Developing strong, believable characters is one of the most important skills for any fiction writer. Your characters are the heart of your story – without great characters, even the most exciting plots will fall flat. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know How to write character development and create multi-dimensional, thrilling characters that come alive on the page.
What is Character Development and Why Does it Matter?
Character development is the process of creating a believable and realistic fictional character by giving them emotional depth, clearly defined goals and motivations, and showing how they evolve over the course of a story. Great character development involves crafting both the internal qualities and external traits of characters.
The key to good character development is to make characters seem like real people – complex, flawed, and dynamic. Writers need to put in the work to fully develop characters.
Internal character development refers to a character’s fundamental goals, deepest motivations, inner struggles, and psychological growth. This includes:
- A character’s core desires, values, and beliefs
- Flaws, biases, fears, and personality quirks
- Backstory events that shaped who the character is
- How the character thinks, feels, and sees the world
- Struggles with anger, trauma, failure, loss, or moral choices
- Moments of introspection, change, and realization
External character development refers to the external struggles, physical changes, concrete actions, and transformations that impact characters. This includes:
- Gaining or losing skills, strength, abilities over time
- Physical injuries, illnesses, or visible marks from trauma
- Major life events or crises that force adaptation
- Evolving relationships with other characters
- Changes in living situations, social status, or family structure
To develop a good character, writers need to detail both the internal and external dimensions.
Do’s of character development:
- Build detailed backstories to explain motivations
- Let characters evolve, grow, and change over time
- Shape external events to test and mold characters
- Give each character unique personality details and quirks
- Connect external and internal developments
Don’ts of character development:
- Don’t leave characters static without meaningful growth
- Don’t create backstories that contradict previously known traits
- Don’t have characters act in ways that clash with motivations for plot convenience
- Don’t introduce major new personality facets late in the story
- Don’t rely on exposition dumps about backstory details
When writers fully develop a character, crafting both their inner and outer dimensions, they can create compelling, realistic characters who seem like real people. This emotional investment makes readers deeply care about the fictional world.
10 Essential Tips for Crafting Memorable Characters
Here are 10 key tips to keep in mind as you develop the cast of characters for your next story:
1. Give Each Character a Distinct Personality
Every character, even minor ones, needs a unique personality. Build characters that feel like distinct individuals by giving each their own interests, quirks, motivations, backstories, speech patterns, worldviews, and more.
Take time to fully develop each character’s personality. Use character development worksheets to track details.
For major characters, detail their character arc showing how events shape them. Establish their core motivations, desires, flaws, and growth during the story.
For secondary characters, a few unique personality characteristics and quirks can make them compelling. Give side characters just enough character development to make them feel real.
To create a compelling, liveful character, go beyond stereotypes. Give each experiences, motivations and traits that make them complex.
Convey personality through speech and actions. Show impatient characters interrupting others. Depict a dedicated musician practicing nightly.
Use revealing exchanges between characters rather than exposition. Illustrate relationships through meaningful dialogues and interactions that bring out personalities.
While avoiding lengthy backstory exposition, use flashbacks and character dialogue to hint at motivations. Craft thoughtful backstories explaining the psychological wounds that drive characters.
Character development takes work, but it’s crucial. Distinct, well-defined personalities make characters feel real in memorable ways.
2. Develop Both Internal and External Character Traits
Fully developed characters have both internal qualities (personality, motivations, fears, desires) and external qualities (appearance, habits, tics).
For internal development, convey the inner workings of the character’s mind. Show how they think, feel, see the world, respond to events, overcome anger, process trauma, and experience change. Illustrate their psychological growth.
The character’s core motivations and desires shape their goals. Fundamental fears and biases create flaws. Backstory events explain their baseline personality.
For external development, describe physical features and visible traits. Show how they gain skills and adapt to major life events. Detail visible scars or marks from trauma. Illustrate how relationships evolve.
Use character development worksheets to track internal and external traits. Create detailed character profiles covering both dimensions.
