How to write characters that people love in a short time?

[inkbrush]

Hi lemmasoftians!

I was wondering if anyone had some tips about writing characters that people can fall in love with in a short period of time and/or writing.

To further explain:

My current project is a rather long one, filled with 30~40 chapters in it. (These are manga-length chapters because my game is manga-inspired so they're not tremendously long or anything)

However, the demo will only cover about the first 4 or 5 chapters.

Now, the strong point of this particular game is the characters. So, of course, that's what I want to focus on. But, I'm unsure of how to write characters and/or an outline that will showcase these characters and make people want to play and support the full game. Considering that it IS a demo and so the demo can't just hold the entire game, unfortunately. That would make my life far easier because I know how to make characters lovable over a longer period of . . . writing.

So, do you have any tips or hints as to how to write characters/outline in a way that will bring out the best of those characters? And make people want to see more of the game because of those characters?

[Mad Harlequin]

Okay . . .

Based on your project description, these chapters will be fairly short, so it may benefit you to make them part of a larger story arc. Alternatively, you could make them quick little adventures. (Maybe your first two chapters focus on an argument about which pizza topping is the best.) It depends on what your story requires.

Manga-style structure aside, writing endearing characters isn't difficult, provided the characters are treated as if they were real people. They should have motivations, strengths and weaknesses, and likes and dislikes.

If you treat your characters with care, your readers will care about them.

[gekiganwing]

I was wondering if anyone had some tips about writing characters that people can fall in love with in a short period of time and/or writing.

That's a good question, and I don't have an easy answer. Think about the following...

Just because you intend for readers to like your characters doesn't mean that they will. Also, there is no perfect way to get your reader to hate a villain.

Think about some of your favorite comics. Then look at individual characters' actions in the first few issues or chapters. Ask yourself, "Why did I find her dilemma interesting right away?" or "Why did he come across as a complex, believable love interest right away?" Write down things that you liked. Consider also writing some specific things from comics that you dislike.

Characters and pacing: How long does it take for them to go from ordinary person to motivated protagonist? Does the story linger too long before action begins, or does it start in a confusing hurry? It is not easy to find a middle ground between these two extremes.

Maybe your characters can be summed up in two or three words. I don't think it's a bad thing if they can be described with phrases such as "athletic girl" or "witty guy." But going along with what Mad Harlequin said, I think there should be more to them. Perhaps you will benefit by letting your characters give the reader an easy-to-understand first impression. After the first few scenes or chapters, start showing the characters' layers and what makes them complex.

If you're writing a plot driven story, how proactive do you want your characters to be? If they encounter a disaster, or if they're confronted with a grave injustice, how will they react? Sometimes it's appropriate for them to jump into action, and choose to help people right away. Every now and then, it's appropriate for characters to be apathetic, or to avoid responsibility. Keep in mind that few of your characters will be 100% selfless and self-sacrificing.

Slice of life: think about your characters' goals and actions. Sure, they're not trying to save the world, but they probably want to achieve something. Maybe some of them just sit around and have meaningless, meandering conversations. If that's true, think about how entertaining they are for the reader.

It might help to keep in mind what Roger Ebert said about the movie Hell Night, while quoting Oscar Brotman: "'In ninety-nine films out of a hundred,' Brotman told me, 'if nothing has happened by the end of the first reel... nothing is going to happen.'"

[YossarianIII]

Perhaps you will benefit by letting your characters give the reader an easy-to-understand first impression. After the first few scenes or chapters, start showing the characters' layers and what makes them complex.

The advice I hear most often (and what's helped for me!) is similar to what gekiganwing said: Pay particular attention to the first thing a character does in the story.

If your character is witty, have them say something witty in the first couple lines of dialogue. If the character's angry, have them be angry.

Obviously, it's a little more complex than that (for example, you might want to deliberately mislead readers by presenting a character acting the opposite of how they normally would), but that's a good starting point.

Although I'm not generally a fan of getting too diagram-y, one of my favorite writers about writing, FILM CRIT HULK, has a pretty good model for looking at characters. As a former English major, I find HULK's ideas about treating characters as arguments (i.e. things to be understood) kind of appealing. This isn't to say that a character can't be mysterious, just that everything the character does should be working towards some sort of "thesis" -- a coherent personality, psychology, worldview, or whatever you want to call it.

