Characters and their Relevance

Have you ever created a character that was really cool, interesting, and witty, only to realize that your character had no relevance whatsoever to the story you were wanting to tell? Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?

Usually, there is a way to save your character and make them not only important to the story, but what binds it together entirely.

Let's say you have created a character. We will call him Paul. Paul is 34 years old and a forensic scientist. He's a habitually single and a bit of a womanizer, but with a heart of gold. You decide that he is the perfect protagonist. He is someone who has a complex and interesting voice to tell your story through and you're very sure your readers will like him.

However, there's a problem.

Your story is about an alien invasion. Suddenly, you're faced with the question of how Paul even invaded your story in the first place. After all, this isn't a story about a womanizing forensic scientist. This is a story about an alien invasion.

The first thing you must do is try to think of how Paul could fit into the world and story you're creating. What would his purpose be? Stretch your imagination as far as you can, and you will be able to think of something.

Think about his profession. Paul is a forensic scientist. How might that be relevant to an alien invasion? Think. Think very hard.

Paul is called into a crime scene. The inspectors are baffled as to what really killed Maria Velasquez, an up and coming pop diva. The scene is like nothing they've ever seen before, and Paul is the best of the best at solving strange and unusual crimes. For Paul, there is always a logical explanation, even if it doesn't seem so to everyone else.

When Paul gets there, it is the strangest crime scene he's ever seen. Maria's body looks as though all of the blood has been sucked out. It's dry and mummified. To make matters more bizarre, she's covered in a thick green gooey cocoon. Paul says outwardly that there is a logical explanation, but deep down, he knows things look weird. He takes some samples back to his lab and discovers the green goo is like nothing seen on the planet. He then endeavors to go on a quest to find out what really killed Maria Velasquez and that's when he finds himself in the midst of an alien invasion.

Having studied the crime scene and knowing more about them than anyone on the planet, Paul is Earth's last hope to defeat the evil fiends. And that is why Paul, a womanizing forensic scientist, should be in your story on of an alien invasion.

Always think of a character's relevance to the story you're trying to create!

Many people think of a story idea before they start to develop characters. If you're this sort of person, it's very important to keep in mind your character's main point. They have to have a reason to be in a story. If a character has no reason to be in the story, you should stab him with your ink pen before he makes it into the rough draft. However, keep in mind that if you stretch your imagination far enough, even the most seemingly unrelated things can intertwine in a relevant way.