Craft Multi-Faceted Characters
Two sides of one character
Your goal should be to create complex, three-dimensional characters. These are characters who have a range of emotions, complex beliefs, behaviors that are not always rational, and personalities with multiple sides.
Imagine that you are writing a story about an airline pilot. Every scene is about his job, his passion for flying, and his thoughts about airplanes. No matter how intense the story — if he’s trying to land a plane that has experienced mechanical failures, or it’s been hijacked by terrorists — yet the only thing that matters to this pilot is his job, he will feel fake and like a caricature.
Yes, the immediate concern will be to fix the problem with the plane, but the pilot would most likely think about his family. Some scenes must show him, at least briefly, worried that he will die and leave his family without a husband/father. As readers, we want to know that he has more in his life than just his job.
We also want to see different sides of his personality. Perhaps he is a super-efficient pilot and dedicated to his career. But he has another side of him that is awkward and unable to connect with his kids. Or maybe at home he is lazy and shut off from his family.
