When it comes to writing novels or stories of any kind, one of the hardest challenges is writing a solid character. Readers don't like completely perfect characters, they're no fun. They like flaws and issues that make them emotionally react to the character, making them want to know more about them and read on.
"Don't create a perfect character". Well, that's easier said than done, right? When you decide on a certain flaw or trait in a character, you have to stick to it. If you decide they're suffering with depression at the beginning of your story, they can't be dancing up and down rainbows, eating sugar lumps, and singing about how beautiful life is in the next chapter. Character development is one thing, but poorly-written characters are another.
So, how do we go about writing a solid, interesting character? I have a few methods that I use personally:
The World Is Your Oyster
When you're creating a character, you don't have to sit around for hours trying to think about every little detail: their hair colour, whether they like the colour pink or not, what school they went to, the shape of their nose...
You are surrounded by prototypes! Every single person you pass in the street can be put into a story. It doesn't take a lot of effort, just some fun guesswork! Let's imagine, for example, you're sitting in a coffee shop (perfect place for this exercise, by the way), watching your prototypes pass by. One person in particular catches your eye. In this instance, maybe a girl. She has long, black hair and big brown eyes, and she's wearing ripped jeans and a hoodie with the name of some heavy metal band you've never heard of before. She's on her phone, laughing - she seems a very happy and jovial person. But look at the people around her - an elderly couple throwing cautious glances at the sight of her nose and lip piercings and the skull necklace sitting on her collarbone. She's rejected by society. There, you've already got the basis of a character. You can guess a lot about a person from what they look like - it doesn't matter whether you're right about them specifically, this is your character; you can make it up.
Knowledge Is Power
Let's say you already know someone you find interesting; a younger cousin or that bookworm at school who you recently learned - to your surprise - actually skateboards in his free time. If a person is interesting to you, then they are likely to be interesting to a reader when you put them on paper. Try and avoid using fictional characters for this exercise, no matter how interesting you find them. If you base your main character on Harry Potter, the chances are your story will just come across as a J. K. Rowling knock-off. It's hard to re-create a pre-existing character.
Now, this cousin or bookworm isn't like the stranger that passed the coffee shop; you know them. Not necessarily inside out, but to a certain degree. You know some of their passions, their quirks, their favourite TV show. You can guess how they'd react to certain situations. Or, if you're not sure, you could even ask them. If you're too embarrassed to say you're basing a character in a story on them, make something up; you're doing an survey for a project. Be careful with what you ask them though; if you approach them and casually say "So if you were to murder your worst enemy, do you think you'd go with a gun, or are you a knife kind of guy?". They may begin to worry and you may find yourself on a one-way trip to a counsellor.
Character Profiles
Now, I only ever use character profile sheets if I want to create an entirely new character from my own imagination. I have created my own profile sheets in the past, but it's really not worth the effort when there are several ones already on the internet that are just fantastic.
What are character profiles? It's kind of like a fact sheet. There's a list of questions about your character, and you answer them. This is probably one of the most time-consuming methods of character creation, but, let's face it, you're writing a freakin' story, it's not going to flow out of your fingers.
You can find some great profile sheets here, here, here, or you can find more on the internet, or - if you really want - create your own.
Whatever You Do, Avoid Mary Sue
Many experienced writers will already be familiar with the Mary Sue template, but don't worry if you haven't. Before I go any further, let me make this clear now: THIS PROCESS TAKES A LONG TIME.
"Don't create a perfect character". Well, that's easier said than done, right? When you decide on a certain flaw or trait in a character, you have to stick to it. If you decide they're suffering with depression at the beginning of your story, they can't be dancing up and down rainbows, eating sugar lumps, and singing about how beautiful life is in the next chapter. Character development is one thing, but poorly-written characters are another.
So, how do we go about writing a solid, interesting character? I have a few methods that I use personally:
The World Is Your Oyster
When you're creating a character, you don't have to sit around for hours trying to think about every little detail: their hair colour, whether they like the colour pink or not, what school they went to, the shape of their nose...
You are surrounded by prototypes! Every single person you pass in the street can be put into a story. It doesn't take a lot of effort, just some fun guesswork! Let's imagine, for example, you're sitting in a coffee shop (perfect place for this exercise, by the way), watching your prototypes pass by. One person in particular catches your eye. In this instance, maybe a girl. She has long, black hair and big brown eyes, and she's wearing ripped jeans and a hoodie with the name of some heavy metal band you've never heard of before. She's on her phone, laughing - she seems a very happy and jovial person. But look at the people around her - an elderly couple throwing cautious glances at the sight of her nose and lip piercings and the skull necklace sitting on her collarbone. She's rejected by society. There, you've already got the basis of a character. You can guess a lot about a person from what they look like - it doesn't matter whether you're right about them specifically, this is your character; you can make it up.
Knowledge Is Power
Let's say you already know someone you find interesting; a younger cousin or that bookworm at school who you recently learned - to your surprise - actually skateboards in his free time. If a person is interesting to you, then they are likely to be interesting to a reader when you put them on paper. Try and avoid using fictional characters for this exercise, no matter how interesting you find them. If you base your main character on Harry Potter, the chances are your story will just come across as a J. K. Rowling knock-off. It's hard to re-create a pre-existing character.
Now, this cousin or bookworm isn't like the stranger that passed the coffee shop; you know them. Not necessarily inside out, but to a certain degree. You know some of their passions, their quirks, their favourite TV show. You can guess how they'd react to certain situations. Or, if you're not sure, you could even ask them. If you're too embarrassed to say you're basing a character in a story on them, make something up; you're doing an survey for a project. Be careful with what you ask them though; if you approach them and casually say "So if you were to murder your worst enemy, do you think you'd go with a gun, or are you a knife kind of guy?". They may begin to worry and you may find yourself on a one-way trip to a counsellor.
Character Profiles
Now, I only ever use character profile sheets if I want to create an entirely new character from my own imagination. I have created my own profile sheets in the past, but it's really not worth the effort when there are several ones already on the internet that are just fantastic.
What are character profiles? It's kind of like a fact sheet. There's a list of questions about your character, and you answer them. This is probably one of the most time-consuming methods of character creation, but, let's face it, you're writing a freakin' story, it's not going to flow out of your fingers.
You can find some great profile sheets here, here, here, or you can find more on the internet, or - if you really want - create your own.
Whatever You Do, Avoid Mary Sue
Many experienced writers will already be familiar with the Mary Sue template, but don't worry if you haven't. Before I go any further, let me make this clear now: THIS PROCESS TAKES A LONG TIME.
What is a Mary Sue? A Mary Sue is defined as a character who is given unwarranted preferential treatment and unearned respect, thereby compromising the integrity and believability of your story and/or its characters. The Mary Sue template is sort of like another profile sheet, but this is more of a questionnaire. The idea is, you answer questions about your character and at the end decides whether you have created an integral and believable character. Again, I recommend this tool especially if you have created a character from scratch. You can access the tool by clicking here.
<p>So there you have a number of methods of character creation. As you write more, you'll come up with own methods, but this should kick-start your imagination and hopefully get your story on the go!</p>
<p>So there you have a number of methods of character creation. As you write more, you'll come up with own methods, but this should kick-start your imagination and hopefully get your story on the go!</p>