Chapter One: Characters

I know, it's been a while since I promised to blog about each of the chapters in my new writing book — but, hey, better late than never, right?

So, today we start with the first chapter and what I think is the most important thing in writing fiction: characters. Can you have a fabulous novel without fabulous characters? Well, yes, if it's got the most amazing, gripping plot. There are plenty of great mysteries with eh heroes. There are even some good science fiction books with just so-so characters. But you won't find a romance without wonderful, to-die-for heroes (and heroines). It's also hard to have a successful YA novel (no matter the subgenre) without a great hero. So, I start my writing book with creating characters.

You know that you've got to create a hero you can love, or at least like a lot. You're going to be spending a lot of time with this person, so you've really got to like him (I'm going with the male pronoun here, but please read it as gender-neutral). And you're asking your reader to spend a lot of time with him, so they've got to really like him too. To create this relationship between the reader and your hero, you've got to create empathy between them, preferably within the first few pages.

Make your hero someone your reader wants to be with. Put him in a situation that makes your reader care. And don't forget to make your hero heroic. He's got to do the right thing, be strong and wonderful and brave and have fuzzy socks — yes! Fuzzy socks. Fuzzy socks is that warm, comfortable, soothing feeling you get when you put on a pair of fuzzy socks on a cold, rainy day. Your hero has to give your reader that feeling of trust and comfort as well. Your hero has to have fuzzy socks (not literally, figuratively).

And most important and most difficult of all, is getting to know your hero. Know what he likes and doesn't like. Know how he reacts to a bad situation and to a good one. Know what turns him on and what really turns him off. Is he particular about something? Is he a slob or lazy? You need to know all of his ins and outs and why he is the way he is. You really, really, need to know him well. So write him, talk to him, write out a conversation he has with another character and get to know them both. The key is to spend time with your hero so that you can know him and can write him with authenticity. Fall in love.

At the end of every chapter in my book, I've got a check list of things you should be sure you have in your book. Here's the checklist for this chapter:

Characters Checklist

Are your characters well rounded, real to life people?
Do they have layers?
Does your hero have at least three heroic qualities?
Is your villain a well–rounded person or concept too?
Is there a strong supporting cast of secondary characters?