Summary

The website content provides guidance on crafting well-rounded characters for stories, emphasizing the importance of understanding their backstory, physical appearance, mental state, and goals.

Abstract

Creating characters is a crucial aspect of storytelling, as they are the driving force behind the narrative. The article suggests that writers should invest time in developing their characters by exploring their childhood experiences, physical descriptions, mental health, and the roles they play within the story. It advises writers to consider using character questionnaires, visual aids like images from magazines or Google searches, and to imagine their characters' online presence to gain deeper insights. Additionally, the article recommends writing practice scenes from characters' childhoods and engaging in imagined dialogues to better understand their personalities and how they would react in various situations. The ultimate goal is to ensure characters are fully formed and consistent throughout the story.

Opinions

Characters should be more than just a response to events; they must actively drive the story forward.
A character's internal and external conflicts are vital for a richer story, requiring the writer to understand how their characters handle conflict.
Visualizing a character's online presence can reveal aspects of their personality, such as honesty or secretiveness.
Writing scenes from a character's childhood can illuminate how past events shape their adult behavior and story function.
Engaging characters in imagined dialogues helps writers understand their behavior and consistency within the narrative.

A Guide To Creating Characters

Characters are the backbone of your story. Do you know who they are?

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

When you are thinking about your novel or story, it’s your characters and their backstory that shape your content. It’s not easy and doing it properly takes time and thought.

I have some advice on how to do this.

Of course, like all of us, we have our own complexities and your characters hopefully have that fully formed. Sometimes your characters fall from the skies fully formed. If so, that’s great.

“You cannot have an effective protagonist who simply responds to events happening around him or her. Your protagonist must act, not just react.” — Rachelle Gardner

On other occasions, your characters have little been going on, with just a name. They are nothing more than an idea. That is more problematic.

As the writer, you need to have your characters fully formed so you know who they are, and what they are doing in your story? You need to keep moving forward and your characters are helping you do that. Who are they? What do they want? These are the pieces that tell your story. If they are not fully formed, how can you tell your story?

“Usually, we combine internal and external conflicts for a richer story. That means we have to understand how our characters approach and resolve conflict.” — Jami Gold,

Here are some tips, quick start guide for creating characters and making notes.

Their Childhood — Do they have a big family or is the character an orphan? How did they grow up? Were they rich or poor?

Physical appearance — What is their hair and eye color; How did they dress? What is their physicality? Weight and height

Mental state — Is your character comfortable with himself? Is he brave or hesitant? Is your character in a positive frame of mind or are they facing challenges?

Their goal or function in the story.

It is also helpful if you can go even further and fill in a character questionnaire.

Is your character online? What would their profile look like? Are they honest? Are they secretive? Are they on Tinder?

What was their childhood like?

Are there events from their childhood that has a profound effect on their adult life?

Think about writing a scene about a traumatic or happy event from their childhood.

Another way to get a picture of your character is to go to Google and enter a general description of a person.

Or you can look through a magazine and see if a person that could be your character stands out/

Dialogue

While getting a profile of your characters, think what a conversation might sound like if you were to engage them at a party or event? How do they behave with you? Are they gracious or are they rude and self-centered? This exercise will tell you a lot about the characters that may or may not inhabit your story.

After you have spent some time with your characters, you should know them well and how they will respond to the events in your book. You want to be sure your characters are consistent, and that can only happen if you have a clear vision of who they are.