Practice empathy to understand your characters' motivations from "summary" of The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante
To truly bring your characters to life on the page, you must be willing to step into their shoes and view the world through their eyes. This means practicing empathy to understand their motivations, desires, fears, and struggles. By putting yourself in your characters' place, you can start to see the world as they do, which will help you create more authentic and believable characters. Empathy involves not just imagining what your characters might be feeling or thinking, but truly feeling and understanding their emotions and actions as if they were your own. This deep level of empathy allows you to tap into the core of your characters' beings, uncovering their true motivations and driving forces. It helps you see beyond the surface level of their actions and words, giving you insight into the deeper layers of their personalities and psyches. When you practice empathy with your characters, it becomes easier to write dialogue that feels natural and true to their individual voices. You can anticipate how they would react in different situations, what they would say or do, and why they would make certain choices. This understanding of your characters' motivations adds depth and complexity to your storytelling, making your characters more relatable and engaging for your readers. By immersing yourself in your characters' emotions and experiences, you can create a more cohesive narrative that flows seamlessly from one scene to the next. This deep connection to your characters allows you to maintain consistency in tone and style throughout your story, ensuring that their actions and decisions remain true to who they are.- Practicing empathy with your characters is about creating a bond between writer and character, allowing you to inhabit their worlds and bring them to life in a way that resonates with readers. Through this process, you can craft rich, multidimensional characters that feel real and compelling, drawing readers into their stories and keeping them invested in the narrative from beginning to end.
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