Making Your Characters Realistic

What are some things you do to create realistic characters?

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I come across way too many stories that seem so . . . fake.
The characters don't act like people.
They act like words on paper.
People like characters that they can see, imagine, hear, smell, etc.
I see so many authors writing a boy the same damn way they would write a girl.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes that's who the character is.
But generally . . . boys are boys, even if they are girly boys, even if they are gay boys.

Boys are cruder.
They don't have this surreal quality about them all the time.
Girls are more . . . fantasy.
Boys are more . . . real.

Plus, there are other things.
The way people speak always seem so "out there" to me.
People don't talk like that.

A quick tip:

- a real person and a well-based character have many virtues, yes, sure, but what about flaws? If you want a realistic character, then, well, give it some - character. Flaws, habits, opinions, all expressed subtly through the interaction with other characters in the story and their inner monologue and actions.

- remember that you're building a real person here, a new being is coming to life in your head and should be in the heads of your readers. Imagine that person, make them complex and intriguing, flawed and mundane, yet peculiar in a way that makes it stand out as the main character or makes it memorable as a sidekick or something.

If you write fanfiction:

If you write your Gerard/Ryan/Billie/Ville/Gabe/etc. the same as everyone else's... what really makes your story different?
What makes it stand out?
The most important thing to remember about fanfiction is that, while you are writing about celebrities, you are writing a character based on a celebrity.
Give them life.
Give them personality.
Give them something more than we see on YouTube.
Because, face it, we can all go to YouTube for that.

- background story. Your character cannot just pop into a certain situation or plot. They have history, other memories than just those with their loved one/ fuck-buddy/ whoever. You can't base the whole plot on a couple of people who fuck each other's brains out OR create such drama that even the worst of soap operas can't top it.

- huge, depressive drama means shit if you don't make it interesting and worthy of your reader's attention. There's a whole bunch of slash-fics out there - how are you going to make yours stand out? Dru was right, we all have YouTube.

- the way you write, your narrative should fit the character's personality, especially if you're writing 3rd person. You're not just telling us of their thoughts, your narrative IS WHAT MAKES their thoughts.

Backstory is important.
Even things that aren't mentioned within the story create the character that you are writing about.
For instance... Ryan in Dangerous Face had a one night stand with Brendon [who doesn't remember it] and that affects Ryan's relationship with Brendon.

I actually think making characters seem real can be helped by the YouTube revolution aka 24-hour access to interviews. But making EVERYTHING that real character can be really...unrealistic.

^
It helps.
But you don't really want to read that over and over, do you?
I mean, I don't.
Taking some personality aspects from it can help.
But I'd rather read a character with an interesting personality quirk.

No, but I mean...like in their vocabularies.

For instance, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the way Frank Iero and Brendon Urie talk...

I write a lot of Original Fiction Characters that play a big role in my plotlines, and I find it easier to give them all indivudal personlaities. Each with their own morals and values, that set them apart from the other characters.

It keeps it interesting for me to write the character, not only read it.

And when I write, I always begin with the basics and I find that the character devlops more through the story line, some more than others. Del, from This, Is Getting Over You has developed overtime into a very strong personality and from the comments of the readers, some have found her hard to like.

I think the best tip I can give to keep characters real is to actually feel the story.

So maybe you don't have the same personality as your character, but if you want them to be like real people they have to act like people do. Put yourself in your character's shoes and try to think like them, to feel what they're going through, and write down the reaction.

For example:
-In a certain story, I wrote that Character1 wanted to laugh in front of his dead brother's body, to ease some of the pain and grief and turbulence in his emotions. Then a reader commented me saying that was exactly how she felt when someone close to her died.
-In another story, which was about drug withdrawal, a reader asked me if I used to be an addict because she was a counselor for drug users and that was exactly how some people described the phases. I never tried drugs...

When people read stories, they expect to find themselves feeling what the character is feeling, to sense the environment and surroundings and the situation and actually affect them after reading it. So it's important to make the characters something that people can relate to; persuade them to see your character's side and make it believable.

So, bottom line is, you just really have to feel the story to keep it real.

Okay, how do you write about a dude who is bi but doesn't know he is; he has two girls he likes, a girl who likes him, and a dude that likes him; has three split personalities; has two names; and is dead and living in an Underworld full of people age 10-19?!

I must know! haha!

Ani.Mental:

Okay, how do you write about a dude who is bi but doesn't know he is; he has two girls he likes, a girl who likes him, and a dude that likes him; has three split personalities; has two names; and is dead and living in an Underworld full of people age 10-19?!

I must know! haha!

AND he has to be really hot!?

Ani.Mental:

Ani.Mental:

Okay, how do you write about a dude who is bi but doesn't know he is; he has two girls he likes, a girl who likes him, and a dude that likes him; has three split personalities; has two names; and is dead and living in an Underworld full of people age 10-19?!

I must know! haha!

AND he has to be really hot!?

You better do some extensive research in split personality disorder and fully form each personality to a 't'.

I think people don't realize how much they write the Mary-Sue character.

That really irritates me. You know, the troubled teen oblivious to their own so-called beauty.

You have to be the character you're writing. That's how I write. You have to see things the way they would. Do things the way they would. Hear things the way they would. You have to live the life of your character.

I don't know about other people, but my characters take on their own dimenson after a while.

I don't see them as a character in my mind, they are a person and for some reason I start considering who the character would react and feel in different sitiuations.

Maybe I'm crazy..but still.

^ I do that too.
I tend to start doing what my character would do just to see how others would react or see if anyone would actually do that.

And I think it was mentioned about how characters talk. Just because you're using correct grammar in all parts of the story doesn't mean the characters have to talk perfectly also.
None of that made any sense. >.>

No, it made sense. I'm beginning a story which is based in 1890's France, so I'm trying to make the characters dialog fit. And it's hard. :cheese:

I never know if mine seem real enough.

I just think about how I'd react to each situation, and write something like that.

Kiss.Me.Goodbye:

No, it made sense. I'm beginning a story which is based in 1890's France, so I'm trying to make the characters dialog fit. And it's hard. :cheese:

You could look up some literature from the era and see the dialog in the era.
Thats what I do for names, dialog, and scene.