How to Create Characters Readers Won’t Let Go Of

Reflections from a fiction writer

Image created by author in Adobe Express

No matter how hard I try, I often fall into the productivity trap, which makes me rush through my fiction stories. It might not have as much of an impact when writing short stories, but when writing longer works it can create some damage.

All this rushy, rushy means I’m not spending the time with my characters. All this wanting to get my story done and move onto the next one means I’m creating cardboard people.

For me, what happens to characters as a story progresses depends solely on what I discover about them as I go along — how they grow, in other words. — On Writing, Stephen King

How do you get to know your characters?

The characters that stand out to me, the ones I’ve got to know best in my time as a writer, are the ones I wrote during the first piece I ever wrote. Back then it was bliss. I was learning the trade, so I never pushed myself just to get the thing done.

I completed character bios once these characters leapt out at me, and during the many, (oh so many!) rewrites, the characters only continued to grow, feeling more like friends than characters. So much so, that I actually miss them.