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Characters Who Matter
Found it! I remember this post – it has hung on the edges of my mind as a MUST for writing since the first time I read it. Now I have it again, and I am not letting go (mwahahaha).
But I will share.
Darynda Jones. Magical Words May 13, 2014. How I Make My Characters Unforgettable.
A lot of people talk about characters needing likability. More importantly, reader need to connect to the character before anything happens to make them disconnect. Disconnect too soon and they won’t read. Don’t have a disconnect and the narrative becomes boring instead of tension driven; readers do not want Mary Sue, a perfect person.
What Ms. Jones defines is how to get that connection and how soon.
<A writer> must create empathy BEFORE introducing any negative flaws in <the> character, anything that will distance us from the reader.
There are five ways to create empathy: (Need to use AT LEAST two of these.)
Sympathy
Jeopardy
Likability
Power
Humor
Read the full post here: http://www.magicalwords.net/specialgueststars/darynda-jones-how-i-make-my-characters-unfogettable/