it has to be believable. 2 Simplicity: too complicated and you get lost in the plot. 3 Motivation: there has to be some good reason, stated or implied, for what characters do otherwise it can just become silly. 4 Momentum: the story has to go somewhere, preferably In an unbroken time line. I also believe a good story tells itself. If you feel you are pushing it along or need to put in loads of padding your story is probably not there yet. When the characters develop a life of their own and carry you along with them, you are there.
Thank you for writing this. I read it before I wrote my first story and now that I have a few out there I am reading it again. I like the reading out loud idea. I had not be doing that.
This is incredibly helpful and I wish I had read it long ago.
Quote by XAuthorX
I always apply 4 principles to every story I write. 1 Plausibility: it has to be believable. 2 Simplicity: too complicated and you get lost in the plot. 3 Motivation: there has to be some good reason, stated or implied, for what characters do otherwise it can just become silly. 4 Momentum: the story has to go somewhere, preferably In an unbroken time line. I also believe a good story tells itself. If you feel you are pushing it along or need to put in loads of padding your story is probably not there yet. When the characters develop a life of their own and carry you along with them, you are there.
I completely agree. I think momentum or pace is really important but that doesn’t mean going hell for leather. Judging when to slow things down or speed things up is important. I try to build pace, spending time developing the characters and situations first then upping the pace as the situations are played out and they reach their sexy crescendo.
‘The pious fable and the dirty story
Share in the total literary glory.’
W.H. Auden