Captivate Your Readers: Expert Techniques to Leave Your Characters Naked on the Page
May’s Mini-Course: Revealing Character through Dialogue and Action.
Picture this.
You’re binging through your favorite Netflix series when —
The main character drops a deep dark secret.
One that leaves you at your clutching heart. Leaning closer to the screen.
Waiting to hear more, eager to find out — why, why, why!
That, my friends, is a magical moment of character development. And today, we kick off May’s Mini-Course.
Expert Techniques to Leave Your Characters Naked on the Page.
Buckle up, because it’s about to get little wild and bare everything.
Exploring Character Vulnerabilities
Character vulnerability is the secret sauce that keeps readers hooked.
It’s that moment when a character’s emotional armor crumbles, revealing their raw, relatable humanity. If we can’t relate, then we don’t care. As a professional empathy builder, trust me I know.
If we don’t get you, we don’t care.
To expose vulnerability without turning your characters into emotional train wrecks, try these tricks:
Give them a fear or insecurity that affects their decisions.
Show how their past experiences have shaped their present behavior.
Use internal monologue to reveal their doubts and desires.
The Power of Conflict
Ah, conflict — the lifeblood of any gripping story.
Conflict reveals your characters’ true colors, pushing them to grow, change, and make difficult choices. Conflict is the enemy of comfort. And a good life and entralling stories begin at the edge of that comfort zone.
It’s called Crossing the Threshold (you know, when you leave your comfy warm hobbit hole).
To engineer conflicts that shake up your characters, consider:
1. Their goals and values — what are they willing to fight for?
2. The obstacles they must overcome to reach those goals.
3. The consequences of giving in to temptation or taking the easy way out.
The Art of Subtext
Subtext is the unspoken meaning beneath dialogue and narrative, hinting at characters’ motives and emotions without outright stating them. Think of it like the literary version of a knowing glance or a raised eyebrow.
Hemingway was a master.
In his short story “Hills Like White Elephant,” which revolves around a conversation between a man and a woman at a train station in Spain.
The story does not explicitly reveal what the conversation is about, but it becomes clear through subtle clues and hints that they are discussing a potential abortion.
The man is trying to convince the woman who is hesitant and uncertain.
It’s a masterful example of Hemingway’s style and oft studied in literary courses. Read it here for free — it’s only four pages.
To weave subtext into your story, try:
Using body language and facial expressions to show what characters are feeling.
Employing irony (especially dramatic irony) or sarcasm to reveal hidden intentions.
Letting characters’ actions speak louder than their words.
Creating Multi-Dimensional Characters
No one wants to read about cardboard cutouts.
Because who can relate to a one dimensional, flat person? We crave more, we need more to connect. To bring your characters to life, layer them with realistic traits, motivations, and flaws.
Here’s how to give your characters more dimensions:
Develop a mix of positive and negative traits, making them well-rounded.
Show how their desires and goals conflict with each other, creating inner turmoil.
Reveal their vulnerabilities and weaknesses, creating opportunities for growth.
What do they hate? JenX hates electronic music, and it gives this scene all that more nuance because we can feel it through her reactions.
Writing Authentic Dialogue
Dialogue is the beating heart of any story.
It reveals character, drives the plot, and keeps readers engaged. Have you ever noticed just how much of TV shows is just people talking? The split between talking and plot determines the genre. E.g. Soap vs. Action.
The words people say and don’t say, matter.
To make your characters’ conversations crackle, follow these tips:
Listen to real-life conversations and mimic their rhythm and cadence. People (my beautiful wife included) seldom even use full sentences, interrupting themselves mid-thought. The listener must catch the drift.
Have characters speak indirectly, using subtext (see above example from Hemingway) and implication. No on the nose dialogue e.g. “I’m really angry with you!”
Cut filler words and focus on what each line reveals about the character. Writing Excuses even has a tip to cut every third line from your dialogue rough draft and see if it still makes sense.
Read dialogue out loud or use an online reader to see if it sounds right.
The Power of Showing vs. Telling
Show, don’t tell — it’s the cardinal rule of writing for a reason.
By showing character development through actions, reactions, and dialogue, you create a richer, more immersive reading experience. Generally this is true, but sometimes tell can be expedient.
Tell when the information must be shared but not focused on, like a panning movie camera. Showing is a close up.
To master the art of showing:
Use sensory details and vivid imagery to put readers in the scene. If this is a problem area, a good trick is to highlight in the different senses in different colours to show which sense you over-rely on.
Let characters’ actions reveal their emotions and motivations. Again with the subtext. Can’t hold it back anymore? Let them slam the door!
Use dialogue to show how characters interact and influence each other. Relationships in real life are shaped with dialogue, what you say and how you say it reveals a lot about what lies beneath.
Summing it all up
Leave your characters naked on the page.
By exploring vulnerabilities, crafting conflict, mastering subtext, creating multi-dimensional characters, writing authentic dialogue, and showing instead of telling, you’ll have readers clinging to every word, desperate to know what happens next.
Staring at your bare-butt (figuratively) characters as they live and bleed on the page. Making you squirm and feel for them, root for them. And cheer them on when they step up.
Now, go forth and strip those characters bare (metaphorically, of course 😉)
Master these techniques and you’ll be well on your way to crafting unforgettable stories that leave readers hungry for more.
First prompt and application exercise coming this Friday.