Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing ABC - C is for Characters #MFRWauthor #writing

Today's letter is C and though there are other things that could be involved the obvious is C Is For Characters.

Without characters there would be no story. There are kinds of writing that don't have characters but for fiction, a Character is a must.  Actually there should be a number of characters in each story. Though I once read a story told all from the viewpoint of a man who had suffered a stroke and the story involved, not really his memories but a bunch of people who were things like the doctor, the nurse, the wife, the children. None of these had much to do with the story other than the main one's meanderings through not really being conscious and not being able to talk. This was an interesting but but I'm not sure it was a story.

Back to characters. Every good story needs a strong hero, heroine or villain. Sometimes all three. Some times the character is his own worst enemy. When developing the primary characters, the writer needs to pit strength against strength. To have one of the characters as being weak doesn't draw the reader in.

Also the character or characters need to have traits that make them unique. They need problems that will appeal to the reader and they need goals to strive to achieve that are within reach. Making the goal an impossible one for the character isn't a story people would like to read.

There are many other things about character development I've addressed before. What's your take on character. Do you have another idea what C is for...?