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Making interesting characters

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The Otter

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The answer to "what makes an interesting character" is going to be different for everyone. It's hard to describe how to build one because that's usually a slow, organic process for me. The characters evolve along with the story.
 

buz

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This is a really broad question so I'm going to focus on the biggest factor for character boringness I've seen lately: lack of flaws. Or having one flaw tacked on that really isn't of any consequence and may as well not exist.

I would totally elaborate in a really amusing way, but I'm typing on an iPod and it's annoying as a sharp poo.
 

AshleyEpidemic

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There are many aspects of characters that make them interesting, but I look for anger. Everyone gets angry. If characters never get angry or frustrated they need more depth.
 

The Otter

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There are many aspects of characters that make them interesting, but I look for anger. Everyone gets angry. If characters never get angry or frustrated they need more depth.

Very true. I recently had an agent (in an R&R) say that one of my MCs seemed too "perfect" specifically because he never got pissed. So I made some revisions to remedy that.

Though it's worth noting that different people express anger in different ways. Some may be very verbal about it, slam doors, shout, etc. Others might just retreat into silence, or express it in subtly passive-aggressive remarks. They may have repressed it so completely that they're not even aware of the anger themselves. But it's bound to be there at some moment in some form, if the character is well-rounded.
 

GreekArachnid

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Giving a character a secret, and telling the reader makes for an interesting character. Or giving the character a motive for their actions rather than just floating through the events that happen to them. :)
 

Davarian

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As previously stated by several others, I believe that what makes a character unique is based on your perspective. Sometimes (and this may or may not sound creepy), I go "people watching" at a crowded place for inspiration. Observe the quirks and personality trends that you find desirable (or not desirable) and incorporate them into your writing, and it makes for a unique yet realistic basis for the personalities of a character. Or, if you're really feeling crazy, try pretending to be one of your characters for a short amount of time. Imagine how that character would think and react to different situations.
 

BenPanced

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I've stopped reading Very Important Books because the characters weren't even the least bit interesting. One book, all the characters did were be rich and bored*. In another, the characters were apathetic and bored**. That's it. The rich characters clean somebody's horribly expensive jewelry while they talk about how rich and bored they are, and the apathetic characters talk about how bored they are and don't care. I quit both after two chapters or less.

Have your characters do and say interesting things. Make me, as a reader, care about what they're saying and doing. Hel p me understand their motivations on why they're doing and saying the things they are. If you're showing and telling me how bored they are, I won't give a flying fig. All you're going to do is bore me, which is the Worst Possible Thing you can do as a writer.

* Rupert Everett's Hello Darling, Are You Working? :e2yawn:

**
Douglas Coupland's Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture :sleepy:
 
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Anna Spargo-Ryan

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As previously stated by several others, I believe that what makes a character unique is based on your perspective. Sometimes (and this may or may not sound creepy), I go "people watching" at a crowded place for inspiration. Observe the quirks and personality trends that you find desirable (or not desirable) and incorporate them into your writing, and it makes for a unique yet realistic basis for the personalities of a character. Or, if you're really feeling crazy, try pretending to be one of your characters for a short amount of time. Imagine how that character would think and react to different situations.

I do this too. There is so much you can learn about people just by watching the way they spend time alone and the way they interact with others.

I work on a TV show that has a lot of characters (it's a soap opera) and each character has extensive notes: the usual background and profile, but also how they take their coffee, their favourite music, political leanings, favourite subjects at school, etc. Most of this information never appears in the show, it just informs the type of character that they are.

I do this for my characters too. I write pages of mostly inconsequential details that give me a clearer picture of the type of person I'm writing about. For example with my current WIP, my MC stands on buses, is patient in queues, sings in the bathroom, drinks milk from the carton, etc. Most of these things will never get a mention in the story, but I have a more comprehensive understanding of who this person is.
 

Geoff Mehl

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I rather like characters who are "grey" - people who are imperfect but try anyway. People who might be right or might be wrong, depending. People who struggle (even with inner demons) against odds, the kind of person we want to cheer on. People who we would like to be or know...maybe. People who have courage or just brass. People who stand up for something, hopefully what's right. Ordinary people who do extraordinary things; extraordinary people who have ordinary problems just like me. I like up endings, so I like characters who ultimately win - but sometimes (like "Rocky"), winning can mean different and unexpected things. I especially like richly drawn characters who I sometimes love and sometimes hate, characters that surprise me but never really disappoint me.

In writing, I like characters that are so vivid that I'm right there in the scene, watching them play it out and scribbling as fast as I can. In reading, I like characters who take me on some sort of adventure and sort of let me tag along.
 
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