“One of the keys is, and it may sound funny, talking about characters with super powers, but one of the keys is to make your characters as realistic and believable as possible. Even if they have super powers, you say to yourself, "Well, if somebody had a super power like this, what would his life be like? Wouldn't he still maybe have to go to the dentist or wouldn't he have to worry about making a living? What about his love life?" You've got to make characters that your reader can believe exists or might exist.” IfsBelieveWellsMayStillsCharacterMightLife IsSoundTalkingWorryKeysReaderLove LifeRealisticHis LoveLife Is LikeDentistBelievableMaking A LivingSuper Power Author:Stan Lee
“All storytelling is kind of that - there's a bit of text that you put pressure on that spits out some desire that a character has and then you follow that. The other part is that every scene raises an expectation in the reader's mind - that's part of its job is to make you look in and be curious.” MindLooksKindCharacterJobsDesireBitsReaderSceneExpectationsPressureRaisesStorytellingCuriousSpit Author:George Saunders
“It's a beautiful aspect of narrative construction, hunting for the right images and metaphors to render our character's hearts/minds/souls as though they're ecosystems, full-fledged settings for a reader to inhabit like a place.” MindHeartSoulCharacterBeautifulReaderAspectMetaphorSettingSettingsNarrativeConstructionHuntingEcosystems Author:Joshua Mohr
“If a character is honest with a reader, then (hopefully) that will engage the reader's empathy centers; she'll meet that openness with acceptance, and they'll forge a nourishing and meaningful bond as the book continues.” IfsBookCharacterHonestAcceptanceReaderEmpathyMeaningfulHopefullyOpenness Author:Joshua Mohr
“When I read to children, I try to become the characters. It's great if you can make a separate voice for each character. Sometimes you can lower your voice with excitement or get more intimate about it: you can lean forward and engage the children as a narrator or as a reader. It's particularly important that you find the voice that you want to use for each character, because then children can imagine that person as you're reading aloud. And of course, the illustrations help enormously.” IfsWantTryingChildrenPersonsImportantSometimesCharacterHelpingUseCoursesReadingVoiceImagineReaderExcitementIntimateImagine ThatIllustrationNarratorsReading Aloud Author:Julie Andrews
“It doesn't matter whether characters are real people or not; if they're not vivid on the page, then the reader doesn't care about them that much, and, if the reader doesn't care about them that much, then they don't care what happens to them.” PeopleIfsRealMatterCharacterHappensCareReaderPagesDon't CareVivid Author:Salman Rushdie
“I'd like to think that what my style of writing is, is an attempt not so much to judge the characters that I'm writing about, to expose them, to label them, to stereotype them, but instead to make them come alive for the reader with all their strengths and their flaws intact.” ThinkingWritingCharacterAliveStyleJudgingReaderLabelsFlawsStereotype Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin
“The thing with Superman is that he's completely emotionally open to the reader. Meaning what he tells you is what he's feeling; there's a transparency there. And what he tells other characters is usually as transparent as can be. What he says he believes in. So there's an honesty that is both really inspiring writing the character. One thing I love about Clark Kent is that there is a badassery that you don't see a lot. Even as Superman, he's always kind of restraining himself. When you challenge him, I think there's nobody that has a stronger spine than Superman.” ThinkingWritingBelieveKindCharacterFeelingsChallengesOne ThingHonestyReaderStrongerTransparentTransparencySpineThings I LoveRestrainingKentInspiring WritingReally Inspiring Author:Scott Snyder
“Readers will stay with an author, no matter what the variations in style and genre, as long as they get that sense of story, of character, of empathetic involvement.” LongMatterCharacterStoriesStyleReaderEmpathyNo Matter WhatGenreInvolvementVariationEmpathetic Author:Dean Koontz
“I try to make the readers feel they've lived the events of the book. Just as you grieve if a friend is killed, you should grieve if a fictional character is killed. You should care. If somebody dies and you just go get more popcorn, it's a superficial experience isn't it?” IfsFeelsShouldTryingBookCharacterCareDiesEventsReaderGrievingSuperficialPopcornFictional Character Author:George R. R. Martin
“There should really not be anything gratuitous in a work of art. Sometimes what seems as if it's gratuitous may be a passage in which a character is being characterized so that the reader comes to know him or her better.” IfsKnowsShouldMayArtSometimesCharacterSeemsReaderWorks Of ArtPassages Author:Joyce Carol Oates
“If there is any secret to my success, I think it's that my characters are very real to me. I feel everything they feel, and therefore I think my readers care about them.” IfsThinkingFeelsRealCharacterCareSecretReader Author:Sidney Sheldon
“Authors can only soft sell the environment. Create a wonderful story around the environment involving the characters that leaves a lasting impression on the reader's mind.” MindCharacterStoriesEnvironmentWonderfulReaderSellsImpressionLastingInvolvingLasting Impressions Author:Wilbur Smith
“There are certain things in 'Twilight'... As much as I'm proud of that movie and I do like it, I feel like maybe I brought too much of myself to the character. I feel like I really know Bella now. But most readers feel like they know Bella because it's a first-person narrative.” KnowsFeelsFirstsPersonsCharacterCertainToo MuchReaderProudNarrativeTwilightFirst PersonFirst Person Narrative Author:Kristen Stewart