Clearly, one of the most important components of any fictional work is its characters. However, when it comes to actually writing them, it can be difficult. Where do you start? How do you make them realistic and relatable? How do you make people dislike your antagonist without making them two-dimensional? This article will answer these questions and more!
Start with Personality
I know it might make more sense to start with how a character looks before getting into their personality, but I find it easier to develop a character the other way around. That’s not to say you can’t have an idea of what they look like going into it—do what works for you. That being said, how do you develop a personality? Here are some questions to get you started:
What kind of temperament does your character have? Are they an optimist, a pessimist, a realist, or somewhere in between? One of the biggest mistakes I see beginning writers make is saying that one of their character’s personality traits is “happy.” Happiness (or sadness) isn’t a personality trait; someone who’s optimistic may be inclined to be happy, but ultimately, if their mood doesn’t change during stressful situations, situations when they’re grieving, situations when something scarring has happened, etc., they won’t be realistic. Basically, your character can’t be happy, sad, or angry all of the time. I know it sounds obvious, but it’s actually quite common for writers (especially beginners) to make mistakes like this.
What are five basic personality characteristics your character has? Are they sardonic? Cynical? Trusting? Empathetic? Intimidating? Confident? Insecure? Humble? Egocentric? When do their negative qualities come out? When do their positive qualities come out? (For example, maybe they’re cynical and distrusting around people they don’t know but are open around their friends.)
What does your character want the most? What are they afraid of the most? What will they do to get what they want? What will they do to avoid what they fear?
How do you want people to feel about your character? Do you want them to like them, hate them, or have mixed feelings about them? How characters react to their emotions and certain situations helps dictate our emotions towards them.
Decide on Appearance
What’s your character’s race/ethnicity? What’s their gender? Hair color? Hairstyle? Eye color? Are their eyes large? Small? Do they have heterochromia? Is their face long? Round? How deep is their voice? Do they have an accent? Do they have any unique physical characteristics, like piercings, scars, etc.? How tall are they? What’s their style like? What are their mannerisms?
Develop a Backstory
Backstory helps you figure out why a character has a certain personality or certain physical characteristics. Why do they act the way they do? Why do they have certain values? Where do their fears come from? Characters with darker pasts can be more interesting, but it’s important to keep in mind that if you layer too much drama, it can go from “Wow, this is deep” to “Why did everything bad that has ever happened in the world happen to this character?” really quickly.
Overall, one of the most important things is that you create characters you enjoy writing. I hope this guide helped with the basics of character development!