By: Mieke Zamora-Mackay
All stories involve characters. They drive the story and carry the reader
from the first page to the last. Through
them, we learn to care about what happens. Characters interact with and affect
every element of fiction. Without
characters, there is no story.
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In our reading lives, we’ve each found characters we absolutely
fall in love with. They become so endeared to us that we can’t get them out of
our heads. We become invested in their journey.
When we re-read their stories, it often feels like having an old friend
come to visit.
Think about a person whom you’ve wanted to befriend for
sometime. What is it about that person
that is interesting to you? What
characteristics do they possess that you find attractive? Chances are, there is something about that
person that you identify with; possibly admire? Covet?
Now, ask the same questions of your favorite book
characters. What is it that makes you care so much about him or her? What makes them interesting or intriguing?
What has the author done to make you identify with that person? Most likely, the author has successfully
created a very human character.
“But my character isn’t human,” you say. It doesn’t matter. Our readers are humans. Therefore, our
characters must be as human-like as possible, even if they are anything
but. To make a character relatable, we
must make our characters embody human-like qualities. Humans occupy space, have
thoughts and feelings, move and utilize their senses. Humans evolve and change; sometimes they
progress, and at other times regress.
All this captures our humanity. As writers, we must create characters that do
the same in the world of our stories. They must be so well developed that if they
reached out from the page, we’d actually feel their touch.
How do we make our characters seem more human? Here are a few things to keep in mind when
crafting our characters.
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We are physical beings that have size and shape. We occupy space, and we have a sense of
place. When people look at us, they see
something. Our physical presence can be
measured and observed.
When we create our characters we need to know what they look
like. We start with the basics, like eye
color, hair, height, weight, and skin color.
Does he/she wear eyeglasses or hats?
Take into account everything you need to create the visual.
You will want to go beyond this and determine certain
physical gestures and mannerisms your character has. Does he or she fidget, or does he bow his
head down often avoiding eye contact.
Are his shoulders hunched over while he walks, or is her head held high,
with her gaze going down her nose?
Humans are complex.
We are complicated beings.
We each carry our own histories, memories and experiences. These form our attitudes toward things. They either make us fear the world,
strengthen our attitudes, or encourage the biases that affect our decision
making process. They dictate how we behave, pushing us to either be consistent
in our actions, or whether we waver in our convictions.
Now think about what kind of background your character
has. What is his/her name? Does it mean something? What is his birth order within the
family? Does that affect how he treats
others? how he treats himself? Explore
his education, profession, his life experiences, and his family life. As you dig deeper, you will find that many of
these factors affect their feelings and the conflicts in their lives.
We all have inner conflicts about certain things. These conflicts are driven by our
backgrounds, our desires and how we react to them.
What is her worst secret? Does she practice a certain
religion? Is she devout? How was she disciplined as a child? Do the answers to
these questions have an impact on how she presents herself to her friends? to
strangers?
This is your opportunity to think about contrasting
qualities within your characters
Not all good characters are good all the time. How exciting would a story be if your main character
always chooses the right path? What
trait resides in her that would make her turn left instead of right? Explore that with questions like, “What would your character lay down her life
for? What is her biggest fear? Who knows about this fear?”
On the converse, not all bad characters or villains are bad
all the time, either. In fact, most
villains believe that they are doing the right thing; pursing a greater good
that only he understands. It is his
complexity that makes him believe that. Sometimes, the most interesting villains
are those you seem to understand; who might possess or exhibit a trait that you
have, or identify with.
Think about what your villain’s parents were like, or did
she have any parental figures in her life at all. Where did she grow up? Where does she live now? What are the turning points in her life? What
does she like most about her life? The least?
Humans want something.
All of us have desires. Some are so strong that we are
pushed in a certain direction to take action, to make choices, and take
risks. Our characters must desire something
so compelling that they must move.
Think about what material possessions they feel are most
important to them. Or what secrets she
keeps. From whom does she keep them? Why does she keep them secret? What would be his perfect happy ending? What makes your character laugh out loud? Cry?
Bawl? What are his goals for tomorrow,
next year, ten years from now?
Depending on your story, your character’s desires will play
big part in choosing the paths they take, what goals they seek to attain, and
what will get in their way.
Humans are capable of change.
We are living creatures and are constantly evolving. An experience
can change us for the better, and sometimes for the worse. Sometimes we do things out of the ordinary
because of a series of small successes that embolden us. In certain circumstances, our failure at a minor
challenge can frighten us from going out and doing bigger things. This too should
be reflected in our characters.
Our characters must evolve, learn, and modify their
behavior. The experiences your character
goes through must change him/her. In the
context of your story, think about how each trial faced by your character
changes their behavior, thoughts, feelings, or actions. What did they learn from that
experience? How will they approach the
same situation the next time it comes around?
Your characters must either progress and realize their
dreams, or accept their fate and move on.
The former is the most ideal, but life doesn’t really work that way.
Despite that, he must have evolved from
the time your readers met him on page one.
If at the end of the story, your character remains unchanged, your
readers are going to ask, “What was the point?”
All these facets of humanness cannot be developed in a
vacuum. Each one is part of a whole and
affects the entirety of your character. For
example, think of a female character with blue eyes, blonde hair, and is
particularly tall. She’s taller than all
the rest of the people in her family and in their orchard farming community. Does she revel in her difference and keep her
head held high? Or downplay her height, and keep her neck bowed and shoulders
hunched so she doesn’t seem so unusual.
How do the boys in town react to her?
How do the girls treat her? What
happens if she’s the only one tall enough to reach the very last fruit of the
tree that is meant to feed her family?
Character Worksheets.
When brainstorming about your main character, it might be
helpful for you to develop a character worksheet to make sure that you take
into account everything you need to know about him/her. These worksheets can help ensure you cover
every aspect that is important to you for your character’s development.
For main characters, you can be as elaborate as you wish.
I’ve heard of writers who go as far as creating a biography for the
character. We must do what is necessary
to know your characters on such an intimate level. Your intimacy with the character will show in
your writing. You don’t need to put
everything about your character in your story, but knowing how he/she will
react to any situation will only benefit your story.
For secondary characters, you don’t necessarily have to
delve so deep. A running list of qualities, traits and
characteristics may suffice to get a sense of who this person is and how they
will affect your main character.
Remember, secondary characters are the members of your cast that serve
to enhance and highlight your main character’s story.
There are many worksheets available for download around the
internet, including one here which is based on this article.
You can also develop your own. Just take
into account some of the basics, like their appearance, background, personality,
and primary identity. Build on that by
adding questions that you feel will reflect or dig deep into the humanity of
your character.
We all want to care about the characters we read about. We want to see what they see, and feel what
they feel. Certain characters endure in
our minds. We learn from them, we cheer
for them, and sometimes we even scold them.
As a writer, do not be afraid to stand by your characters,
especially if you’ve made them as human as they can possibly be. Let’s make them memorable, worth the time our
readers put into getting to know them. Hopefully
one day, a reader will tell you how one of your characters reached out from the
page and touched his/her heart.
All photographs shown under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
