How Do You Create A Believable Fictional Character?
In almost any fiction short story or novel, the realism of the characters plays a major role in suspending disbelief of the reader and driving the plot forward. In this article, I’ll show you ways of creating a believable fictional character. The first step in creating a realistic fictional character is to get an overall feel as an author on what they’re like–not just physical appearance but personality and background. When you start brainstorming the traits of your character, you want to look more at how those traits impact your character than the really the traits themselves. Too many times I’ve seen writers give a detailed list of traits when they begin to describe a fictional character–this can make the character seem flat if you’re not careful. The advice of many writing books of “show, don’t tell” is very important in characterization as well as plot. If your fictional character is intelligent, show them doing something intelligent. Don’t just have the trait listed. You need to
