How to Create Characters That Leap Off the Page

How to Create Characters That Leap Off the Page

Every author wants to create characters that leap off the page, but since new writers are not sure how to do that, their characters often fall flat. If you are writing two-dimensional characters, don’t worry because you are not alone. It takes time and experience to get to the point where your writing characters that resonate so much in a reader’s mind that you will start to hear things like they leap off the page. Here are some tips to help you get to that point.

Read, Read, Read!

The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your reading is much as possible. Writing is a unique job in which the first task is to do the thing you love the most more than anything else. If you do not love to read, then you have no business being a writer. If you do love to read, and you want to become a writer, then it should be no problem for you to read as much as possible to learn how to write.

Think about Your Character When You’re Not Writing

Another thing that you can do to make your character leap off the page is to think about him or her when you’re not writing. For example, if you are going to the grocery store, imagine your character besides you and try to decide what they would pick at the grocery store to get themselves a week of groceries. This will help you understand your character better.

Write a Character Backstory

You might also try writing a character back story. Understanding the background of the character and where he or she comes from will go a long way towards making him real in your fiction. If you know a characters background, then you can come up with motivations why he or she acts the way that they do. I character back story may be a little boring at first, but if you really get to know your character, it will be easy to do.

Interview Your Character

Another thing you may want to consider is interviewing your character. Imagine that you are doing an interview for a major TV program, and that your character is a celebrity and everyone wants to know the intimate details. Ask the hard-hitting questions that are going to get the responses that you need billable allow you to understand your character better and portrayed him or her to the world. This will allow you to write your character much better.

Imagine Your Character in Unusual Situations

The last suggestion is to imagine your character in unusual situations. For example, imagine a character in bed with someone they love or are attracted to. I imagine your character in danger or dying. Imagine your character having to kill someone else. These are all situations that will give you insight into your character and help you to write them better in your fictional story or novel.