5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Characters

by Molly Crockett

Whatever kind of story you are writing, creating good characters is essential. Try to avoid these common mistakes writers make when it comes to character creation:

2-Dimensional Characters

The first mistake writers make is creating cardboard cut-out characters – to avoid this, try to give them life and make them seem like a real person. Humanize them and surround them with evidence of their lives, personality, and past to create believable characters with which readers can identify.

You also need to build strong and meaningful relationships for these characters – the relationships, whether romantic or not, do not have to be a major plot point but they should contribute to the characters. This could be in building a better sense of who they are and how the interact with the world, or by showing their humanity through their connections to other people.

Characters Without Roles

Perhaps a character is very well developed, fully rounded-out, and 3-dimensional – but if they have no role in the story, they really aren’t necessary or worth the time and space they take up.

This also means that each character needs their own arc of development – just as you build a full story arc for your main character, consider each side character as if they are on a journey of their own. When developing their story arcs, treat them like they are the main character of their own story. And don’t forget to include them – even in the background – when the story is focusing on the main character or plot. Don’t make the mistake of not mentioning a side character for a few chapters simply because they aren’t necessary for the plot at that time: you still need to include them in the periphery or at the very least explain or justify their absence.

Overcrowding

Kendra Brandon, a novelist at Revieweal and Bestbritishessays, explains: “Don’t waste prime time/space on minor characters – overcrowding the story will become confusing and distracting for the reader. Instead, focus on making your core group of characters memorable and distinct.”

It can be tempting to create as many fun, interesting, clever characters as your imagination can dream up, but at the end of the day it really is about quality over quantity. This may mean you have to combine a few people into one character, but ultimately this will help you create more in-depth personalities and make it much easier for your readers to follow your writing.

Overwriting

It can be easy to get swept up when you are describing a character’s actions, thoughts, dialogue, or motivations. Good creative writing is not about being overly descriptive and figurative and using as many words and ways to describe things as possible. Good creative writing is about conveying such rich descriptions in as few words as possible – being precise, effective, and clear. Less is more.

Thoughts Over Actions

Try not to spend too much time in your characters’ heads. Get away from describing their every thought and find ways to show these feelings and motivations through action. This is part of humanizing them and making them seem like real people readers can identify with. This doesn’t just mean following through from a character’s thoughts with actions, as this will seem repetitive and suggests you are not confident and competent enough to simply do what needs to be done. Readers will quickly lose interest if you describe what a character is feeling, what they think they should do about it, reviewing this course of action, and then finally doing it, and maybe even thinking about it afterwards. Get straight to the point. If the character is well-written enough, their feelings will show through their actions.

No Setting

Finally, you need to provide context for your characters and your plot. This means big picture settings like general surroundings and locations, which help provide a canvas for your plot, but more importantly when it comes to characters is the small-scale setting details. Put your characters in real life situations, vary their surroundings and circumstances, give them a chance to develop life and individuality through how they act in these situations. Francie Holt, a lifestyle writer at Uktopwriters and Bestaustralianwriters, says: “Use their senses to describe the setting and let their responses/reactions give more dimension to their character.”

Molly Crockett is a successful lifestyle writer for Bigassignments and Eliteassignmenthelp, where shares her inspiration and lifestyle tips with her audience. In her spare time, Molly enjoys teaching arts and writing skills for Stateofwriting.

Wendy Swore On Keeping Hands Busy & Your Mind Free

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Wendy Swore, who lives on a farm with a corn maze and pumpkin patch that is home to her five kids, two dogs, two geese, seven peacocks, eleven ducks, nineteen cats, and two hundred thirty seven chickens. She farms in the summers, writes in the winters, and would rather chew her leg off than eat something spicy. 

Wendy is the author of A Monster Like Me (2019) and The Wish And The Peacock (2020).

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

My first novel, A Monster Like Me, grew from personal experience with bullying. Once when my mom and I were at the grocery store, a lady with kids pointed at the blood tumor on my face and said, “Hey, look kids, that kid doesn’t need a costume for Halloween—she’s already got one!” Then they laughed and walked off. That, and other cruelties led me to wonder: what if I believed them when they called me a monster?

My new story, The Wish and The Peacock, sparks from my life as a farmer. My spouse and children have grown up with peacocks, farm animals, high work ethics, and a love of the land. When we bought the farm, we were one of many farm families in the area, but now, over twenty years later, we are one of the last ones left. Each time another farm family sold out, another piece of this story settled into my heart. When our uncle who farmed with us passed away suddenly, everything changed, and we had to build a new vision of how our farm could continue in the future. All this grew into a story of a capable and smart farm girl who could face hard things with heart, humor, and hope.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

For us, the farm is all about family, so the story began with the characters. One of our boys sees the world differently than the average kid. For him, routines are etched in stone, loud noises require ear-plugs, and books must be carried everywhere. My Scotty character is heavily based on him. We are fortunate to have dear friends and neighbors from many diverse backgrounds on the reservation where we live, and it was important to me to include characters that reflected that. From there, I plotted Paige’s journey as she uses every trick up her sleeve, be it a jar of spiders or good ‘ol farm smarts, to run the real estate agent off and keep her farm intact. Sometimes, you just gotta work hard, and wish big.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Absolutely. While my first novel had very few changes, this one was more tricky for me. I think that’s because I chose a topic that was so immediate and real for my family. I couldn’t really step away since farming is my whole world. Luckily, my awesome editor, Lisa Mangum, helped me trim a few things and rearrange a bit to hone in on the heart of the story.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by? 

