How to Create a Character for a Story

Every good story, whether that is a film or a book, needs a great in-depth range of characters with goals and obstacles; these characters are key to connecting readers to the storyline. By making them real and relatable, writers find that it helps their story flow much better than with two-dimensional personalities and forced objectives. Character development is an essential element of writing, and a vital hook into the narrative arc of a story, so if you are looking to learn more about characters and their creation, then you have clicked into the right place. I have put together the best tips given by writers themselves in order to help you get started on the right path.

Your aim is to make memorable characters, and to achieve that, you need to prepare yourself with a notebook and pen; these are your weapons as a writer, carry them around with you everywhere you go – write down phrases and words you like, conversations you would like to use, certain traits or actions you notice, appearances giving off a certain vibe or assumptions, and anything else that sparks your brain to think about your own character and story.

Establish motivations and goals

Great characters are usually driven by motivation and have a goal they are trying to achieve. This does not have to be as complicated as Harry Potter’s quest to defeat Voldemort, but it can be something as small as a character wanting to talk to their crush, which then leads to further events in the story and further goals and motivations. Think of yourself, you do not have one and only indefinite goal in mind; you reach your goal before moving on to the next. This is the concept you should apply to your characters as well.

Choose a voice

Who is telling the story? Think of whether you want your readers to see the story unfold from a first person point of view, which is usually the main character using the pronouns “I” and “me” in writing; or a third person point of view, which is a voice outside of the action, using pronouns like “he”, “she”, and “they”. The perspective of the narrator determines how a character’s information is revealed over the course of the story, so it is an important decision to make.

Create conflict

There are different kinds of conflict that can impact a character’s decision, like facing weaknesses that your character has, or by putting them up against people they were once very close to. A conflict can be external, when there are problems to face with other people around your character, and also internal, when your character internally struggles with something against their morals or has to face something with opposing beliefs. Conflict can create tension, which is used to move the story forward and force characters to make a decision – important thing to note however, is that you want to avoid creating unrealistic and unnecessary conflict, as that can cause readers to lose focus.

Give a backstory

Dig into your character’s life and make a history, even if most of it will not make it into the actual story. A character’s backstory can help you to figure out what kind of experiences they have had and what kind of person they are now; backstories aid in developing personalities and figuring out how a character would react in certain situations. This is one of the most important tasks to do when in the process of creating a character, as this impacts future conflicts, development of personality, and relationships with others in their lives.

Develop a real personality

Portray your characters using a lot of show and not tell within the story. For example, if your character is an angry person, then show how angry they get at people and in different situations. Do not reveal everything yourself, allow your readers to figure the characters out themselves, it keeps them hooked to read and find out more. Additionally, to be able to envision all your characters, make sure you describe your character’s physical appearance. What are their mannerisms? What is their body language like? Answer these questions and show this in the story.

The best stories out there are not just about an interesting series of events, they are all about the characters pushing forward in a story; and while an exciting plot can help to develop interesting twists and turns, a great character development draws the readers in, especially those whom they can identify with. Start writing, paying close attention to your characters and their human element; soon enough, you will start to see results and the amount of effort and practice you will have put in will pay off.

For further information on characters, stories, plots and more, check out the website Jerry Jenkins, who helps “you write your book”. As a bestselling author, you will definitely want to know more of his secrets than what I have already revealed in this article!