What keeps readers turning pages? Characters they can believe in. Their actions, choices, and dilemmas shape the emotional core of your story, drawing readers deeper with every step. A compelling character isn’t just defined by what they do but why they do it—their goals, motivations, and conflicts (GMC). These elements, paired with how their story is told (POV) and how they express themselves (dialogue), create a multidimensional experience for the reader.
During the self-editing process, your goal is to refine these aspects to ensure your characters feel real, their actions resonate, and their arcs have impact. Strong characters are dynamic—they change, grow, and face meaningful challenges. By fine-tuning GMC, POV, and dialogue, you’ll breathe life into your characters and ensure their journeys connect with your audience on an emotional level.
In this article, we’ll break down how GMC, POV, and dialogue function individually—and together—to craft characters who leap off the page.
Building Believable, Compelling Characters
Creating compelling characters starts with building a strong foundation. These are characters who feel like real people, with unique traits, authentic relationships, and an emotional journey that evolves throughout the story. Readers don’t just want to watch your characters—they want to experience the story alongside them.
A believable character has layers: their strengths and flaws, their desires and fears, and their relationships with others all contribute to who they are. Readers connect when they see characters who struggle, grow, and reveal their vulnerabilities in ways that feel relatable and earned. Even the most fantastical characters should have motivations and emotions that resonate on a human level.
Clear Traits: Think about what makes your character unique. Their physical appearance, mannerisms, speech patterns, and quirks should differentiate them from others in the story. But avoid relying solely on superficial traits. Dive deeper into their emotional and psychological makeup. For instance, how does their backstory shape their present-day decisions?
Meaningful Relationships: Characters rarely exist in isolation. Their relationships—whether loving, strained, or adversarial—are key to their growth. Consider how other characters challenge or support your protagonist and how those dynamics evolve. Every interaction should serve a purpose and reveal new layers of the character or advance the story.
Emotional Journeys: At the core of every compelling character is an emotional arc that resonates. How does your character change from the beginning to the end of the story? What triggers that change, and is it believable? Characters who remain static can feel flat, so focus on showing growth—even if it’s subtle.
Key questions to ask:
What makes each character unique in terms of their personality, backstory, and goals?
How do they change emotionally, mentally, or physically over the course of the story?
What relationships challenge, inspire, or shape their growth?
Do their flaws and vulnerabilities make them relatable?
Ask yourself if your characters’ traits, relationships, and emotional journeys feel consistent and intentional. Map out key moments in the story where your character faces challenges or makes choices. Do these moments contribute to their growth? If not, consider revising or removing them to tighten the narrative focus.
Understanding GMC
GMC is the driving force behind character behavior and growth. It ensures that every decision your characters make feels intentional, earned, and believable.
What your characters want—their goals—gives them purpose. Their motivation—the reasons they want it—grounds them emotionally, making their struggles relatable. And the conflict—what stands in their way—creates the tension that drives both their growth and the story forward.
When GMC is weak, characters feel aimless or flat, and their decisions seem arbitrary. When it’s strong, their actions have weight, their growth feels inevitable, and readers care deeply about what happens to them.
Key questions to ask:
What does your character want, and is it clear?
Why does the goal matter to them?
What internal or external conflicts are preventing them from reaching it?
How does the conflict challenge their growth?
Do their actions align with their motivations throughout the story?
Map out each character’s goals, motivations, and obstacles scene by scene. Ask yourself if their actions make sense in light of their goals and if the conflict escalates in a way that pushes them to grow.
POV's Role in Character Development
POV shapes how readers experience your characters’ thoughts, emotions, and struggles. It provides the lens through which their journey is revealed and their depth explored.
The POV you choose shapes what readers see, know, and feel. It allows them to witness your characters’ struggles, growth, and emotions.
First-person POV brings readers intimately close, letting them see the story through a character’s eyes. Third-person limited provides flexibility, allowing readers to explore multiple characters without losing emotional depth. An omniscient POV can show the bigger picture but often creates distance from individual characters.
The key is consistency. Shifting between perspectives too abruptly—or “head-hopping”—can confuse readers and disrupt the narrative. Be intentional with the POV you choose.
Key questions to ask:
Does the chosen POV deepen the reader’s connection to your character?
Is the POV consistent throughout the manuscript, or are there moments of unintended head-hopping?
Would a different POV add emotional depth or tension to a key scene?
Does the narration reveal or withhold information to build tension?
Experimenting with POV can bring new layers to a scene. Try rewriting a key moment from a different perspective; it may reveal emotional nuances or deepen the reader’s connection to your characters.
Dialogue Reveals Character
Dialogue does far more than convey information—it reveals personality, emotions, and relationships. When done well, it reflects who your characters are and how they’re growing. Purposeful dialogue advances the plot, highlights tension, and creates natural rhythm within the narrative.
To make dialogue effective, ensure it’s authentic to each character’s voice. Their speech patterns, word choices, and tone should reflect their background, personality, and current emotional state. Balanced with internal thoughts and action beats, dialogue can show subtext, hint at unspoken emotions, and reveal conflict without being overly obvious.
Key questions to ask:
Does each character’s voice feel unique and consistent?
Does the dialogue serve a purpose (e.g., advancing the plot, revealing conflict, or deepening relationships)?
Are there places where dialogue feels too expository, forced, or unnecessary?
Does internal thought or action balance the dialogue and add depth?
Read your dialogue aloud to ensure it sounds natural. Trim filler lines, add subtext where needed, and check that the dialogue aligns with each character’s GMC.
How GMC, POV, and Dialogue Work Together
While each is powerful on its own, GMC, POV, and dialogue are strongest when they work in harmony. Together, they reveal who your characters are, what drives them, and how they interact with the world around them.
GMC gives characters purpose and provides the tension that drives the story forward. POV shapes what readers see, feel, and understand about a character’s motivations, fears, and conflicts. Dialogue brings these elements to the surface by showing how characters respond to challenges, express emotions, and interact with others.
When these elements align, they strengthen your characters’ emotional arcs and enhance the narrative. For example, POV can highlight internal struggles that aren’t spoken aloud, while dialogue captures how characters handle external conflict. GMC ensures every action and word feels intentional, reinforcing the character’s journey and keeping the story cohesive.
Key questions to ask:
Does the POV enhance or obscure your characters’ goals and motivations?
Does the dialogue reflect how characters respond to conflict and challenges?
Are the characters’ arcs clear, believable, and driven by their GMC?
Step back and assess how these elements interact throughout your manuscript. Ask if the choices you’ve made are helping readers connect with your characters on a deeper emotional level.
Characters come alive when their goals, motivations, and conflicts are clear; when their stories are told through a purposeful POV; and when their voices are revealed through meaningful dialogue. When aligned, these elements transform characters from flat figures into unforgettable personalities.
Take the time to revisit your characters’ GMC, POV, and dialogue and ensure these elements align seamlessly. This careful attention will elevate your characters from words on a page to memorable, fully realized individuals who resonate deeply with readers.
With care and creativity,
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