Because I do a lot of manual labor on the farm, my imagination has time to wander and spark new ideas. If it’s a good story idea, I stop what I’m doing, be it driving a tractor or picking corn, and make a note or voice recording on my phone with enough details to come back to it later when I’m done farming. I’ve learned that if I don’t write it down immediately, some of the details that made the idea special get lost. 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

My favorite way to start a new story is to free-write the first chapter and see what happens. Often I’ll write first chapters of several totally different stories that have been bouncing around inside my head, then I sit back and look at them with a critical eye. If one of the stories resonates enough with me to finish it, I’ll stop and outline the rest of the story, make character notes, and research so I have a good foundation for the story. The other chapters go to a folder of story ideas that I might use a different day—or not. That’s a pretty full folder. 

17 Tips To Write A Book Description That Sells

by Daniela McVicker

You've finally done it — you've written an entire book. Congratulations!

Now, you have to write the book description — this is one of the most important parts when it comes to marketing your book.   

The book description sits right on the back cover, or on the page above the "add to basket" option. It's essential that you get the book description directly. 

We'll walk you through the best tips for writing a book description. When done correctly, you'll ultimately get more sales, and all the effort you put into your book will be worth it.  

The importance of a book description  

You should think of your book description as more of a pitch. It's why they should buy your book, and what they should expect from it.  

Everyone knows that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover — this is why people turn to the blurb or description. Chances are if you've written an entire book, you'll be able to write a description to sell it — this is your work, your dedication, and your skills.  

The best thing to remember is that people are looking for a reason to buy your book, you just need to give them a little push.  

Here are our top tips for writing your book description for selling.  

1. Don't be too avant-garde  

Your book description isn't the place to test out new waters or be too elaborate.  

You should keep in simple, and dive straight to the point.  You might feel tempted to parade your artistic writing skills, but your book description doesn't really require this.  

Stay away from verbose writing, just sell your book as you would if you had 1 minute on a television show. This is one of the best tips that you can get given.  

2. Write in the third person 

Yes, you wrote the book, and it might very well be written in the first person. This doesn't matter at all. This isn't the book; it is essentially an advert.  

The reason the third person is better is that it seems less bias. You trust somebody else's review or opinion on something, rather than the creator's opinion.  

Think about it, you'd be less inclined to buy a product with only a description from the author. When people are shopping, they want impartial advice and judgments. This applies to books, too.  

3. Keep it short 

It isn't an English essay, it's a book description. People will not read a giant description — it just won't happen.  

Our recommendation to you is to keep it between 150 to 250 words. If you think this seems like a limited amount of words, you're entirely right.  

This will challenge you to put all the necessary parts into your description, without giving away anything unnecessary or essential.  

Keep it short, sweet, and straightforward. People will read it in a minute, and decide quickly if they want to buy it.  

As a marketing tip, if you give people too much time to consider, they begin to weigh up their options. They start to believe that they should save their money, or wait until it goes on sale.  

4. Use Keywords  

As books are sold heavily online now, keyword research is also crucial. Use Google and keyword research tools to find the best ones for you, and get your SEO off to a good start.  

Don't go too crazy with the keywords, people will recognize that they look a bit strange, and decide not to buy your book for that reason alone.  

Even if your book is exclusively being sold in-store, keyword research is still an important aspect. Our brains work in similar ways, online and offline. For instance, words like passion or chilling have substantial impacts, both digitally and in print.    

5. Create the hook  

The power of the hook — what we grab your reader and make them buy your book.  

Your very first sentence should be enticing and make the potential reader carry on reading. If the hook is poorly done, you'll lose the reader before you even had a chance.  

As we said, people are looking for a reason to buy your book, you need to pull them in.  

Usually, this means setting a clear focus on the most substantial claim, compelling concept, or surprising fact. Obviously, don't give too much away, though.  

It's all about balance.  

6. Keep it relevant  

Why should your reader buy your book? Why should they choose yours over the hundreds of others to choose from?  

Make sure you explain to them what they will gain, and how the book will provide them with it. Make it relevant and make it hard to say no to.  

Perhaps look at what is going on in the world, and decide from there — this is especially useful for nonfiction writers.   

7. List your expertise  

Another tip for nonfiction writers. Why should your reader trust you?  

Now, a lot of self-help books have somebody with a Ph.D. or extensive experience in a specific field.  

However, if you have a life event or a specific reason why you're more suitable to give advice, then explain this. This sets you out from the crowd and puts you in a prominent position.  

This could also be where you gain a relationship with the reader. Creating a friendship or a level of trust with your reader is essential — you can do that right from the beginning.  

