Creating Characters
Some Key Elements
When creating characters, I bring them to life by describing their thoughts, motivations, and actions. Through this process, I feel it helps readers become invested in the story. Creating a character that is believable is crucial. I achieve this by giving them unique traits, flaws, accomplishments, and failures. If I’m successful, readers will engage and feel a connection with the characters and the story.
When readers connect with characters, they tune into the storyline on a deeper level. It makes the story more personal and engaging. I intentionally make my main characters dynamic, allowing them to change throughout the story. The static characters then complement the main characters by assisting in their development.
One of my persisting goals is to keep the main characters relatable. I feel readers can see someone they know or relate to in that character. Through this connection, they create an emotional link, which makes the story both enjoyable and memorable. Static characters, on-the-other-hand, lack growth, making them less memorable, but they still carry an important role in the development of the main character and the story itself.
Be mindful that static characters remain the same throughout the story, while supporting dynamic characters as they undergo changes. Two ways I handle dynamic character changes are through internalization by changing values and through externalization by creating physical transformations.
I use these methods to enhance the story by introducing character motivation, flaws, backstories, and growth. It allows me to bring an authenticity to their roles, making them more relatable to readers. All of the stuff I just went on about I accomplish by adhering to the following five key elements.
ONE | Strong Motivation
Motivation serves as the driving force behind a character’s decisions. It propels the plot forward. Without strong motivation, readers may see characters as flat or uninteresting. They may even become less excited about finishing the story.
I deal with this by making my main character’s motivation grow throughout the story. I’ll add depth and complexity to their role, give them challenges, and present obstacles. It all works toward enhancing their motivation. As the story develops, I’ll reveal more about their personalities, thus driving the plot forward.
TWO | Flaws and Vulnerabilities
I strive to make main characters dynamic by showing their flaws, their vulnerabilities. I give them room for growth to make them more relatable to readers. A character without flaws may come across as boring, or worse, unrealistic. To combat this, I’ll introduce imperfections which allow readers to empathize with them.
To continue, I introduce challenges to expose vulnerabilities. It allows them to grow while adding intensity and complexity to their development. The goal being to allow readers to respond by recognizing my characters as more authentic.
THREE | Backstory and Trauma
I’ve found that readers genuinely want to feel a character’s experiences, giving them more insight into who they are. By using flashbacks or by providing subtle hints throughout the story, it’s a little easier to accomplish. Providing a backstory allows readers to engage with characters on a deeper level.
Sometimes I’ll go even deeper by showcasing how their past has affected them. If I can show their transformations, I feel readers can better understand their current motivations and actions. For example, I’ll clarify the reason for actions and decisions, removing that burden from the reader. I don’t want my readers to guess. It is my job to provide all the information they need to meet me in the point of view I intended to portray.
FOUR | Relationships and Interactions
I like to show my character’s personality. Again, I don’t want my readers guessing. I show character’s relationships and interactions so that readers can easily identify with those characters. To round things out, I’ll add a level of intrigue by throwing in a few conflicts or challenges. By doing so, the reader now has even more reason to engage with a character they wanted to see more of.
In relationships, I strive to make them as realistic as possible. For instance, I’ll show trials and moments of connection, often romantic, as well as moments of conflict. Sometimes, just to have a reader question my sanity, I’ll introduce an off the wall character quirk, partly to see how much hate mail I’ll get. And partly so I can visualize a reader’s WTH moment.
FIVE | Growth and Change
All characters go through growth and change. I show the progression through the character’s thoughts, actions, and beliefs by highlighting their interactions with other characters, or through their choices and decisions.
My goal is always to make my characters as real as possible. In building relationships, I look beyond the protagonist and antagonist. I will develop realistic relationships between two obscure characters with the same enthusiasm and level of detail I do with the main characters.
While observing key elements of character growth, I also take into consideration:
Courage: give supporting characters an extra dose of courage. I’ve realized I can use it effectively to bring excitement to an otherwise dull scene.
Loyalty: loyalty can bind two characters together to accomplish common goals. That bond can be good or evil. It can be to support a hero, or come to the aid of an adversary.
Modesty: I use character modesty to bring a sense of reason to situations where restraint is preferable to chaos. For example, Todd really deserved the beating Carl was about to give him. But Carl decided he’d be the bigger man and walk away.
Honesty: want to really spice up a scene? Introduce a character with unwavering honesty. Bill, the CFO and co-founder of the company, had been secretly cooking the books for years. When confronted, he had no idea Kathy had known all along. He pleaded with her not to testify, but she refused. Honesty is often used to affect the outcome of a situation.
Conclusion:
Creating human-like characters can be tough, but it can also be fun. When I’ve settled on my main characters, being a pantser, I work up several mock scenarios designed to test my initial vision of their roles. I find it very interesting each time to see where I land. I’m sure you will as well.
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