Maliha Rao's Blog
May 20, 2024
Crafting Memorable Characters for Fantasy Fiction Novels
All novels rely on exciting characters, but fantasy novels, with their fantastical settings and high stakes, require exceptional character development. Characters that stand out captivate readers, propel the storyline, and give life to your fantastical settings. To create memorable characters, follow these steps:
1. Cultivate Distinct Characteristics
It would be great if each character had a unique personality. This does not imply falling back on cliches or stereotypes, but rather making people complex and unique.
- Write your character's preferences, interests, fears, and aspirations in a profile. Because of this, they become more believable and approachable.
- Dialogue is a great way to showcase character. Characters' speech patterns tell us a lot about their personality, upbringing, and socioeconomic status. Think about how they talk, the words they use, and the things they're interested in.
2. Clear Goals and Motivations
What gives a character's journey its direction and purpose is their motivation. You must comprehend the desires and motivations of your characters.
- Aiming Within vs. Outside: Finding acceptance or conquering fear are examples of internal aims, whereas destroying an enemy or recovering a stolen relic are examples of exterior goals.
- Background: Create a detailed history to clarify their reasons. Their prior experiences have shaped both their identity and the motivations behind their pursuits. Instead of dropping a ton of information all at once, use their actions and words to progressively unveil their past.
3. Own Imperfections
Without flaws, characters are dull. Characters need flaws to be approachable and to have space to grow, which is crucial for character development.
- Find Out What They're Missing: These can be moral, emotional, or bodily. A character may have trust concerns despite their physical strength if they have experienced emotional trauma.
- Demonstrate Development: Throughout the narrative, characters should encounter obstacles that compel them to recognize their shortcomings and evolve. Because of this arc, their journey is more interesting, and their victories are more fulfilling.
4. Build Intimate Bonds
The plot can gain complexity, and a character's personality can be shown through their relationships with other characters.
- Friends and Enemies: In different ways, your character might be helped or hindered by friends, mentors, foes, and rivals. These exchanges can bring out the best in people, show where they fall short, and propel the story forward.
- Avoid one-dimensional relationships; instead, focus on complex interactions. Enemies and allies can find common ground and have disagreements nonetheless. Because of these intricacies, relationships become more exciting and realistic.
5. Immerse Them in a Rich Setting
The people you create should have a sense of home in the universe you've built. Their character design, morals, and actions should reflect your fantasy world's history, geography, and culture.
- The Impact of Culture: Consider how different cultures shape your personality. What kind of culture, magical lineage or modest village did they originate from?
- World Building: Expand the character's complexity by utilizing the environment. Someone hailing from a busy metropolis could be as cunning and clever as someone hailing from a frozen, remote area.
Crafting characters that readers will remember takes creativity, sensitivity, and meticulous attention to detail. You can make your characters memorable even after turning the last page if you give them distinct traits, believable goals, and a vividly conceived world. Remember that your characters will be considered significant if they are plausible enough to make your readers care about them beyond the page.
1. Cultivate Distinct Characteristics
It would be great if each character had a unique personality. This does not imply falling back on cliches or stereotypes, but rather making people complex and unique.
- Write your character's preferences, interests, fears, and aspirations in a profile. Because of this, they become more believable and approachable.
- Dialogue is a great way to showcase character. Characters' speech patterns tell us a lot about their personality, upbringing, and socioeconomic status. Think about how they talk, the words they use, and the things they're interested in.
2. Clear Goals and Motivations
What gives a character's journey its direction and purpose is their motivation. You must comprehend the desires and motivations of your characters.
- Aiming Within vs. Outside: Finding acceptance or conquering fear are examples of internal aims, whereas destroying an enemy or recovering a stolen relic are examples of exterior goals.
- Background: Create a detailed history to clarify their reasons. Their prior experiences have shaped both their identity and the motivations behind their pursuits. Instead of dropping a ton of information all at once, use their actions and words to progressively unveil their past.
3. Own Imperfections
Without flaws, characters are dull. Characters need flaws to be approachable and to have space to grow, which is crucial for character development.
- Find Out What They're Missing: These can be moral, emotional, or bodily. A character may have trust concerns despite their physical strength if they have experienced emotional trauma.
