Creating Fictional Characters

by Lillie Ammann

Characters are the building blocks of fiction. Even in stories with lots of action, the action has to happen to characters. Phonetically, the word character begins with the word "care." Characters have to care about something for readers to care about the characters, and if readers don't care about your characters, they probably won't care about your plot, either. Learn how to find and create interesting characters that readers will care about. Reveal your characters, use point of view effectively, flesh out your characters, develop a background for them, put the right words in their mouths, give them goals and motivation, and develop them throughout your story. Whether you're a "character-driven" writer or a "plot-driven" writer, you can build great story people for whatever kind of story you write.

ebook

First published August 7, 2011

About the author

Lillie Ammann always dreamed of writing “someday.” A devastating stroke made her realize she didn’t know how many “somedays” she had. As soon as she was physically able, she started writing. In 1996, she sold her interior landscape company to a large national corporation and started her new career as a freelance writer and editor. Her most recent book is a book of 90 devotionals: Finding God in the Everyday. Her published fiction includes Dream or Destiny a romantic mystery; Stroke of Luck, a contemporary romance featuring a handicapped heroine; Fern's Fancies, a humorous contemporary romance; Trapped By Love, a contemporary romance novellette. She has also written several short how-to ebooks. She edited and compiled a collection of anecdotes and stories about her husband Jack. Lillie is widowed and lives in San Antonio, Texas. She edits manuscripts and helps independent authors publish their books, and she blogs at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye.

Reviews

[Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I wrote the book, naturally I think it's great! But I do have some less biased opinions. The book is a compilation of a series of posts on my blog. Several of the posts rank at the top of the search engines for the words "creating fictional characters." The posts are among the most popular on my blog, and blog readers have left favorable comments on how helpful the information is. I originally presented the material in a writing course, and students gave high evaluations. If you're a fiction writer, I hope you find the book helpful in creating characters that readers care about.