 If you want to write something truly unique, I have a great idea for you: Write about the people that everyone forgets. By this I mean, take the sort of people who are usually side characters and make them the heroes and heroines of the story. Imagine what the story must be like from their perspective.
Low on ideas? Here are a few:
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 If you’ve read my latest post entitled Do You Make These 5 Mistakes When Describing Your Character’s Appearance? you already know what not to do. The following tips offer options for what you should do in describing your fictional characters.
No reader is interested in a character description that reads like a dossier—unless, of course, you use a dossier to describe a character in your crime novel. Tip: If you say “His _______ was ________” (His eyes were brown) or “She wore _________” (she wore golden chandelier earrings) or “He looked about ________ years old,” your description is probably a report. Do not simply report your character’s appearance; describe it.
 Most writers concern themselves with establishing the consistency of their characters’ motivations and preferences, but mature writers know that human nature is much more complex than a consistent set of motivations. Why? Because real people do not always know themselves as well as they think they do.
How often have you done something, believing your motive to be one thing, and discovered later that your real motive was something quite different? Truthfully, we do not know ourselves very well, especially at moments of crisis. We posture, pretend, equivocate, and deceive even ourselves. |
