The Secret to Writing Characters Your Readers Love!

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The Secret to Writing Characters Your Readers
Love! - Charlli
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What is the true secret to writing powerful
books that readers cant put down?
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No, the answer is not a gripping story. Even the
most interesting story can fall flat if one
single element is overlooked. The answer is not
perfect editing, an excellent use of proper
English (or your writing language of choice), or
even having plot twists readers dont see coming.
When we think of great stories, we dont think of
stories. We think of heroes, heroines, side
characters, and villains. If the characters are
boring, one-dimensional, or unlikable, readers
wont enjoy the story, no matter how well
written, edited, or exciting the plot of the
story might be.
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So how do you write characters that readers love
or love to hate? Well, thats a little more
complicated. But if you think back to every book,
movie, or TV show youve consumed, I bet you can
pick out favorite characters. And if you think
about them, you can identify why you love them,
or even why you love to hate them. Are your
characters ruining your book? Theres this common
misconception that your plot or story idea can
make or break your book. That if your book
manages to be fantastic, gripping, and thrilling,
that readers will look past editing and other
issues to just enjoy a great story.
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Unfortunately, this misinformation can ruin an
otherwise promising premise, or worse, ruin an
authors career before they have a chance to get
off the ground.  So how can authors starting out
avoid this potential pitfall? Well, let me share
the true secret behind books that readers cant
put down the characters.  When we think back to
our favorite stories, we dont think about the
plot of the story nearly as much as we think
about the characters. Likewise, our emotional
attachment isnt to the idea of the bookwe
become attached and emotionally invested in the
characters. 
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Creating complex characters with depth, flaws,
and arcs isnt an easy task, but its a
worthwhile step that can mean the difference
between writing success and failure. So how do
you create a character with depth and a complex
arc? Well, a great first step is to look at
everyday people, or even yourself. You probably
think of yourself as a good personand you
probably are!but Im sure youve done things
youre not proud of. Hey, everybody makes
mistakes.
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So were safe to assume your character has also
made mistakes. Same goes for your life. I know
that Ive done both good and bad things, had good
and bad things happen, and I strive to be better
yesterday than I was today. Thats growth and
progress, right? Think about where youve been in
life and how youve progressed. Now you have an
excellent example of a character arc.
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What is a character arc?
The character arc refers to the inner growth of
your character over the course of their journey.
They tend to fall into three different
categories The positive Heroes arc. Think
Harry Potter. Hes young and naïve at the onset
of his story, but he grows into himself and
becomes the hero. The Redemption arc falls into
this category too, as farfetched as that might
seem. Think Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Hes
shallow, mean, and awful to start, but he redeems
himself by the end of his story. Thus, we
consider him to have a positive character arc.
Keep in mind that the positive arc is not a
straight line.
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