8. Be really clear  

There should be no confusion about what your book is. This could be the genre or the specific reason for publishing your book.  

If you've written a psychological thriller, tell them. This way, all the lovers of this genre will immediately know this will be the book for them.  

9. Hint at the height of the book 

This is specifically for fiction books. You should hint at the climax in your book but never reveal it.  

Many fiction book descriptions will hint at something going wrong, or a big adventure that happens.  

If you reveal too much about this, the reader won't feel the need to buy the book — be very careful here.  

This is a prevalent marketing tool with books and films. They bring attention to a mystery slice of drama or adventure but keeps the reader or viewer guessing.  

Again, it's all about balance. Give enough away to keep them interested. Don't give too much away, so that your reader will feel like they don't have to read your book.  

A similar idea could be applied to a nonfiction book. Don't give too much information away, but hint at the help or information that you can provide.  

10. Concentrate on a problem  

Now that you have your reader's attention, you need to clearly describe the problem that they might be having.  

If you can analyze the problem that the reader is going through, you will really keep the reader engaged, and they'll be more likely to choose your book.  

What pain is in your reader's life? What problem do they have that is left unsolved? Is it possible that they have unachieved aspirations or goals, that you could help them reach?  

If you articulate these problems and hint that you could help, they will seriously consider buying your book.  

11. The solution  

It's not really enough to follow up on the problem with a simple; "I can help." 

Why should they believe you? You need to give them a reason to trust that your book can solve the problem, or at least help them feel better after reading it.  

Will the book make them more productive? Happier? Gain friends? Lose weight? What will the book provide them with that they didn't have before? 

Don't be ambiguous here, be very clear about the benefits, and you'll gain more readers.    

12. Keep it open  

We know, it seems like you have to give away your secret to sell your book. That is necessarily true.  

Your book description should be an open-loop — an essential piece of information should always be left out. This makes the reader want to know more.  

Balance really is critical in this scenario. Don't give away your secret, but don't make it too hard to understand.  

For self-help books, people want to know the basics, before they commit to buying your book. However, if you give too much away, they won't feel the need to buy your book.  

Find that common ground, and you'll be onto a winner description.  

13. Consider testimonials  

This is like word-of-mouth marketing. Sometimes, a book description just needs a couple of 5-star reviews, and it'll be seen as a must-have book.  

This is precisely why so many books emphasize on their testimonials. Whether it is a newspaper review or an esteemed opinion from a reader.  

Don't include a quote from a family member or friend. Your testimonials should be from a reader with credentials. This way, people will trust that it is impartial and a meticulous examination.  

14. Add a call to action  

Yes, even a book review should have a call to action. This should be included in a summary, which then asks or encourages your reader to buy the book.  

Don't make it too salesy, make it casual and just a tiny little push. They're already considering buying; they just need convincing. The best writing services out there can always consult you on crafting an efficient call you action that won’t be too straightforward.  

For example, "Pick up a copy today to become more in control of your life." Something persuasive, but still friendly and conversational.  

15. Practice makes perfect  

You won't get it right the first, second, or third time. It might take you hundreds of attempts.  

Your book description is so important, and getting it right will take time, effort, and a lot of research. Don't dive into writing it, with an expectation that it won't take long or that it'll be easy.  

Take a few of your favorite books from your library, and read their descriptions. Remember what made you want to buy them?  

You could even make your way to your local bookstore, and take a look at which books hook you — and why. We're sorry if this results in you buying more books that won't fit on your shelves.  

Write a description, write another, write on more, and go from there. Don't forget to get opinions from those around you, and make them honest.  

After all, this description could make or break your book, and valuable feedback is always needed.  

16. Re-read your book 

If you're having a big issue with coming up with a description. We recommend re-reading your entire book. Get really familiar with it, and take notes along the way.  

As you come across an important point — perhaps there's drama or a critical problem to be solved, make a note of it. You can refer back to these specifics, in your description.  

This is your book, and you should really know it better than anybody else. Also, this extra bit of knowledge will help with writing your description.  

17. Re-read your description  

Once you've finally decided on a description, and you are happy with it (well done), it's time to proofread. 

This is such a crucial part of your book journey, and you shouldn't rush it. Sometimes, the excitement of finally having all the words ready can tempt you to submit and then be left with regret.  

Take a step away from your book description, clear your mind, and then return to it. You'll notice little grammar or spelling errors, or decide that it isn't the description for you.  

Your description should feel like it has been penned by a publisher, not yourself. Make sure it flows right, isn't too long, and has the perfect voice throughout.  

A random spelling or grammar error could throw somebody off buying your book. That would be a disaster.  

Conclusion

Writing a book description should be seen as an extension of the book.  

It plays a crucial part in the overall marketing of your book and needs to be treated as a standalone project.  

Have fun writing your book description.

Daniela McVicker is a writer and blogger. She has a master’s degree in English Literature, and she is truly passionate about learning foreign languages and teaching. Daniela works with the students helping them to reveal the writing talent and find one true calling. You can check her last review of Trustmypaper.