Show both their inner and outer selves through scenes revealing speech, actions, choices, habits. Bring out personality in dialogues between characters.
For major characters, establish their overall character arc showing transformation. For secondary characters, a few unique quirks and traits can make them compelling.
Creating well-rounded characters takes work, but it makes them feel real. Develop all aspects of their personality – don’t leave characters one-dimensional. Strong character development brings life to the characters.
3. Give Characters Complex Motivations and Goals
A character’s motivations and objectives shape how they behave and drive the story forward. Their desires may be emotional (wanting love or acceptance) or physical (needing safety and security).
Use character development worksheets and profiles to track each character’s motivations, unresolved wounds, short-term goals, and lifelong dreams. Keep motivations consistent during the entire the story.
Backstory events often create psychological wounds that motivate characters. Trauma, loss, childhood influences may drive them. But avoid lengthy exposition dumps about backstories.
Goals can shift as characters grow and change. But core motivations should remain steady. Show how motivations influence their choices using scenes and dialogue.
Well-developed characters have clear motivations tied to their personality. Protagonists may Want adventure or justice. Villains may crave power or revenge.
Flawed, complex characters may have competing motivations that create internal conflicts. Their desires may be at odds with their needs.
Strive to create multi-dimensional, unique characters by giving each their own distinct motivations and goals. Avoid stereotypes. Craft amazing, interesting characters driven by believable desires.
Strong character development means realizing what fundamentally moves each character. When you know their deepest motivations, you can write authentic characters that come to life.
4. Let Characters Grow and Change
Static characters who remain the same throughout a story tend to bore readers. While some core personality facets persist, characters should transform in significant ways as the story unfolds.
Crafting an impactful character arc is key. The arc shows how events shape the character, leading to psychological growth. Trauma may cause withdrawal or new strength.
Use character development examples from favorite books and movies to guide you. Study how the protagonists change in compelling ways.
Avoid the mistake of leaving your characters exactly the same from beginning to end. Give each major character a clear arc showing evolution.
Smaller arcs are fine for less important characters. Subtle changes in perspective or behavior can work.
Show characters responding and adapting to plot events, relationships, trauma, conflicts. Have them process experiences through inner reflection.
Use scenes, choices, and dialogue to illustrate how characters evolve. Show their self-doubts, epiphanies, and defining moments.
Keep some core personality characteristics steady, but allow room for realistic growth. Complex, dynamic characters who transform are key to amazing stories.
5. Give Characters Flaws That Create Conflict
Flawless characters who always make the right choice lack complexity. Interesting characters should have flaws, weaknesses, biases or blindspots that complicate their journey.
Use character development tips like studying well-written characters in books or movies. Take notes on how their flaws create realistic internal conflicts.
Flaws create conflicts as characters struggle with anger, addiction, jealousy, prejudice and more. Their flaws may sabotage their goals, cause friction with others, or lead to danger.
Give protagonists admirable strengths but also 2-3 true flaws. Heroes may struggle with pride, impulsiveness, or temper. Villains may have obsessiveness, cruelty, or delusions.
Establish core flaws early through scenes showing behaviors. Arguments, lies, recklessness convey weaknesses. Flaws that emerge late seem contrived.
Let flaws intensify as pressure builds. But satisfying endings show characters overcoming flaws. Character growth matters.
Dimensional, relatable characters have a mix of virtues and flaws. Avoid stereotypes and give female characters as richly developed flaws as males.
Show characters recognizing their flaws through inner reflections. Have them struggle to overcome weaknesses and change destructive patterns.
Crafting characters with compelling flaws takes work, but it creates suspense and conflict. Readers relate to imperfect characters struggling to write their wrongs.
6. Develop Both Major and Minor Characters
While major characters deserve more development, avoid one-dimensional supporting characters. Even filling characters need some unique traits and their origins.
Use character creation tips like giving all characters, even small roles, distinct personalities. Make side characters feel real.
The protagonist deserves the deepest development. But friends, family, mentors and villains should also feel like true people, not caricatures.
