Great fiction requires great characters. But how do authors create characters for their stories? Read on for our five top tips on creating compelling fictional characters.
1. Avoid Stereotypes, Embrace Imperfections
Simply put, stereotypes lead to characters that are boringly familiar due to being overused (e.g. the grumpy old neighbour or the femme fatale). These are sometimes known as stock characters.
It is fine to draw on stock characters sometimes, especially for minor players in your story. But you should try to get past the stereotypes they are based on and make your characters unique.
Think, too, about giving your main characters imperfections. They might be the heroes of your story, but nobody is perfect in real life. Adding a flaw or two will make them more believable.
2. Everybody Has a History
Every human being has a past and so should fictional characters (even if they’re not human). Think about the backstory for each character you write and how this affects who they are in the present.
You can even write an origin story for each character if you like. You don’t have to use this in your main story (it is usually better not to give too much away). But this is a great writing exercise!
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3. Think About Motivation
The reason for creating detailed, believable characters is to create a truly compelling story. Action should be character driven, after all, so you need to base the plot of your story around the motivations of your characters.
What are they trying to achieve? What do they stand to gain or lose? If the reader can understand and sympathise with this, they’ll keep turning the pages to find out more!
4. Show, Don’t Tell
This is a good tip in general for writing, but you should always try to show us who your characters are rather than telling us directly. For example, rather than having a narrator tell us that your lead character is hot-headed, you could write a scene early on in which he loses his temper.
5. Don’t Forget the Rest!
It can be easy to get lost in a few main characters, but don’t forget to think about everyone else who appears in your writing. Even if they aren’t the focus of your story, they should feel like they have lives and personalities of their own. Try using a few of the tips above to flesh them out!
And finally, if you need any assistance with or feedback on your writing during editing, we’re more than happy to help.