By Janine Rosch, @janinerosche
Maybe you’ve heard it: the tale of the dreaded “cardboard” character. There is nothing especially likable or unique about them. They are never embraced by the reader. In fact, this character could be replaced by someone else, and the reader wouldn’t bat an eye. Yes, lifeless, boring characters are a sure way for books to swallow a bookmark and never cough it up again. To keep that from happening, try these five hacks to bring your characters to life.
- Give ordinary people extraordinary tasks BUT relatable reactions.
Sure, your reader may not know the first thing about opening a cafe in Tuscany, tracking down a serial killer, or designing the first hot air balloon. Still, they might relate to the internal struggle the character is facing. For instance, I was nine when I first saw The Little Mermaid. I had zero experience being a mermaid who sold her voice to a sea witch for a pair of legs. But I did know what it was like to be told what to do by my parents. I may not have loved Prince Eric enough to sacrifice, uh, everything, but I liked Chris C. in my third-grade class enough to give him my fancy multicolor pen. Different scenario, same emotion.
- Borrow features, habits, or mannerisms from movie actors or actresses.
Have you ever noticed that Tom Cruise’s nose doesn’t align with his front teeth? Or that Shailene Woodley’s eyes bounce back and forth when she speaks to someone? Or how Benedict Cumberbatch is incapable of saying the word penguin? (Seriously, google it). These small characteristics are what make characters rise from the page and stick in readers’ minds.
- Give each character one of your traits.
By tying yourself to each character in this way, you’ll have something to root for. That empathy will come through your words and invite readers to root for them as well. You’ll also know how they’re vulnerable—a key to evoking compassion and heightening tension.
This even works with villains to keep them from becoming cartoonish. For instance, Stuart, my villain in Wildflower Road, felt like he was never good enough for anyone, which led him to do some terrible things. While I’ve never tried to destroy anyone’s Montana fly fishing resort, I do know what it’s like always to be the second choice. As a result, he was a more complex character, which is always a good thing.
- Find a song that speaks to their dilemma.
Songwriters have an amazing ability to tell you a powerful story in less than four minutes. Take advantage of this and assign each of your characters a song that describes what they’re going through or how they feel about those around them. It’s a surefire way to keep their conflict, dreams, and desires at the forefront of the story. I utilized this tactic to create Robbie Matthews in This Wandering Heart. A simple man, Robbie would’ve been happy to spend his whole life on one square mile in Montana as long as he had his daughter and Keira. This created some serious conflict since Keira works as a travel blogger. Die a Happy Man by Thomas Rhett was the perfect Robbie song. Oh my heart!
- Put a story inside the story.
An easy trick to giving a character another dimension is to use an existing literary character as a comparison figure, showing their strengths and weaknesses. Use a well-known classic novel like Of Mice and Men, Pride and Prejudice, or Les Miserables. Or create a story specific for your book. In Glory Falls, my heroine was a screenwriter, and her story mirrors the disaster her life has become even though she tries to hide it. The reader is the first one to know what she’s really going through.
There you have it! Five ways to inflate flat characters. What character hack would you add?
Glory Falls (A Madison River Romance Novel)
Two people scarred by past trauma have a chance to write a new chapter in their lives, overcome loss, and find love in the third entry in the Madison River Romance series.
Screenwriter Cecilia “Blue” Walker is victim to life’s worst plot twists. Having lost her daughter to the depths of the Madison River and her husband to the arms of another woman, she finds herself yearning for something to restore her brittle faith and once-vibrant career.
Hope arrives in the form of her childhood friend, Thomas Beck, a firefighter with a legacy of larger-than-life rescues who doesn’t see himself as a hero. Haunted by his past, Thomas only agrees to a movie adaptation of his story if Blue, his longtime crush, is the screenwriter.
However, as Blue and Thomas work together to bring his heroism to the big screen, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood threaten to shed light on secrets that could tear their fragile relationship and their lives apart.
Prone to wander, Janine Rosche finds as much comfort on the open road as she does at home. This longing to chase adventure, behold splendor, and experience redemption is woven into her Madison River Romance series, including her latest release, GLORY FALLS. When she isn’t writing or traveling, she teaches family life education courses to college students, takes too many pictures of her sleeping dogs, and embarrasses her four children and husband with boy band serenades. Chat with her on Facebook and Instagram or visit www.JanineRosche.com for a free Madison River Romance prequel novella.