Everybody Wants Something . . . Your Characters Better, Too
See that chick over there? She wants a bacon double
cheeseburger but she’s worried if she horks one down that she won’t be able to
hike up her skinny jeans over her beluga thighs.
Or how about that dude on the corner? He wants to be a lion
tamer but he’s allergic to cat dander.
What about you? What do you want? Currently I’d like a
stomach pump because I just ate a quart of caramel praline ice cream. Yes,
again with the dang ice cream. It’s summer. Cut me some slack.
Even my dog wants something, preferably the leftover tuna
hotdish sitting on the back bottom shelf of the frig with a slight green haze
growing over the top.
Are you noticing a trend here?
Humans are needy little creatures, all wanty and feed-me
feed-me. If you want your readers to feel a strong connection to your
characters, here’s a sweet little tip: give your characters a desire for
something, anything, and make that
clear from the get-go. Sure, those wants can and should change by the end of
the story, but don’t ever take their needy nature away or you’ll lose your
reader.
Now then, I’m off to snack on some chips. I have a feeling
the salt will offset the sugary coma I’m about to collapse in.