Dear Leeries,
Today I'm writing to you about ways to develop realistic and relatable characters.
As writers, we are in control of the worlds we craft with pen and paper. We make certain our worlds we create are an escape for the reader. An escape from reality and all the little flaws or mistakes that get in our way throughout our daily lives.
Writers want to have everything be perfect, because we come from an imperfect world. That's how we bring order into our lives, by writing the ideal character or situation...Right?
But life would be boring if we didn't make mistakes, if we didn't forget to grab milk at the store, or misread a text, or wear the wrong coat for a cold winter day, or burn the dinner...or yourself.
To give you some ideas, I'll list common mistakes that people make below:
Your character might misread something, like an important message. (Ex. He thinks the letter ‘r’ was an ‘n’ and therefore louses up the instructions he was given.)
Your Character is forgetful in general. (You can have lots o' fun with this one.)
They blurt out something at the wrong time.
They are clumsy and break or spill something. Or break themselves (ex. They break their foot or arm.)
They mishear what someone says or misinterprets social cues.
They daydream while another person is talking to them, (unintentionally of course.)
They talk to fast or too slow.
They burn their food, an item, or themselves. (ex. In Little Women, Joe burns off a lock of Megs hair.)
They may be time blind or always late.
So those are some things I came up with and I'm sure there are many more.
Just ask yourself what you do throughout your day and practice extra awareness in your social groups and as you transition from one task to another, or from one place to another. I'm sure you will notice something, and it will allow you to make perfectly-imperfect characters that are not cardboard cutouts.
The best part about giving your character these mistakes are that you don't have to give any reason why...No Backstory, if you so choose. These are just human things to do and your reader may even cry or laugh because they can relate.
I wish you the best of luck in creating perfectly-imperfect characters!
See you Under The Lamp!✨
Your Leerie for the Lord,
M. G. Teagan
