What makes a good story? Yes, you need a clear beginning, a solid middle and an epic end. However, many stories falter from the lack of good characters. When you think of a movie, video game, book, and anything like the matter, one of the first things you recall are how well the characters are developed. Characters can make or break a story or series. For instance, take the Twilight series. Many complained of the lackluster characters such as Bella and Edward. Not a lot of people cared for their romance or drama because Bella was labeled as "boring." She did not know how to really function on her own without Edward. Bella was just not an interesting character, and Edward was just not written well. Writers have to be careful when creating their stories and characters. Here are seven things to look out for when creating characters.
1. Avoid Stereotypes
We get it, stereotypes have been here for a long time. However, we are in the 21st century. It is time to start writing unique stories with female heroes with no love interests, and other common stereotypes of the matter.
2. Personality
Personality is such a huge factor when creating a character. You have to keep in mind the environment they are in, and how their backstories lead them to become who they are. That's what made Joss Whedon's "Firefly" so successful. The blend of the different characters, and the adventures they go into made the show so much fun and interesting.
3. Relationships to other characters
This is one of the biggest reasons to why I still watch "Supernatural." The more recent storylines have not been that fantastic, but I care about the Winchester brothers. You see how much they care for each other by their actions and words. When a character dies, you often feel bad for when other characters find out. You relate to the friendships, romances, and families portrayed by different characters, if they are done right.
4. Character development
No one likes a stale character. We like to see how the character changes from season to season, from movie to movie, or book to book. Even if it is just one book or one video game, if the character did not learn from his/her journey and does not change in someway, there is something wrong.
5. The character needs a purpose
There is nothing more frustrating than when there is a character there for no reason. This can happen to many female characters to when they are just there for sex appeal, or comedic side characters. Well, at least when they try to be funny. Let's just say you do not want to Jar Jar your character.
6. Be wary of turning the side character into a main character
Pixar has been doing this a lot these days. Side characters are meant to support the main character. There have been many great sidekicks like Tails from the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series and Sam from the "Lord of the Rings." However, like reason number five, you have to be careful of turning the side character to the main. Mater did not function that well as the main character in "Cars 2" because it is Lightening McQueen's story. In "Finding Dory," Pixar was much better in creating a reason to tell Dory's story. Was "Finding Dory" a necessary movie? Probably not, but they told a good story unlike "Cars 2."
7. You have to care
Shocking right? However, this is the biggest fault when creators make stories. If they do not care for the character, that is when lazy writing comes into play. The biggest example is "Deadpool." Fox did not care for the character when he was "first" introduced in "Wolverine Origins." He was not the Deadpool that we know and love. That is when Ryan Reynolds and the director, Tim Miller, took matters into their own hands. Because of the leaked footage, fans demanded a proper film for him. Fox had no choice in the matter. Then Ryan Reynolds and Tim Miller treated the character right.
He went from this:
To the merc with the mouth we know today:
By caring for for the character and watching out for the other six things, you will create a character worth remembering and loving.
