A strong plot with weak characters leaves many readers not caring about following along. They want to identify with at least one hero or villain.

Vivid characters without any goal or quest or action (read "plot") will soon lose readers' interest when they tire of the character study. (Unless there's a magnificent theme cleverly woven in, and wondrous style; read "literary")

Natural-sounding dialogue (with all the polite chit-chat and "um"s left out) brings characters to life, gives them individuality. Body language speaks almost as loudly as words.

As you can see, the different elements of good writing can be meshed and tightly intertwined. In this chapter I'll present tips that seem most heavily weighted to the characters themselves.

First, some definitions.

Plot usually refers to a series of events, usually a string of cause and effect from one scene to the next.  This is an obvious, outer journey.  For more on plot, see the next chapter.

Character arc refers to the inner journey a character makes throughout the course of the story: trials faced and failed, struggles to cope with the outer plot events, slow agonizing growth until she emerges a different person (to some degree) by the end.

MC means Main Character.  If you have an ensemble cast, there's still usually one character that anchors the tale more than the others.

POV means Point Of View: whose viewpoint are we looking through to experience the events?  Unless you're using the ill-advised Omniscient POV (looking down on the players in the story from the all-seeing glance of a god), each scene is being experienced more by one character than by the others. 

Related piece of advice: Bouncing the point of view from one character to another within the same scene confuses the reader. If you want to change viewpoint, make a clear break.  New chapter is best. Second best is putting a line break in when changing POV.

My Hoard of Tips about Character:

* Notes from Pacific Northwest Writers Association writers conference in 2005

Terry Brooks, panel member

Eighty percent of character backstory never appears in the novel.

Any details that don't advance plot or character development must get cut out.  Your story had better move!

* Writing the Breakout Novel ©2001 by Donald Maass (prominent New York agent)

Unforgettable characters are larger than life: they act, speak, think in ways we usually do not: they say, do, think the things we wished we'd done: they grow and change: they express for us our greatest purposes and our deepest desire.

Engrossing characters are out of the ordinary: colorful, outrageous, heroic, highly accomplished, with great wits: memorable.  They act in ways that are unusual/unexpected/dramatic/decisive/full of consequence/ irreversible.

Identify what is extraordinary in people who are otherwise ordinary.

Most of us do not for very long tolerate people who make us feel frustrated/sad/hopeless.

Readers' empathy for characters comes from characters' strengths: admirable, amusing, hopeful, positive, inspiring, makes us feel whole, cunning, stamina, insight, intuition, wisdom, compassion, courtesy, discipline, vision, self-denial, courage, outspokenness, cultural pride, leadership, knowledge, open-minded, reverence, humor, mercy, hope, even-handedness, thrift, gambling for a good cause, trust, perseverance, humility, loyalty, straightforward, honest, dedicated, hard-working.  The highest character qualities are self-sacrifice and forgiveness.

Larger-than-life characters say/do/change what we cannot : imagine ourselves as we might be.

A novel presents powerful points of view, strong conflicts, life that affirms a higher truth.

The protagonist enacts for us a rebirth: thru her we are ourselves reborn.

Larger-than-life characters have conflicting sides and are conscious of self.

Accomplishment already accomplished does not hold our attention, but striving to attain the impossible does.

Dark protagonists appeal only when they have sympathetic sides. They struggle to change, or have hidden sensitivity.

Build a cast for contrast.  Build complex character relationships.  Choose a narrator based on who is changed most by the story's events.  Build depth of character with tools like character biographies, author-character dialogs, etc; differentiate characters with character charts.

* Twitter tips from Donald Maass    (Don't try to use ALL of these! Pick and choose what works for you.)

What's the worst thing your MC does? Whom and how does that hurt? Now work backwards, set it up to hurt even more.

What's the most selfless thing your MC does? What good change or effect does that have on someone unexpected? Add that in.

How does your POV character change in your current scene? Work backwards. Make that change unlikely, a surprise or impossible.

What does a sidekick or secondary character see about your MC that your MC denies? Force a showdown over it.

Over what does your MC disagree with his/her boss or mentor? When does the boss/mentor prove to be right?

Find a small passing moment in your manuscript. What big meaning does your MC see in it? Add that.

For your MC, what are the best things about these times? The worst? Create a passage of his/her take on this era.

What's one thing your MC hates as the story opens? By the end have your MC love that same thing. (Or vice versa.)

Who in your story has an ironclad, unshakable belief? Shatter or reverse it by the story's end.

Give your MC passionate feelings about something trivial: e.g., cappuccino, bowling, argyle socks. Write his/her rant. Add it.

What principle guides your MC? At what moment is it most tested? When does it fail? Put it into action three times.

[Mr. Maass tweeted many more than these.  I'd better not post more or I might be infringing on his rights.]

* A news item in 2011 about heroes in real life

...a Stanford University professor emeritus and colleagues used a nationally-representative sample of 4,000 adults and found that 20% qualified as heroes — they had helped during a dangerous emergency, taken a stand against injustice, or sacrificed for a stranger...

