Have you ever had a POV, who you've developed extensively, written paragraph after paragraph about them, until you know, by memory, every quirk, every fear, and every weakness. And then you turn around and try them out on paper, and then as you go on you realize that they come out flat and unexciting, who you could honestly compare with cardboard?

My MC is like this. (Okay, she's never actually been 'cardboard.') Her name is Susyn Doylen, and I've discovered she's somewhat hard to write, probably because she's a bit eccentric. I've gotten better, but it's still not as good as I'd like. I've also had trouble with portraying her younger brother, Drew, although he's not a POV, and doesn't have her odd little quirks. (He does insist on behaving like a gentleman, even though he's only eleven.)

So, have you guys ever had this problem? What do you do to get over this?

Thanks!

- Terra

I really don't know what to do about that. If she still doesn't seem real even after all that, maybe you need to start from scratch and build a totally new character?
From what you've said, you've probably done all this already, but click this and see if it helps: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=6476

Let me ask you this. What is it about her that is cardboardish? The emotions? The dialogue? The personality? Interaction with other characters? Those things determine how you need to work on her, depending on your answers.

Well, it sounds like you have your character figured out well enough, which means what you probably need to work on is writing that character properly. Unfortunately, that's not something I'm good at yet myself, so I don't have any suggestions.

You could try writing the character in many different situations, not even ones that happen, and focus almost exclusively on what you know she would do in those situations. It might give you practice.

*Nodnod* Yup, I've done a little bit of that. Maybe I should do more.

@ Arien - Yup. That's basically the gist of my problem.

@ Ari - Umm...probably her personality and interactions with other characters. I mean, it's fully fleshed out in my head, but when I go to put it down on paper, it comes off as somewhat 2D.

@ Short - Ooo! *clicks shiny link* Nope, I haven't done this yet. I shall!

Thanks all!

- Terra

You're welcome! I hope it helps!