Say you have a character. His name is Bob. He sees the world through your eyes. Whether he’s the main character, or the sidekick of the story, or a love interest, or an evil mastermind bent on breaking open the world’s crust with a space laser, he is fundamentally limited to the sorts of things you can imagine he will do. If you want Bob to be sweet and sentimental in once scene and a rude piece of crap in the next, he’s not going to protest about his motivations not making sense, because his actions are dictated by you. You are his creator.
When writing characters that are going to get more than one line, keeping them consistent is important. A Bob who alternates between giving flowers to orphans and recoiling at the sight of children is probably going to contribute towards making your story seem a little less real. Try to get a sense of your character’s personalities before you force them into dialogues and actions. If a certain something has to happen to advance the plot, try to think about which character most fits the activity.
Next week, we’re going on hiatus.
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