[Obligatory closing message about finding the method that works best for you, how you should rewrite the hell out of everything, etc. etc.]

[KittyKatStar]

Kidding aside (okay, not really, this scene happened within the a few minutes of the first episode and established a lot about this character) Oh and before petting a kitten, he also greeted an elderly lady politely, and exchanged a few words with her.

I find I fall in love with the characters (the whole cast) quickly if I see the dynamics of the main character with a character in power (teacher, parent, boss) and with someone they're close to (friends, siblings, coworkers), or someone below them (kittens!). You get to see how they act around people and reveals their current situation. I.e. have hilarious carefree friends they hang around, then openly struggle with school(clash with a teacher, might reveal a weak subject or another problem), or they're well-liked at work (compliment from co-worker or boss and shows they're diligent). Or maybe they whine to their parents about something, then complain about it to their friends afterwards. Even if the character may not end up loveable just yet, it gives you a hook, or you may get attached to the secondary characters with fun banter or dynamics. Also helps with showing different sides to the characters in a short amount of time.

i.e. Ichigo's introduction in Bleach where he tells off (okay, beats up) a group of thugs for being disrespectful by knocking over a dead girl's vase of flowers. And once the thugs leave, he apologizes to the ghost and promises to bring fresh flowers next time. Badass + super compassionate + supernatural powers = interesting protagonist off the bat.

I think that's why a lot of scenes open with character getting ready at home, then leaving for destination A or B. You get a glimpse of their daily life, and the people they associate with before the Plot Bomb drops on them. Of course you can also set the story already during the plot, and use the power of backstory and flashbacks on how they ended up in that situation. Whatever works best for your story. =)

That's just what I found from consuming media ^^; People fall in love with characters for different reasons.

[Razz]

This is the simplest and most effective I think I've seen:

http://blog.waifubartending.com/post/11 ... ation-tips

1- Try to pitch your character to someone.

Picture yourself trying to talk to a loli, only that this loli just so happens to be a very important producer. You found her in an elevator and now you’ve got a chance to try and convince her about that one character you’ve been trying to create for a long time. Her attention, however, will only last as long as the ride in the elevator lasts. What will you do?

Our first step when creating a character was coming up with a really simple way to describe it, and if it didn’t sell the character with just that or didn’t sound nice enough, we retooled it until it did. With the prototype our three character ideas could be summed up as “Sex-working lolibot”, “Kind-hearted mercenary” and “Christmas Cake Hacker” and for the Prologue it was “Stern-looking anti-enhancements veterinarian”, “Robotic office fuckboy” and “Racist Corgis”.

This not only allowed us to make sure every character we threw in would be different from the ones that came before (Avoiding characters from feeling same-y), it also gave us a base to work with.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Simplest way? There's a formula for creating character sympathy. Use a combination of the nine following ingredients. You need at least 5 of them. Using 6-7 of them is best. (Taken and paraphrased from Eric Edson's The Story Solution - seriously, go buy it.)

1.)Courage
Your character has to have guts. They must take charge of their own fate. If they don't, you've created a passive character, and those aren't interesting. If your main character is passive, your story is doomed. The main character has to make the story happen. To do that, they must demonstrate courage. Only brave people take action, and only action drives a plot forward.

2.)Unfair Injury
The quickest way to get sympathy for a character is to show life being unfair to them. Show them in a situation where blatant injustice is inflicted on them. Everybody loves an underdog. It also puts them in a position to take action to correct the wrong.

3.)Skill
Nobody likes losers. Make your character great at SOMETHING, and show them being good at it. An audience won't sympathize with a character who brought about their own problems because they are incompetent. In fact, we find those types of characters very annoying.

4.)Funny
Make the character humorous or witty. We like people that make us laugh. Be careful to make the character funny, don't make fun of the character. This isn't right for all stories or characters, but it helps.

5.)Just Plain Nice
We like nice people who are kind to others, decent, and helpful. KittyKatStar's reply touched on this. The anime opens with the main character being nice to an elderly lady and petting a kitten. The character shouldn't be a push-over, but they should be just plain nice. When it isn't an option to make the character nice, you need to use a lot of the other ingredients in this list to make them sympathetic.

6.)In Danger
Nothing works quite like just putting the character into a situation of great danger. It can be physical danger, or just the threat of a drastic failure that will drastically alter their life. It grabs the audience's attention and puts it squarely on the character.