Crafting two well-developed characters requires considering how their personalities play off each other. Show revealing exchanges.
To develop great supporting characters efficiently, give each 1-2 distinctive traits. A grumpy shopkeeper, an absent-minded professor, a sarcastic bartender.
Let backstories explain motivations and personalities, but avoid lengthy exposition. Use telling details sparingly.
While major characters require change and growth, smaller characters can remain more static. Subtle shifts in perspective work.
With practice, you can craft stories inhabited by multiple complex, interesting characters who feel real. Avoid flat, predictable stereotypes.
Dimensional ensembles of characters, both major and minor, breathe life into your fictional world. Make even small roles memorable.
7. Show Characters Through Speech and Actions
Avoid long exposition about a character’s personality. It’s better to show who they are through dialogue and meaningful actions.
Use character creation tips like staging revealing conversations between characters. Well-written dialogue exposes personalities.
Show impatience through short, clipped dialogue. Show dedication by depicting diligent practice of a skill. Reveal character through behaviors.
Actions speak louder than words. The choices a character makes when faced with dilemmas expose their values and priorities.
Drop telling details into scenes to convey quirks. A character nervously cracking knuckles or tapping feet exposes anxiety.
Allow characters to open up through dialogue. A meaningful exchange with a friend, mentor or love interest can reveal insecurities.
Use scene setting details to hint at personalities. Show a slob’s messy room or a fitness nut’s home gym.
Craft these revealing moments artfully to slowly expose what makes each character tick without excessive exposition.
With practice, you can convey the essence of characters through their speech patterns, actions, choices, and environments. Show, don’t just tell.
8. Craft Backstories That Explain Motivations
While avoiding lengthy background story exposition, use key details to establish motivations, and which can explain the wounds shaping a character’s personality.
Past trauma, loss, childhood influences often become motivations. Use sparing flashbacks or character dialogue as reminders of formative events.
For example, show a character having nightmares about one painful memory that drives them. Use a revealing exchange with a mentor character to hint at a secret past.
Backstories explain why characters are the way they are. A villain hurt in childhood may seek revenge. A hero’s father could have modeled bravery.
Craft a timeline of each character’s life before page one. Know their history without over-explaining every detail.
Give protagonists rich backstories that establish their baseline personalities and motivations. Even secondary characters need a hint of what shaped them.
Backstories revealing painful wounds can explain self-destructive behaviors or relationships. But avoid defined single tragic events. Real people have complex histories that shape them over time.
With practice, you can craft nuanced backstories that anchor characters and explain the painful experiences that drive them.
9. Make Character Names Match Personalities
A character’s name impacts how readers perceive them. Certain names evoke instant assumptions about personality or background.
Pick names that convey the image you want for each character. Unusual names grab attention while classic names imply wisdom.
Try to choose names that reinforce personalities – ex: naming a strong-willed heroine Matilda, meaning “mighty in battle.”
Or go in contrast – naming a large, intimidating character Tiny or Petunia. Contrasts between names and personality types can amuse readers.
Keep track of character names and make sure each one is distinct. Avoid confusion by not having two names that start with the same letter.
Be thoughtful giving names with cultural significance. Do research to avoid appropriation or problematic assumptions with foreign names.
For minor characters, their role may dictate names, like “Barista” or “Cashier.” But take care not to rely on homogenizing roles.
With practice brainstorming names, you can choose evocative, memorable names that capture the essence of each character. The right name sticks with readers.
10. Avoid Stereotypical Characters
While some stereotypes hold truth, characters shouldn’t just embody a stereotype. Give each unique experiences, motivations and traits.
Research lived experiences of people of diverse backgrounds. Capture authentic struggles and perspectives.
Avoid token characters that reduce marginalized groups to stereotypes. Do justice to real human complexity shaped by social factors.
Give all characters, including diverse characters, equal complexity and care in crafting motivations and personality facets.
