What makes a character believable?
Reminder given: Characters must be more vivid than people. This entire section was packed full of ideas. This is a brief taste of what she gave us: • Identification – the reader can identify with their situation or role; • Character Traits – archetypes defined; and, • Motivation – understandable to the reader when you reveal either up front or incrementally throughout story. What motivates a character will depend on such things as personality type, family history (birth order, happy, dysfunctional, etc.), society, personal history, and others such as religious or medical. Why does a reader care about a character? Victoria explained four reasons: Empathy – Sympathy – Suspense – Justice What must all heroic, believable characters possess? • Goal – character must actively pursue a defined, specific goal • Motivation – reader must understand the whys • Resolution – character must change to get what they deserve in the end. Know the difference between what they need versus what they want. •