The study... asked participants "Have you ever done something that other people — not necessarily you yourself — considered a heroic act or deed?" Those who answered "yes" selected from a list the actions most similar to their own: helping another person in a dangerous emergency; "blowing the whistle" on an injustice with awareness of the personal risk or threat to yourself; sacrifice on behalf of a non-relative or stranger, such as an organ donation; defying unjust authority; or other.

Among the 20% who met the survey definition, 55% had helped someone during an emergency, 8% confronted an injustice, 14% had defied unjust authority and 5% had sacrificed for a stranger.

"These are people who did very dramatic things... They're everyday quiet heroes."

The survey also found someone is more likely to be a hero if the individual has experienced a personal trauma or disaster; or the individual has previously volunteered in non-threatening settings, such as at a soup kitchen...

...it's the situation that gives rise to heroism more than anything else. We call it a 'heroic moment.' The terrible tragedy produced heroic opportunities for everyday people to do something extraordinary...

We love heroes because of what they offer us — hope for better world.

* (random source: about the start of a story)

On the opening page of your novel, in the first or second sentence, mention your major character and some action she takes.

In the first or second paragraph, give a glimpse of the setting.

On the first or second page, hint at the MC's age.  Introduce another character and get dialogue going, dynamics in motion, some feeling of upset or dangling.

Over the next few pages, get the initial disturbance going (see chapter "Plot") which raises reader's awareness of MC's goals, desires, fears, stakes. Give hints about MC's redeeming strength and handicapping flaw or stumbling stone.

By the end of the first chapter, leave a major question in the reader's mind.

* The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler  (based upon The Hero's Journey,  by Joseph Campbell -- a psychological analysis of folktelling patterns and motifs from many cultures)

(I highly recommend this book!  Yes, it sets up a formula (ack!) for story-building, but it's a very useful pattern. When I'm stuck with major writer's block, I review the formula and see where my story deviates from the age-old story-telling pattern. That usually gives me a clue about why my subconscious is balking.)

----- Archetypes in the Hero's Journey ----------

Hero: willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others; combination of many qualities and drives, some of them conflicting (the more conflicting, the better: seems more realistic and human)

who is the main character in the story? The one who learns or grows the most.

The hero's will or desire is what drives most stories forward.

Give your hero imperfections or quirks. These make your character more real and appealing, and gives the characters somewhere to go: character arc.

Mentor (Wise old Man/woman):

often a former hero, now passing on the gift of their knowledge and wisdom. Has the role of teaching or training; gives gifts (Magic weapon, important clue, life-saving piece of advice, etc.), functions as conscience for the hero.

Motivates the hero -- gives a reluctant hero a kick in the pants.

Different types of Mentor:

-dark Mentor, setting up obstacles for the hero

-fallen Mentor, still on his own hero's journey

-comic Mentor leading hero into comic disaster

-mystical shaman

Threshold Guardian: 

presents obstacles on the road to adventure, testing the hero (solve a puzzle, pass a test, respond to a challenge)

different types of threshold Guardian:

border guards, sentinels, nightwatchman, lookouts, bodyguards, editors, doorman, bouncers, etc.

May be a character, a prop, an animal, or even a force of nature.

Herald:

brings challenge to the hero, announcing the coming of significant change; provides motivation, gets the story rolling area shifts the balance of life so that hero must react and/or make a decision.

Types of Herald:  (positive or negative or neutral)

dream figure, real person, new idea, force of nature, telegram/phone-call/mail

Shapeshifter:

brings doubt and suspense into the story.

Expresses the energy of hidden qualities; change his appearance for mood; difficult for hero and reader to pin down; misleads the hero.

Shadow (villains, antagonists, enemies):

challenges the hero: gives hero a worthy opponent; creates conflict; brings out the best in the hero by putting her in a life-threatening situation.

A strong enemy forces at hero to rise to the challenge.

Can be a mask worn at different times in the story by different characters: mentors, shape shifters, heralds, etc.

Types of Shadow Character:

-villain: dedicated to death or destruction or defeat of hero

-antagonists: not so hostile as a villain; possibly even an ally disagreeing with the hero's tactics

-external shadow: must be vanquished or destroyed by the hero

-internal shadow: must be disempowered by bringing into the light of consciousness

Some shadows may be redeemed and turned into positive forces

Trickster:

cuts a big ego down to size; provokes healthy laughter by helping us realize our common bonds; points out folly and hypocrisy; brings about healthy change and transformation; draws attention to imbalance or absurdity of a stagnant psychological situation

Revives audience's interest with moments of laughter: "Make 'em cry a lot; let 'em laugh a little."

Stir up trouble for its own sake.

Types of trickster:

trickster hero;comical sidekick; catalyst character: affects lives of others but are unchanged themselves in the story

...to be continued