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Character creation basics for the beginner writers

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Here we will learn to create characters together.
insert_invitation Tue, Oct 5, 2021 7:00 PM (EDT)
location_on Frederick Street, El Paso, Texas
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Frederick Street
4953 Frederick Street, El Paso, Texas(TX), TX 79927
El Paso, Texas 79927
Those who have no idea how to create unforgettable characters must keep in mind some techniques to do it successfully.

Taking into account the technique of the cards is a way to have at hand all the information to develop them with ease. In our ideas and tips for publishing a book today, we will deal with this topic. In other cases, if you have the natural ability, let your imagination take over and then capture them in the narrative project, with all the details required by the different types of characters.

The first step in knowing how to create characters for a novel is to thread the story, which will provide the first draft with a firm foundation. In this way, it is possible to sketch out the function and characteristics of the figures of the future work. 

Being very clear about the theme becomes the impulse that will allow the characters to emerge and thus master every detail of the story. Some guidelines will make it easier:
  • Define the setting, whether it is real or not. Likewise, give that place a name and a location within fantasy or reality.
  • Specify the set of values, anti-values, emotions, traumas and trances, deaths, birth, among others, that form part of each actor.
  • Indicate the year, period, culture, civilization, or other similar in which the story takes place; this will be an essential source in space-time to create characters. 
  • An extensive narrative requires multiple characters, and a small work requires only a few. From this perspective, each character's profiles or personalities will gradually unfold within the narrative must be suitable.
  • Gender and age also play an essential role, as they will determine to a certain extent what kind of audience the play will captivate.
  • The objectives and achievements will shape each character after overcoming all the difficulties that every good story unravels.
  • Ask yourself all the questions to create literary and profound characters, including childhood, adolescence, maturity, all the traits to unravel the personality as the narrative unfolds. 
  • To raise the situations related to the profession, studies, family, health, physical, material and moral, society, hobbies, spaces, even the past, present, and future.
Once the external particularities have been defined, we proceed to give a psychological profile to each character according to their rank to be able to organize them in cards with sufficient information.

How to make a character sheet for novels
What is a character sheet?

It is a technical resource of great importance to collect information for writers. It is a free essay on what your character is going to be like, in other words. It allows registering each of the characters of the work to be developed. It can be made on paper or in a simple calculation program, according to convenience.

The purpose of the cards is to prevent us from getting lost in our own narrative. It makes it easy to stick to the story's structure and to each step the characters take, determining their hierarchy.

The guidelines for creating unforgettable characters for a novel involve knowing how to differentiate the importance of each character and their relationships. It is therefore essential to organize them by grouping them in the following way:
  1. One of the most detailed sheets corresponds to the protagonist. It describes his physical and emotional appearance, his problems and anxieties, his goals and decisions, in short, the whole world that surrounds him internally and externally. Even if it is not written down, it will be a valuable guide for the writer.
  2. The secondary characters cards should contain all of the above plus the direct or indirect relationship with the story's development and the main characters.
You must describe each thought and emotion in such a way that the reader can intuit it within the development of the theme, so knowing the different characters in depth is essential.

The files must contain all the detailed data that any person possesses, i.e., a history, including even illnesses. Maybe none of this will come out, but it will be the guidelines to determine how to express each eventuality.

Making a relationship chart where you can see how the main characters are intertwined with the secondary characters will give a lot of information and reduce writing time.

Using exaggeration and mystery is one way to create engaging and fascinating characters; everyday situations are a source of inspiration.

Listening, observing our surroundings, and adding information that enhances them will allow us to create characters for a novel. 

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location_on
Frederick Street
4953 Frederick Street, El Paso, Texas(TX), TX 79927
El Paso, Texas 79927