How Do You Create Believable Fictional Characters?
Scarlet O’Hara, Hawkeye Pierce, Scout Finch, James Bond, Archie Bunker–these are all fictional characters from different genres: books, movies and television. Despite their obvious differences, they do have a few things in common. One of their commonalities is that they are all believable characters. When writing fictional characters, no matter what the genre, they must be believable. Research your target audience. Know the demographics of the people you are writing for. Meet their needs and expectations. Children will not be interested in high-strung, overextended attorneys. Chances are that elderly readers will not want to read about a hip-hop artist who made it big in the music biz. Target your audience and write for them. Research the specific characters you are writing about. Dig deep into that writer’s mind of yours and learn if your high-strung, overextended attorney worked in an ice cream store while in law school. Figure out if that hip-hop artist you created came from a midd
