by Katherine Reay, @Katherine_Reay
Our ability to engage our readers comes down to the characters we share with them. Compelling characters make a rich and rewarding story — and keep readers wanting more. Even if you write fast-paced, plot-driven fiction, readers will only travel that road with you if your protagonist is worthy of the chase.
How do we create these “jump off the page and into life” characters?
Here are a few ideas:
- We feel multiple emotions simultaneously – so they must too! When talking about this, I always point to my novel Lizzy and Jane, as the primary relationship is between sisters. I contend you can look at your sister and feel (off the top of my head) five emotions instantly: fierce love, equally fierce dislike, jealousy, loyalty and adoration – especially if you’re the younger sister. 😉 Use that! Layer the emotions for your character just as you feel them layered within yourself. And the more those emotions conflict, the better! They’ll bring depth to the reader’s experience and to the character’s substance.
- Don’t write the first emotion you feel. The reader will feel that one instinctively. It’s already there. Again, in Lizzy & Jane, Lizzy was angry with her sister. She felt betrayed. And, while those two emotions came through often, it was more interesting and, in many ways more realistic, when I explored Lizzy’s adoration, hero-worship, and yearning for Jane’s acceptance and love. At eight years younger, Lizzy was always seeking Jane’s approval — perhaps without ever knowing it herself. While I might have used anger as the lens through which the reader found those softer and more vulnerable feelings, those deeper layers informed their relationship better.
- Make sure what your characters do is an extension of who they are. I use profession, dress, reading preferences, food tastes, decorating, season, quirks, hobbies, and more… Everything is planned to express an aspect of character, either to the positive, the negative, or to the unexpected. When writing you will have a ton of descriptive detail to provide to bring a reader to the scene, don’t let any of it go to waste.
- Take a blank page occasionally and “talk” to your character. By pretending he or she is real, you can learn more about your character’s cadence of speech, inner thoughts, and expressions. It’s an interesting exercise and can reveal things that surprise you… Only by doing this, late in the manuscript process, did I learn how truly wrecked Janet (The Printed Letter Bookshop) was by her divorce and how much she needed to lay down to be free. It also led to the most unexpected, and powerful, scene in the book.
- Have fun! I end every post with this because it’s so important. Enjoy your characters – even the “bad” ones. The more you enjoy them and explore them, the more real, expressive, and unexpected they become.
Thanks for spending time here with me today!!
Katherine
Katherine Reay returns to the cozy and delightful town of Winsome where two people discover the grace of letting go and the joy found in unexpected change.
After fleeing her hometown three years earlier, Alyssa Harrison never planned to return. Then the Silicon Valley start-up she worked for collapsed and turned her world upside down. She is broke, under FBI investigation, and without a place to go. Having exhausted every option, she comes home to Winsome, Illinois, to regroup then move on as quickly as possible. Yet, as friends and family welcome her back, Alyssa begins to see a place for herself in this small Midwestern community.
Jeremy Mitchell moved from Seattle to Winsome to be near his daughter and to open the coffee shop he’s been dreaming of for years. Problem is, the business is bleeding money-and he’s not quite sure why. When he meets Alyssa, he senses an immediate connection, but what he needs most is someone to help him save his floundering business. After asking for her help, he wonders if something might grow between them-but forces beyond their control soon complicate their already complex lives, and the future they both hoped for is not at all what they anticipated.
With the help of Winsome’s small-town charm and quirky residents, Alyssa and Jeremy discover the beauty and romance of second chances.
Katherine Reay is a national bestselling and award-winning author of several novels, including Dear Mr. Knightley, The Printed Letter Bookshop and the upcoming Of Literature and Lattes. She has enjoyed a lifelong affair with books and brings that love to her contemporary stories. Katherine’s has also written one full-length nonfiction work, Awful Beautiful Life. She holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University and currently lives outside Chicago, IL with her husband and three children. Publishing credits also include Redbook, USAToday, Christianity Today and FamilyFiction. You can meet Katherine at www.katherinereay.com or on Facebook: KatherineReayBooks, Twitter: @katherine_reay and Instagram: @katherinereay.