Plot tropes in romance novels are the basis of any story. The more unusual the plot, the easier it is for the author to grab readers` attention.
Bully romance is one of the sub-genres that has been gaining popularity lately. Such a trail allows you to create a rich plot and a variety of characters. Bully romance novels often involve one heroine who tends to have an interest in different characters, one of which is the antagonist. Other characters are often portrayed as more loyal and friendly, to contrast the difference with an antagonist character.
AlphaNovel shares the top 5 secrets about how to create bully characters.
- Bully need to have a story behind
Bullying is a difficult and traumatic experience, but since it is the main character in your book, it must have a story.
The untold story of the character, although not available to the reader, strongly influences the development of the plot. And while some people can be bullies from childhood, most often this behavior is the result of some traumatic experience. Even if you don’t put all the story in detail, think it through for yourself. With a fully developed character story in mind, you will only come up with something that fits with his character.
Be sure to think through these details to get to know the character better in person. For reading, this could be an intrigue and plot twist.
- Actions must fit the character
If you’re scared to death of spiders, would you take the spider out of your room by yourself? We think you would call for help.
Often, as the story progresses, authors forget important features of the characters and force them to do things that are completely out of character. It is important to always keep a balance and show the development of the hero, emphasizing his changes, or behave consistently.
When creating a new situation for the characters, ask yourself, “What would I do?” and answer the question in full detail. Next, ask what your character would do, and also try not to miss any details. In a dialogue with yourself, reinforce the answers with a description of the character. For example, my hero would never betray anyone, because a few years ago he was betrayed by his best friend and he painfully endured these events.
- Give your character a specific speech
Every person in the world speaks in a certain way, using special words, and phrases or changing the tone of voice in different situations. Give your character these traits and don’t forget to add them to your dialogues.
Don’t forget about body language. Since your bully has a cause or a history of traumatic experience, not only actions but also behavior determines the character during the conflict. For example, at the mention of a certain topic, the character’s hands may shake, and he may start to bite his/her lips or do something else.
- Start with critical scenes for your bully
Often writers come up with a few major scenes first that are going to happen to their characters in a novel before writing the whole story. Start with these stories and plot twists – think through the details and record how they will affect the development of the character and the whole story.
Such scenes can be arranged chronologically – for example, to develop a plot at the beginning of the novel, for the development of the story, and at the end. This will help create a story outline and move along a given roadmap.
- Let your characters make mistakes
It is important not only to strictly match the character of the characters but sometimes deviate from the rules, allowing the characters to make mistakes and emphasizing the results of such events. First, it adds more life to the story and makes it realistic. Secondly, such twists contribute to the development of characters and open up new horizons for the story.