- Demonstrate Development: Throughout the narrative, characters should encounter obstacles that compel them to recognize their shortcomings and evolve. Because of this arc, their journey is more interesting, and their victories are more fulfilling.
4. Build Intimate Bonds
The plot can gain complexity, and a character's personality can be shown through their relationships with other characters.
- Friends and Enemies: In different ways, your character might be helped or hindered by friends, mentors, foes, and rivals. These exchanges can bring out the best in people, show where they fall short, and propel the story forward.
- Avoid one-dimensional relationships; instead, focus on complex interactions. Enemies and allies can find common ground and have disagreements nonetheless. Because of these intricacies, relationships become more exciting and realistic.
5. Immerse Them in a Rich Setting
The people you create should have a sense of home in the universe you've built. Their character design, morals, and actions should reflect your fantasy world's history, geography, and culture.
- The Impact of Culture: Consider how different cultures shape your personality. What kind of culture, magical lineage or modest village did they originate from?
- World Building: Expand the character's complexity by utilizing the environment. Someone hailing from a busy metropolis could be as cunning and clever as someone hailing from a frozen, remote area.
Crafting characters that readers will remember takes creativity, sensitivity, and meticulous attention to detail. You can make your characters memorable even after turning the last page if you give them distinct traits, believable goals, and a vividly conceived world. Remember that your characters will be considered significant if they are plausible enough to make your readers care about them beyond the page.
January 21, 2024
When Thoughts become Words
Why do you write?
To record moments in life, tell a tale, or let go of some stray thoughts. What is that final thrust that spills, letting all of it flow, giving release and satisfaction?
There are moments when your mind is as blank as the surface you are embedding on. The initial push is the hardest. Once you've read the first few lines, you can continue to add, word by word and thought by thought, spewing through your fingertips. But how does one begin?
We overthink and expect too much from our brains, which go into hyperdrive and eventually feel worn out and halt, thus leading to writer's block. The moment is nightmarish but can be dealt with by mastering the art of randomness.
Yes, you certainly read it right.
Your brains need a break mixed with a burst of energy to restart. To do so, you can start with a single word, add on another and another, and just keep on adding. Even if the words don't make sense together, don't stop. You are letting your brain loose for a bit, which helps make some space. You can always re-edit and rearrange later.
In short, we restrict ourselves while expecting too much. Writing should always go with the flow to nourish the brain and a writer's soul. Creativity is subdued by allowing yourself to be pressurized with overwhelming extra thoughts and, above all, hesitation and doubt.
Another big hurdle in writing is needing help with word counts and the insistence on having as many words as possible for the content to be legitimate. There is no shame in starting with less and then progressing from there. The goal is to begin.
So, dear readers, breathe, think of an idea you want to put down in words, and let it flow. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, and meanings; just let the letters come. You can always mold it and fix it further later.
Have fun; Rome wasn't built in a day.
To record moments in life, tell a tale, or let go of some stray thoughts. What is that final thrust that spills, letting all of it flow, giving release and satisfaction?
There are moments when your mind is as blank as the surface you are embedding on. The initial push is the hardest. Once you've read the first few lines, you can continue to add, word by word and thought by thought, spewing through your fingertips. But how does one begin?
We overthink and expect too much from our brains, which go into hyperdrive and eventually feel worn out and halt, thus leading to writer's block. The moment is nightmarish but can be dealt with by mastering the art of randomness.
Yes, you certainly read it right.
Your brains need a break mixed with a burst of energy to restart. To do so, you can start with a single word, add on another and another, and just keep on adding. Even if the words don't make sense together, don't stop. You are letting your brain loose for a bit, which helps make some space. You can always re-edit and rearrange later.
In short, we restrict ourselves while expecting too much. Writing should always go with the flow to nourish the brain and a writer's soul. Creativity is subdued by allowing yourself to be pressurized with overwhelming extra thoughts and, above all, hesitation and doubt.
Another big hurdle in writing is needing help with word counts and the insistence on having as many words as possible for the content to be legitimate. There is no shame in starting with less and then progressing from there. The goal is to begin.
So, dear readers, breathe, think of an idea you want to put down in words, and let it flow. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, and meanings; just let the letters come. You can always mold it and fix it further later.
Have fun; Rome wasn't built in a day.
