Writing a character

1: be careful with character descriptions, especially if you're writing from a first-person perspective. Don't pull that "I put my wavy black onyx shiny sparkly hair in a messy bun" shit. Some people try to avoid awkward character descriptions by describing the main character through their relatives, like: "I'm always surprised at how much my mother looks like me, with her chocolate brown eyes and straight nose". That’s just as awkward, if not more so, than the opposite route. It's not realistic for characters to be constantly surprised that the person they've known for years looks similar to them. In cases like this, try to be as simple and straightforward as possible with character descriptions. 

2:  please, please avoid writing Mary sues. Your character can’t be the best, the most beautiful, and the only one gifted with special powers (unless it’s essential to the story you’re writing). They shouldn’t attract the attention of every person that they meet, and they shouldn’t have every guy after them. The more realistic you are, the more relatable and interesting your character will be. at the same time, you don't want to fall into the cliche of writing an "average joe" protagonist. Don't put too much emphasis on however ordinary the character thinks they are. After all, if you write a boring character, why should the reader care what happens to them? 

3: If you can, try to focus more on creating an interesting person than an interesting character. They don’t need a tragic backstory or a super eventful life to be a worthwhile character. Focus on their personality, their likes and dislikes, their thoughts. You want your reader to see them as a human being, not a caricature.

4: exposition is difficult to write. in real life conversations you wouldn’t have a conversation with your friend, and then all of the sudden say “this reminds me of when my mother died in a tragic car accident on September 23, 2003″. if it would sound unnatural in person, don’t write it into your dialogue. If your character DID have their mother die in a tragic car accident, show that instead of telling. Maybe your character is shown to be wary about driving cars. Maybe their mother is never seen in the story. Maybe they have a flashback of screaming and broken glass. Hopefully, your reader will put the pieces together and figure it out themselves.

5: Don’t make your character unlikeable, unless they’re written to be unlikeable. Too often I see characters in movies and books do incredibly selfish things because they’re “a flawed character”. Don’t do this. Make them flawed in the way real people are flawed. Make them disorganized, give them anger issues, have them say something mean to someone they care about. Don’t make them irredeemable. 

writing a good kidnapping story

(some of these tips relate to a certain type of kidnapping story, if you’re writing a horror or thriller kidnap story, it would make sense for your kidnapper to be heartless or not that sympathetic)

1: DON'T MAKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTER AN IDIOT. It's one thing to have a strong leading character who doesn't give up easily, it's another thing to write a character with a literal death wish. A smart character, and by extension, a strong character, is a character that is aware of the level of danger they're in and acts accordingly. tone down the back sass. a real victim would be terrified most of the time, not casually insulting their kidnapper whenever they can. You can write a sassy, sarcastic, or confident character that still reacts realistically to the situation they're in. You can even use their strength as a type of character development; them showing their sarcastic side could be evidence of them gradually becoming more comfortable with their kidnapper. Be subtle about it though, don't just go from terrified to sassy within 2 days.

2: that's another thing, the progression has to be gradual. Even with Stockholm syndrome, it doesn't develop over the course of 2 days. A lot of stories I read have the victim almost immediately warming up to their kidnapper, which, at least to me, is a sign of an emotionally weak character. No one wants to root for that type of character, because it just looks pathetic when they give in THAT easy, especially when their kidnapper is still being kind of a dick.

3: be careful with banter between characters. Yes, depending on the overall nature of the story you’re writing, they should have palpable chemistry, but it can't be flirty, at least not initially. Don't make an annoyingly confident kidnapper who immediately uses obnoxious pet names for their victim (babygirl, sugar), it's just cliche and gives off that villainous mustache-twirling vibe.

4: Kidnappers, believe it or not, are people too, and regardless of the circumstance, probably aren't always thrilled about making someone's life miserable. Don't make them seem oblivious to their victim's pain. If it's fitting for the character and story, have them show some empathy.

5: find a middle ground with your characters whenever you can. Just as you don't want an overly sassy and strong main character, but also don't want a weak one, you want to make your kidnapper somewhere between a heartless monster and an uwu soft boi yandere. These are people, not caricatures. Writing emotionally shallow characters is the first step to creating a bad work of fiction.

6: Make. Your. Kidnapper. Intimidating. In a realistic way too. You don't have to give them extreme anger issues because literally everyone does that. There are other ways to create a scary character, or at the very least, a tense scene between the two characters. Try to show the emotions in a complex way. If your kidnapper is angry, you don't always have to make them yell, you can go the opposite route and have them almost whisper when they're really pissed. Maybe they get extra calm when they do something violent or scary. Maybe they never get angry at all, and that's the unsettling part. This applies to the victim too. Maybe they get aggressive or closed off or they fake confidence when they're scared. you have to make it clear that they ARE scared though, otherwise you risk falling into "too strong" territory. Make their hands shake while they yell at their kidnapper, or make them cry, or stiffen up. Anything to indicate realistic emotions.

7: holy shit. get Grammarly people. please. nothing is more of an immediate red flag than serious grammar and spelling issues, it just indicates that you made it in a rush and didn't take any pride in your work. The reader needs to be engaged in what you're writing, and they won't be if the whole time, they're thinking "holy shit, I could write better than this". Don't make your work look like a 7-year-old wrote it.

8: don't have your main character perv out over their kidnapper the first time they see them. They've been forcefully taken away from their home, there's no time for being horny for their captor. However, if you're going to go the romance route eventually, try not to make your kidnapper repulsive either. be as objective as possible with descriptions of your kidnapper.

9: be careful about the message your story could potentially give off. I’m usually pretty wary about turning a kidnapping story into a full-on romance story, because most of the time, it isn’t realistic. No matter how nice or sweet or cute you make the kidnapper, no matter how much they might love their victim, it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve taken away the main characters agency and freedom against their will. people don’t easily forgive their kidnappers. Yes, it’s inevitable that you could potentially be seen as romanticizing kidnapping by even creating a slightly sympathetic antagonist, but you don’t want to make it seem like the act is entirely ok because “they love each other so it fixes everything”. If you DO turn it into a love story, you have to give your kidnapper some serious character development. Don’t have them start and end the story as an abusive asshole, but also don’t have them become a completely different morally upstanding citizen. subtlety is always key to good writing.