My favorite part about writing is the characters. I love reading different character personalities. I love watching character dynamics on TV. And most of all, I love creating characters. But it’s not just for authors. Characters act in comics and come alive in animation. Viewers of all kinds connect with characters and that connection pulls them into the story however it’s told.
In creating characters, I’ve learned a few things that make an imaginary person more alive. Fact is, a good, rounded character will entice audiences faster than a flat, cookie-cutter superhero. There’s tons of books with formulas and fact sheets to help develop characters, but I’ve consolidated them into four main categories. And since I’m a visual learner, we’ll literally build characters from the ground up.
Feet – Where They’ve Been
Feet take us just about everywhere. Going to school, the park, the city. On a date, driver’s ed, police station. Running from a crime, shaking in despair, leaping for joy. Feet are always there, coming out of the past and into the future.
While the future is something to look forward to, your character needs a backstory that sets them up for said future. Consider where your character starts. How did they get there and what happened before this moment? Not all of this information will be revealed in the story, but it’s important to know it for yourself. The more you know about your character and where they’ve been, the better you can write their future.
Hands – What They Do
Hands get the job done. Carpenter, plumber, fashion designer. Stay-at-home mom, garbage man, computer hacker. Every occupation has special skills (special knowledge as well). Defining the skill set of your character is important for solving the plot problem and knowing how they would problem solve.
Another thing to consider are past skills or hobbies. In my story Choice, the main character is a former circus acrobat, meaning she is flexible and able to move quickly and efficiently. In my current project, a character has photographic memory which he uses for map making, but will use this skill in his new job. The past experiences and hobbies your character works through will also build special skills and knowledge that they can use for problem-solving. Select an occupation, past experience, and hobby and your character will be that much more realistic.
Chest – Who They Are
Now it’s time to get to the heart of the situation. Or in this case, the heart of your character. Personality runs deep in the veins of any person, and the same must be for your character. Are they positive or negative? Kind or rough? Trust easily or cautious? Who your character is will determine their interaction with other people and situations.
I also fit idiosyncrasies into this category. An idiosyncrasy is a unique quality or habit that someone has. Tapping fingers on a table when bored or rambling when nervous are a couple examples. While not high on the list, idiosyncrasies add another layer of depth. Perhaps it was triggered by a past event or something from their job. Either way, I highly suggest adding a unique quirk that separates your character from hundreds of others.
Head – What Motivates Them
Finally, we reach the head. Motivation is a new concept for me, but I’m really excited about this point.
When looking at motivation, there’s two forms: want vs. need (I’ll get into the versus later). Want is desires. What does the character want to accomplish? Their end goal is part of the want. Need is… well, need. What must the character learn? Possible growth falls into the category of need.
The “versus” comes in when you consider the story. The character will chase after wants, but the story will give them what they need. For example, a warrior seeking revenge will find forgiveness. Determining a character’s wants vs. their needs will help build a realistic person who searches for one thing but grows in another. Hence character development.
Final Thoughts
Obviously I did a quick gloss over of what a character needs to be realistic. To go in-depth, there’s plenty of books and formulas as I mentioned before. One book I plan on reading through is The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler. It goes into story also, but there’s a large section about characters (this book is where I learned about want vs. need). The more you think about your characters, the deeper and more realistic they will become.