A fantasy character is a fictional character that exists in a fantasy world. Fantasy worlds are often based on medieval or ancient cultures, and often feature magical or supernatural elements. Common examples of fantasy characters include wizards, dwarves, elves, and dragons. Fantasy characters often have special powers or abilities that set them apart from ordinary mortals. They may also be able to interact with otherworldly beings, such as spirits or gods. Many fantasy stories focus on the struggle between good and evil, and often involve quests or journeys to exotic locations. Though they may live in imaginary worlds, fantasy characters can teach us a great deal about our own humanity. Below are 5 tips to developing gripping fantasy characters.
Give your character a backstory
Every character needs a backstory. What happened to them before the story began? Why are they the way they are? What drives them? Answering these questions will help you create a fully formed, three-dimensional character that readers can connect with. Take some time to brainstorm your character’s backstory. What were their childhood like? What happened to them in their teens and twenties? What are their hopes and fears? Once you have a good understanding of your character’s history, you’ll be able to craft a richer, more compelling story.
Create a personality for your character
When it comes to creating a believable and relatable character, one of the most important things to consider is their personality. What kind of person are they? What motivates them? How do they interact with others? By fleshing out your character’s personality, you can help bring them to life on the page (or screen).
One way to approach this is to think about which famous person your character most reminds you of. This can be anyone from a real-life celebrity to a fictional character. Once you have someone in mind, look at how they act and speak, and try to emulate that in your own writing. Another useful exercise is to imagine your character in different situations and write down how you think they would react. Would they be the life of the party or more introverted? Would they handle a stressful situation with calm and grace or fall apart?
By taking the time to develop your character’s personality, you can ensure that they feel like a fully realized person – not just a flat caricature. So have fun with it, and let your imagination run wild!
Come up with goals and motivations for your character
Every character needs a goal. What does your protagonist want? Without a goal, your story will lack direction and your reader will quickly become bored. At the same time, it’s important to make sure that your character’s goals are believable and relatable. No one wants to read about a protagonist who wants to simply sit around and do nothing. Equally uninteresting is a protagonist whose only motivation is to acquire wealth or power. Instead, try to come up with goals that are more personal and unique to your character. Perhaps they want to find true love or reconcile with a estranged family member. Maybe they’re searching for inner peace or trying to come to terms with a tragic event from their past. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something that will drive your story forward and keep your readers engaged.
Flesh out your character’s appearance
When you’re creating a character, it’s important to flesh out their appearance so that they seem real and believable to readers. What do they look like? What do they wear? How do they carry themselves? All of these details can help to bring a character to life on the page.
Think about some of your favorite fictional characters. Chances are, you can picture them in your mind’s eye quite easily. That’s because their creators took the time to really think about what they looked like, inside and out. So, when you’re creating your own characters, make sure to give them the same level of attention. It’ll pay off in the end!
Write dialogue for your character
There’s nothing more frustrating than reading a piece of dialogue that sounds unnatural. As a writer, it’s your job to make sure your characters sound like real people–and that means making their dialogue sound realistic. So how do you go about writing convincing dialogue? Here are a few tips:
- First, pay attention to the way people talk in real life. How do they structure their sentences? What kind of words do they use? The more you listen, the easier it will be to replicate natural-sounding dialogue in your own writing.
- Next, think about your character’s personality and background. How would they speak? Would they use slang or jargon? Again, the more specific you can be, the better.
- Finally, don’t be afraid to experiment. Try out different dialogue patterns and sentence structures until you find something that feels right for your character. And if all else fails, remember that there’s no one right way to write dialogue–so just have fun with it!
Conclusion paragraph: Creating a well-rounded and believable character is essential to any story. By giving your character a backstory, personality, goals, and motivations, you will make them leap off the page and into the minds of your readers. Don’t forget to flesh out their appearance too – after all, no one wants to read about an ugly character! Make sure to give your character dialogue as well so that they come alive on the page. Have you tried creating a character for your next writing project? If so, what tips would you add?
