The Potential Paradox

The Potential Paradox

Unlocking the Secrets to Unforgettable Characters in Your Novel

Idris Elijah's avatar
Idris Elijah
Oct 23, 2024
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Character is central to every story ever told--without it, you don't have a story.

Creating compelling characters can be difficult if you don't know what you're doing. Humans are complex creatures, and emulating that complexity in your writing is both an art and a science. For readers to form connections with your characters, your characters must be developed.

Goodreads found that books with well-developed characters are 60% more likely to receive high ratings.

That's why you can pick up a book like Harry Potter and feel the characters are alive despite being fiction authentic enough to form connections with them. And with each turn of the page, rooting for Harry and his friends to defeat the wicked Professor Umbridge.

None of this is a coincidence.

When J. K. Rowling was creating this series of books, she took extra care in developing the characters that appear throughout.

She did this by giving each character a:

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