Power up your character
Your character is that important?
Welcome to the most exciting part of your writing journey, where you get to create characters. As a writer, you may have experienced talking to yourself multiple times before, not just under the shower. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it happens to you to wake up in the middle of the night with the urge to scribble down an idea?
Unlike regular folks who keep a water bottle close to their bed, you have a piece of paper and a pen/pencil by your side, right? I mean, I also have a bottle of water on my night table, but that’s not the point. The urge to put your ideas down is so powerful that you cannot wait until morning to scribble them. If you’re lucky, you go back to sleep, and your vision grows and flourishes in your deepest fantasies.
Though unfortunately, it stays trapped there. When you wake up, you take the piece of paper as if it was written by an alien hand. It took me some time to understand what to do with phrases like “She finally takes the pills and what remains is the hat on the ground” or “Ants, ants, people, ants that dream about them. Solution for the finale.”
These are not made-up notes, I wrote down these memos, and it took me half an hour to understand what they were about. In one case, it was a story about a woman magician. The second case is about the ending of a story starring people from small worlds and a great dream finale.
Deep down, all writers are troubled, but nothing is more exciting than creating new and compelling characters. However, it’s disappointing when an excellent plot has flat heroes moving their lips as automated puppets. People may love these flat characters, but most of the time, it’s a recipe for failure.
If you wake up with an idea for a character, don’t miss it. I wrote down once this:
“Tall, but not enough to have problems passing through a gate in a catholic church.”
So, next time you have an idea for a great character, grab a pen and paper and only sleep with them close to your bed. Pen and paper, not characters, those have to stay away, ready to jump in your pages! Let’s work on building better characters using the book “Getting into the Character” by Brandlyin Collins, which has been a life-changing read for me. Next, we will get somewhere speaking about settings and when or where your story must start.
If you want to have a look to my style, start reading my stories here and I look forward to receive some of your best comments down the page.
If you’re interested in reading more about writing, find more in the page writing in pills!
Why is so important to read?
Reading is crucial because it improves the way you focus, your memory and your communication skills. Here at Flyingstories, we like to write free stories that can entertain you and help you learn Italian or English. You can change the website’s language any time you want, just by clicking on the flag. In this way, you can read stories for free in Italian and English.
Do you think you’re not ready for a long story like Go back to the future or Souls Alive? Please feel free to read our short stories in Italian and English!
This article is written by the storyteller and copywriter Daniele Frau.