Remember that no one can be reduced to simple formulas. Capturing the uniqueness of each character makes them come alive.
Flawed, nuanced characters read as more real than cardboard cutouts. Write humbly, avoiding harmful tropes and stereotypes.
Be particularly thoughtful writing characters of different gender, race, age and background than yourself. Seek feedback from sensitivity readers.
With practice, you can craft amazing, interesting characters free of homogenizing stereotypes. Your characters for your story can reflect real human diversity.
By honoring each character’s distinctive personality shaped by their distinct background, you can develop characters full of life. Make characters to be as if real.
Character Development Questions to Ask Yourself
To develop your cast of characters, ask yourself these key questions:
- What does this character want most right now? What do they want ultimately in life?
- How did the character’s childhood and past experiences shape who they are today?
- How does the character’s age, cultural background, and life situation impact their worldview?
- What are the character’s core personality traits? Do they have any quirky or annoying habits?
- What makes the character angry or frustrated? What scares them?
- Does the character mask any pain or insecurities beneath their outer persona?
- How does the character relate to and interact with different people in their lives? Who does the character trust and mistrust?
- How do friends, family and colleagues perceive the character? Is the character’s self-perception accurate?
- What hidden talents, skills or personality facets might the character reveal over time?
- What lessons does the character need to learn over the course of the story? How might traumatic events change them?
Examples of Character Development Done Right
Strong character definition elevates many classic novels:
- Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games – Driven by love for her sister, survival instincts from childhood poverty, and rage against the abusive Capitol government. Transforms from a withdrawn loner into a defiant revolutionary leader.
- Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird – Feisty and tomboyish due to her unconventional upbringing by her widowed father Atticus. Learns about injustice, racism, and moral courage in her small Alabama town.
- Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby – Driven by idealized love for Daisy and an unrelenting desire to live out his extravagant, wealthy fantasy persona after growing up in poverty. His obsessive nature leads to his downfall.
- The Narrator in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison – Kinder and more idealistic as a young man, becoming embittered by racism and eventually embracing activism. The arc shows the psychology of oppression.
Common Character Development Mistakes to Avoid
Some character missteps that make characters fall flat include:
- Using cookie-cutter stereotypes or one-dimensional sidekicks
- Creating a “Mary Sue” wish fulfillment character who has no real flaws
- Giving characters inconsistent, contradictory traits and motivations
- Introducing major background story details at the end that reframe everything
- Creating characters who lack any meaningful bonds, motivations or inner lives
- Having characters remain exactly the same from the start to end of the story
Character Development Exercises to Try
Here are some handy exercises to build your character portraying skills:
- Write character biographies – Compile exhaustive notes on each character’s background, personality, relationships, quirks, and more. Don’t include it all in your story, but know your characters inside and out.
- Conduct character interviews – Imagine yourself interviewing your characters, asking them revealing questions about their past, desires, and thoughts. Answer from their perspective.
- Write character journals – Pick key moments in the story and write journal entries depicting events from your characters’ perspectives. Great way to reveal inner struggles.
- Create character questionnaires – Develop a list of questions about your characters’ various traits and backstories and answer from their POV.
- Role play dialogue – To get a feel for characters’ speech patterns and voices, role play conversations between them. How would they really interact?
- Visualize details – Imagine what your characters look like and create Pinterest boards with appearance inspiriation. Also visualize details like their homes, workplaces, or possessions.
Final Tips for Bringing Characters to Life
To recap, here are some final tips on breathing life into your cast of characters:
- Make sure each character has clear motivations and an arc that allows them to transform.
- Flesh out backstories thoughtfully to explain motivations but avoid lengthy exposition dumps.
- Go beyond surface traits and give each character psychological complexity. Leave room for surprises.
- Articulate how friends, family, love interests and colleagues each perceive the character.
- Choose visceral details that convey what makes your characters unique – quirky mannerisms, figures of speech, nervous tics.
- Illustrate relationships by showing exchanges between characters rather than just stating connections exist.
