{"id":17108,"date":"2020-11-02T09:16:38","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T13:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=17108"},"modified":"2020-11-08T14:27:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T18:27:10","slug":"how-to-write-good-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-write-good-characters\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Write Good Characters: Stephen King’s Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you want to know how to write good characters? What goes into writing characters, and how can you improve your skills<\/a> at writing them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Famous writers like Stephen King are known for creating real and authentic characters. Learning how to write characters can ensure that your story is real and interesting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to find out how to write good characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Write Good Characters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After planting the seed of the situation, King then observes how his characters respond to the situation. He believes good stories center around the characters rather than the events<\/strong>. So it’s important to learn how to write good characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the start of writing, the characters start off as relative blank slates, then develop over time. Some grow only a little; some grow so much they start influencing the shape of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you create characters, you necessarily draw from real life. One major source is yourself\u2014as a writer, you often ask yourself how you<\/em> would behave in that situation. Another source is other people\u2014the traits, habits, and behaviors you collect from the menagerie of people around you. This is part of writing good characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad characters are unidimensional<\/strong>\u2014the \u201cnice guy\u201d or the \u201cjilted lover\u201d or the \u201cevil scientist.\u201d In reality, all of us see ourselves as the hero of our own films. Our actions are justified to ourselves, even if they seem ludicrous to other people. Portray the motivations and complexities  of otherwise wooden characters, and the reader will find something to identify with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • For the kidnapper Annie Wilkes in Misery<\/em>, King showed how her motivations seemed perfectly reasonable to herself, and he helped the reader understand her obsession. This made her even more terrifying\u2014instead of being a cardboard cutout monster, she could plausibly exist in the real world.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    As always, show, don\u2019t tell. Your characters should behave in ways that illustrate their traits without your needing to narrate them. This is part of the process of knowing how to write good characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • In King\u2019s The Dead Zone<\/em>, the antagonist is a smooth-talking Bible salesman who later becomes a politician fated to set off World War III. King\u2019s challenge was to show the evil underlying the public-facing charisma. In his first scene, the character stops by a farm, where he\u2019s greeted by an unfriendly dog. He looks around to make sure no one\u2019s home, then kicks the dog to death.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Writing good characters can be complicated but it’s important that you take your time and get it right. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Do you want to know how to write good characters? What goes into writing characters, and how can you improve your skills at writing them? Famous writers like Stephen King are known for creating real and authentic characters. Learning how to write characters can ensure that your story is real and interesting. Keep reading to find out how to write good characters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":17110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,15],"tags":[145],"class_list":["post-17108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-education","tag-on-writing-a-memoir-of-the-craft","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Write Good Characters: Stephen King's Advice - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you want to know how to write good characters? Any good story has great characters that make the story work. 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