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| Leon "Gale" Casma Inspired by your average romance book cover. Well, not really... |
How to Create 3-D Characters: Psychology of the Human Spirit Dissected (warning: not for the faint-hearted)
Just thought I'd share a bit of my writing habits with you. Let's compare notes!
Character creation, as we all know, is damn important. Creating amazing characters comes directly after an amazing storyline. That feeling you get when your characters leave such an impression on readers to the point that they just want more (who knows, maybe even less) [insert character name] in general? One of the most rewarding feelings you could ever feel as a writer.So what can we do to avoid making something 2-dimensional, or, even worse, ignorant? Well, for one thing, we can think. Deeply. That, and try to understand and sympathize with your fellow human-beings. It's less than getting to know how people function, yet a little more.
If you're a fantasy writer, chances are, your roster is not going to consist only of humans. And if not, that's fine too. At this level, which is the psychology of characters, the process works much the same for creatures human or otherwise. As long as your character is capable of thought and feeling, it is capable of being influenced and affected by its surroundings, which likely include family, friends, society, politics, nature, media, and so on and so forth. It will be a complex creature.
You've probably heard that certain people do the crooked things they do purely out of greed. Or better yet, purely because they're jerks. Take Hitler; why'd he kill so many people? Most common answer: cause he's a racist, homophobic, power-hungry psychopath! Then we all shrug the matter aside. That's that. People are just born horrible.
Remember this, dear reader: no one is purely evil. No one is purely good. Everyone is right, but no one is justified.