- Avoid reducing female characters to tired archetypes – let them be as complex as male characters.
- Remember that actions speak louder than words – reveal characters through their deeds, choices, and habits.
With practice and dedication, you can craft characters as multi-dimensional and compelling as the most iconic figures of literature. Mastering the art of character creation allows you to create stories that profoundly resonate with and transport readers.
So make time for getting to know your characters inside and out.Let them reveal themselves slowly through scenes that test their values, choices, fears and desires. When you capture the magic that makes them tick, your characters will truly leap off the page.
Conclusion: How to write character development
In closing, interesting character creation is crucial for transporting readers into a story’s fictional world. Avoid flat stereotypes by crafting nuanced characters with unique motivations, backstories, flaws, and arcs showing transformation. Let dialogue and action reveal personality organically instead of relying on exposition. Craft both main players and secondary characters with care, giving each distinctive traits and goals. Track details with character profiles and development worksheets. Choose evocative names that match personalities. Establish motivations and core wounds early on, then allow room for growth and surprise.
By spending time realizing all dimensions of each character, inside and out, you can populate your stories with authentic, relatable people that come alive in readers’ minds. With skill and empathy, you can create characters as vividly real and iconic as the most timeless figures of fiction.
What tips do you have for creating characters that captivate readers? Share your thoughts below! Also, read our blog for more interesting articles.
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FAQ how to write character development
Q: What is character development?
A: It is the process of creating and giving life to believable and relatable characters in a story. It involves shaping their personalities, motivations, backgrounds, growth, and relationships throughout the narrative.
Q: Why is character development important?
A: It is important because well-developed characters are more engaging and memorable for readers. They add depth and complexity to the story, allowing readers to emotionally connect with them and become invested in their journey.
Q: How can I develop my characters?
A: You can develop your characters by starting with a clear idea of who they are and what their main motivations are. Use worksheets to delve deeper into their traits, background story, and relationships. Consider their flaws, strengths, and how they evolve as the story progresses.
Q: What are some tips for character development?
A: Some tips include: – Create well-rounded characters with strengths, weaknesses, and unique quirks. – Give your characters relatable objetives and motivations. – Show their growth and transformation during the story. – Develop realistic relationships and dynamics between characters. – Conduct thorough character research to ensure authenticity. – Avoid making all your characters perfect or one-dimensional. – Use dialogue and actions to reveal their personality traits.
Q: Can you provide examples of character development?
A: Sure! Here are a few examples of character development: – In the Harry Potter series, Harry starts as a shy and unsure boy, but grows into a brave and confident wizard. – In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Scout progresses from a naive child to a compassionate and understanding young woman. – In “Pride and Prejudice,” Elizabeth Bennet evolves from a judgmental and prejudiced woman to a more open-minded and empathetic individual.
Q: What is a character arc?
A: A character arc is the journey and growth a character undergoes throughout a story. It involves a change in their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors, leading to a transformation or development in their personality.
Q: How can I create a compelling character?
A: To create a compelling character, consider their strengths, weaknesses, and flaws. Give them a distinct personality and voice. Make them face challenges and conflicts that force them to grow and change. Show their vulnerability and make them relatable to the readers.
Q: How many characters should I develop in my story?
A: The number of characters you develop depends on the scope and nature of your story. While main characters should receive the most attention, secondary characters also need some development to add depth to the narrative.
Q: Are there any resources for free character development?
A: Yes, there are many resources available for free character development. You can find character development worksheets, templates, and guides online that can help you in the process. These resources provide prompts and questions to explore different aspects of your characters.
Q: What are the types of characters I should consider developing?
A: When developing characters, you should consider the following types: – Protagonist: The main character or hero of the story. – Antagonist: The character who opposes the protagonist. – Supporting Characters: Friends, family, or allies of the main character. – Foil Characters: Characters who contrast with the main character, highlighting their traits. – Dynamic Characters: Characters who undergo significant changes throughout the story. – Static Characters: Characters who remain unchanged or have minimal growth.
