In case you didn’t already know, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is officially in theaters the day this article was published, and sorry not sorry, we couldn’t help but celebrate.

The Star Wars universe has become a mass collection of stories (whether true or not) revolving around various characters, time periods and conflicts throughout this far, far away galaxy.

Whether you’re completely satisfied with the prequels’ and original trilogies’ storytelling techniques or not, we think there’s a lot to learn from our favorite Star Wars characters, writing-wise. Take a few minutes to “learn” from a few of their stories.

“Even the bad guys have good in them somewhere.”

Not every villain is all bad just for the sake of being bad. There is usually a motive, whether you tell your readers what that motive is or not. Sure, some characters seem like they’re just out to destroy all the Jedi and take over the galaxy or whatever. But more often than not, there’s a tiny ounce of good in them somewhere. Deep, deep down.

“Fail, every character should.”

How many times have you failed at something in real life? How many times has that failure actually taught you a valuable lesson you’re able to carry with you thereafter? Our characters need to develop throughout our stories, and bouncing back from failure is an effective way to showcase that growth. Even Yoda failed. But in a way, it sort of turned out for the best in the end.

“No character is fully strong or fully weak.”

You should never create a character that has no flaws, or a character that only has flaws. Just like real people, every character should have a diverse mixture of traits. Combining various strengths and weaknesses is what makes a believable, relatable character. Those strengths and weaknesses are what keep the plot moving forward.

“Some characters live on through other characters, even when their stories end.”

Okay, so Obi-Wan Kenobi does literally live on after his final duel with not-so-little Anakin in Episode IV, because of the mysterious powers of The Force and all that. But figuratively, just because you remove a character from a story doesn’t mean they still can’t play an important role later on in the plot. Sometimes, a character’s death is just enough to motivate a different character to go on and destroy the Death Star. Or whatever obstacle your character is trying to overcome.

Happy writing! After you go see the new movie, of course.

Images courtesy of BGR.com, starwars.wiki.com, starwars.com, toybox.com.