Crafting Compelling Characters

I really love this guy named Jonathan Strange from a TV show based on a book. At first, he only cared about impressing a girl he liked, but then he found out he was really good at magic. He's brave and will do anything to save his friends. He's super passionate about life and it's contagious!

If you want to make a character like this, it can be hard to know where to start. Some people use charts to fill in all the details about their character, but that can get overwhelming. Instead, focus on their personality and what they want in life. There's a helpful acronym called ARCS that can help you remember the important things: your character should be attractive (not just physically!), have room to grow, clear goals, and something to lose. That way, your character will be interesting and make your story exciting!

Let's break this down. First, characters need to be interesting. They should have good qualities like being smart, funny, kind, or strong when things get tough. They might stick to their morals or be really loyal to their friends. Maybe they have a special power or talent, even if it's not a traditional strength like being good at lying or fighting. Usually, characters have more than one good quality. For example, Jonathan Strange is great at magic and also creative, curious, and loving. When you're making a character, think about what will make readers interested in them.

Second, characters need to change and grow. In real life, people don't stay the same forever. Our relationships, opinions, and feelings change over time. The same should be true for the characters you create. Maybe a character starts out selfish but learns to care about others. Or maybe they start out innocent but become more jaded as the story goes on. They might change their beliefs or their relationships with others. When you're making a character, think about how they will change over the course of the story. What will they be like at the beginning and the end?

Okay, so when you're telling a story, the main character needs to have a clear goal. This means they have something they want to achieve or accomplish. But, there are two types of goals: passive and active. Passive goals mean the main character is just reacting to what the bad guy is doing. Active goals mean the main character is taking action and making plans to change the future.

For example, let's say there's a young racecar driver who wants to win a championship, but someone is trying to stop him by stealing his stuff and messing with his car. If all the driver does is try to deal with these problems, it's not a very interesting story. But, if the driver comes up with a plan to catch the bad guys and get revenge, that's an active goal.

Goals can be different things, like surviving, defeating the bad guy, getting rich, finding meaning in life, and more. And, sometimes a character's goal can change as they learn new things or have different experiences.

In a book called Jonathan Strange, the main character starts off wanting to impress his future wife with his job. But then, he decides to use his magic to help in a war. And then, something else happens that changes his goal again, but I won't spoil it for you.

When you're writing a story, it's important to know what your character wants and how they plan to get it. This is called having clear goals. But it's not enough to just have goals - your character also needs something to lose. This is called stakes. In some stories, the stakes are really big, like the fate of the whole world. But in most stories, the stakes are more personal. Maybe your character is afraid of being embarrassed or not following their dreams. In the book 1984, the main character Winston wants to be free, but if he gets caught by the government, he'll not only lose his life, but also his mind and values. So when you're writing, think about what your character is afraid of losing if they don't achieve their goals.

Hey there! Let's talk about Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. He's a really smart lawyer, but he's also an alcoholic who doesn't like himself very much. He's in love with a girl named Lucie, but she loves someone else. Sydney's goal is to make sure Lucie is happy, even if it means sacrificing his own happiness. He feels like his life is meaningless if he can't make her happy. He goes through a big change in the story and becomes a better person. Who are your favorite characters? Let me know in the comments and keep writing!