Compelling characters 1-50

I really liked Elana's Great Blogging Experiment yesterday of what makes a compelling character. It will take me a while to sift through all 195 blog entries, but the first fifty were a joy to read. Just thought I'd share what I gleaned from them here.

Elana Johnson: exaggerate their humanness

The Alliterative Allomorph show don’t tell what you think of your characters

Laura Pauling make them flawed and proactive

DL @ Cruising Altitude give them a sympathetic motive and unusual trait

Lola Sharp interrogate your characters like they are real people

Christine Fonseca give them layers and diversity

Alex J Cavanaugh put them somewhere between perfection and a total loser

Matthew Rush page missing

Mara Nash make characters with flaws and doubts like ours succeed despite their weakness

Bish Denham interview them, play what if, people watch, and typecast their personalities

Northwriter create a backstory, question motives and emotions in every scene

Jen @ Unedited make them relatable with personalities and cool names (and boys should be hot)

The Golden Eagle conflict, desire, layers, originality, and purpose

Michelle McLean beef up what appears while writing, and be consistent

Meredith @ Fairy Tales and Cappuccino empathy, voice, actions, quirks, and growth

Literary Coldcuts on Toasty Buns give them flaws created by their environment and history

serena @ I see you see follow this list: mistakes, realisation, forgiveness, redemption

words and whimsy good characters are genuine, have personality, and try

Cheyanne Young give them unique dialogue, quirks, and avoid cliches

Summer Ross give them authentic voice and reactions

Eric Stallsworth write them honestly, give them something to do, and then change them

Diamond, Yup Like the Stone get them interacting with other characters and use all five senses

Mary @ Giggles and Gunspage not found

The Homeless Writerjerks make compelling characters

Writing Compelling Characters lessons learned from acting 101

laugh. write. play. authentic voice and actions

So Im Fifty weave them well: warp, texture, color, pattern, tension

That Rebel, Olivia J. HerrellA sample of a compelling character

Danyelle Leafty give them strength, flaws, quirks, and make them work for their happy ending

Book Dreaming characters are attitude, emotion, goals, dialogue and action

J. Leigh Bailey movie comparison: flawed, sympathetic, distinctive, and more

Margo Kelly advice about my character from an agent

seeing, dreaming . . . writing complex motives and layers that would exist even outside the story

Zoe @ No Letters On My Keyboard be an ass to your character

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan dramatic backstory, complex personality, and leadership

Talli Roland they only come to me when I write

ali cross make it larger than life

C. E. @ TheJourney a funny joke

A little bit of . . .  give them a weakness, uniqueness, and a goal

Writer's Manna make them human, with a goal, a problem, and something to learn

Peggy Urry - Writer not a post?

Random-ish they must feel real, but we don’t always discover them until the story’s written

Robin of My Two Blessings I forgot about the experiment

Jamie Harrington the secret desire of the girl behind the burrito counter

Melissa @ Through The Looking Glass complicated, relevant quirks, and real emotions

Katrina Lantz example from Paranormalcy

Shannon Whitney Messenger on vacation, no post?

The Misadventures In Candyland stupid names, sucky lives, broken hearts, and words that don’t end in -ly

Nicole @ Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight: drive, drive, quirks, backstory, and more

Daron D. Fraley no relevant post?