By Lanee’ Blunt
Building your characters is very
important when writing a short story.
You have to know your characters before you can write about them
convincingly. When character development
is done correctly it adds depth to characterization, and it makes readers
understand the characters and not feel cheated when the story has ended.
“A character sketch is a word outline, a
preliminary study of a person, drawn from life experience, that you’d like to
use in your novel,” according to Robert J. Ray, in his book, The Weekend Novelist. A character sketch
must be written on all of your main characters, the protagonist, antagonist,
and major characters it doesn’t have to be long it can be a few paragraphs
just enough to feel confident that you understand your character.
What does your character
want? What will she do to get it? What is she willing to give up keeping her
secret? Motivation is what makes us have empathy with the character and helps
us care about what happens to them.
According to Orson Card’s book, Characters and Viewpoint, “The most
important tool that will help your audience believe in your characters is
elaboration of motive.”
Is she honest? Is she
stingy, generous, or what? Is she
happily married or does she cheat on her husband? Is she a professional woman? Your answers don’t have to be long they can
be short. What would he like to change
about himself? What is his greatest weakness? How tall is she? How old? What color is her hair? What does
she look like?
Reference:
Orson S Card; Characters and
Viewpoint; Writer’s Digest
Robert J Ray; The Weekend
Novelist; Dell