7.)Loved by Friends and Family
This one is ridiculously easy and simple. If you show that the character is loved by other characters, it gives the audience immediate permission to care about them too.

8.)Hard Working
A character who works hard creates the energy needed to drive a story forward. Even seemingly lazy characters like The Dude in the Big Lebowsky work hard at getting their rug back, or supposedly 'slacker' characters like Bill and Ted work hard collecting historical figures for their history report. Show the audience your character has the capacity to work hard.

9.)Obsessed
Obsession keeps brave, skilled, hard-working characters focused on a single goal, which is vitally important to any story. An obsession drives the plot and keeps the story on track. Just make sure the obsession of your character is a worthy one.

And to sum it all up:

Remember, we must bond emotionally even with heartless anti-heroes.

At the beginning of Scarface, small time criminal Tony Montana is certainly not a nice person. But look at the character sympathy tools used to make us care anyway: he's incredibly brave, very good as a professional criminal, often funny, suffers from the double Unfair Injuries of poverty and place of birth, is loved by his sister Gina and best friend Manny, lives surrounded by danger, works day and night, and is obsessed with success.

Eight out of nine isn't bad.

"Eric Edson - The Story Solution"

[OokamiKasumi]

Simplest way? There's a formula for creating character sympathy. Use a combination of the nine following ingredients. You need at least 5 of them. Using 6-7 of them is best. (Taken and paraphrased from Eric Edson's The Story Solution - seriously, go buy it.)

Excellent advice. (Adding to notes.)
-- I need to get this book.

[inkbrush]

Thank you for the responses, everyone!

Thanks to all of you, I've figured out how to build a strong (at least what I assume to be) start for the beginning of my story by writing compelling characters. (Now, to take over the world with them )

Once again, thank you so much, everyone!

[Railgun]

It depends on the tone of your novel but your characters can still be sympathetic without necessarily being likeable, as said in this video.

[Queex]

If you only have a limited space to get the impact you want, you need to use all of that space as best you can. Start in media res, use jump cuts to get from one scene to another. That way, it's easier to hit the character traits you want to in quick succession. Plus, leaving the reader to work out 'how' or 'why' something is happening, based on clues given as you describe the 'what', means that they have to think about your story and then BAM - instant engagement with it.

[ladynamoru]

It depends on the story

but he key thing in making a likable char is to think
"What kind of Person we want to be"

But in order to be likeable in a short period of time is we have to make a unique an impression

My example is Ish from Freak Quency
His mask gave an impression of someone who is mysterious which makes us readers focus on him.
(i wanna see the face... XD)
1. Make a char that readers want to focus on

Then he shows he has an athletic part of simply jumping on the heroines window
(which is 2ndstorey height i think)
Then he amaze me by his cooking skills (coz i want to cook like him too)
2. Make a char that have a unique skill that people would like

Then after the Ish effect on me, he instantly became a likeable person

The more reason I like him is the back story but that is later part.

Another note: Make a backstory that explains the chars action, explains the way he thinks, his manners and everything

[Katy133]

The advice I hear most often (and what's helped for me!) is similar to what gekiganwing said: Pay particular attention to the first thing a character does in the story.

If your character is witty, have them say something witty in the first couple lines of dialogue. If the character's angry, have them be angry.

This is what's known as a Character Establishing Moment.

For example, in ShakespeaRe-Told's Much Ado About Nothing, the character Benedict is introduced with the following scene:

Benedict is sitting in a fancy, expensive car. As he's driving into the car park, he looks at the rear-view mirror to admire his reflection. He strokes his moustache. He has that serious, "I'm cool" expression on his face. James Brown's I Feel Good is playing in the background.

Benedict hasn't even said a single line of dialogue, yet we know exactly what he's like. He's narcissistic, he's confident, he's privileged, he's used to getting what he wants.

It depends on the tone of your novel but your characters can still be sympathetic without necessarily being likeable, as said in this video.

Benedict is not meant to be a likable character (certainly not at the beginning of the story), yet, when I saw that establishing scene, my response was, "Okay, this is going to be a fun character to watch."

Also, watch a few animated shorts (especially ones that have no dialogue). Ask yourself, "Did I like this character," and "Why did/didn't I?"