How to Create a Character

• Create a profile for your character that includes things like their name, personality traits, and strengths and weaknesses.
• Give your character quirks and vulnerabilities to make them more dimensional.
• Give your character a motivation to help propel the story. What do they want and need?

Creating a Compelling Character

Choose a name. Each character in your story needs to have a name, whether they are the main character or secondary characters. And each name needs to fit within the story you’re telling. For example, if you’re writing a story based in 17th century Ireland, “Bob” isn’t going to be a very believable name, but “Aidan” would be super appropriate. Or if you’re writing about a group of close friends, avoid giving them similar names, like three girls named Kate, Cathy, and Katy. Even if you don’t end up using someone’s name in your story, like for minor characters, it’s helpful for you as the writer to know the name so you can keep the details of the story straight as you rewrite and edit your work. Try using baby name websites for ideas. For your character to be more realistic, look up lists of names common during your character's birth year and location. Many name sites have information on the history and etymology of a name. Consider that some sites like, Behind the Name are more aimed towards name research than to expecting parents (such as Nameberry). It's okay if you don't have a name for your character yet or give them an interim name.

Give them a rich personality and character quirks to engage the reader. Assign personality traits to your characters and give them definable quirks, like that they always drink their coffee with honey and cream instead of sugar and cream. Here are some questions to start generating some unique traits: Are they an introvert or an extrovert? What kind of music do they like, if any? What do they do in their spare time? What is their bedtime routine? Another fun way to get inside the head of a character is to take personality quizzes based on how you think the character would answer—you might make some surprising discoveries. EXPERT TIP Julia Martins Julia Martins BA in English, Stanford University Julia Martins is an aspiring writer currently living in San Francisco, California. She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in English and has been published in Cornell University's Rainy Day Magazine, Stanford University's Leland Quarterly, and Bards and Sages Quarterly. Julia Martins Julia Martins BA in English, Stanford University Julia Martins, creative writer, tells us: "After you've gotten your character's basic personality down, spend some time thinking about what makes them unique. Are they close to their grandmother? Do they hate the color green? Do they cry every time they watch a sad movie? Even if you don't use some of these details in your story, knowing them before your start writing will help you create a realistic, well-defined character!"

Let them have a unique voice. Chances are, your character has a different voice than you do, and part of creating a vivid character is deciding how they sound and translating that into their dialogue. Research different dialects, depending on when and where your story takes place, and listen to the conversations you hear when you’re out in public to gather inspiration. It can also be really helpful to revisit a story you love and look at how that author wrote their characters’ dialogues. Consider if your character has any common phrases or even a catchphrase. You could also try recording yourself while you talk to a friend to study different speech patterns: how often do you pause, when does your inflection change, at what speed do you talk? Use these variables to craft a character’s dialogue.

Make your character vulnerable to create empathy in the reader. This could be an emotional or a physical vulnerability, like having a character who is dealing with a recent loss or a superhero that loses their hearing when they get stressed out. To create complex, whole, relatable characters, they need to have vulnerabilities, just like we do. You could also try writing a scene where your character shares something—maybe something they’re afraid of or worried about—with another character to highlight their humanity. Even if you’re writing a villain, find a way to give them a smidgen of humanity—if you can get your reader to feel for the villain or to understand their motives, that creates more tension in your story, which makes it more compelling to read.

Include flaws and failures to showcase the character’s humanity. Maybe your main character has a temper or perhaps they tend to forget about their friends. If you have a character that has only good traits—like being loving and brave and smart and attractive—they become flat and uninteresting to readers (these characters are often called "Mary Sues)". Think about how you can show the flaw rather than telling it. For example, writing “Andrea made sure she got to eat dinner first instead of letting the younger kids go first,” you could write a scene where you show that action happening.

Give your character motivation and purpose to drive your story. Think about why your story matters to your character. How were they brought into it? Is it a love story, an epic adventure, a sci-fi thriller? And what does your character stand to lose or gain at the end? Your character’s purpose and goal is crucial to writing a compelling story, so work hard at crafting a vibrant, involved character. Is your character on a quest? What will they lose if they fail? Are other people impacted by their failure or success? These are great questions to consider as you write. Your character needs to actively participate in the story, rather than just having things happen to them, so take some time to think about what’s at stake for them. Think about your favorite characters from books, television, or movies: what kinds of situations do they encounter and how do they react to good and bad scenarios? K.M. Weiland K.M. Weiland, Bestselling Author Creating a character arc is all about change. It’s about taking your character from Point A to Point B, from a place of weakness to a place of strength, from a place of immaturity to a place of maturity. The key to creating a successful character arc is to make sure that the change is both believable and satisfying.

Organizing a Character Profile

Create a system for keeping track of each character’s profile. A character profile is a place where you keep important details and dates for every character in your story, from what their allergies are to the date that one really important thing happened. Do this for every character, no matter how small their role. There are a lot of ways you can organize this information: Keep a file folder with notes for each character. Have a notebook where you keep the character details. Use a word document on your computer. Utilize the “notes” function on your smart phone. Write details on sticky notes and have a wall dedicated to character development where you can display them. EXPERT TIP You can also find pre-made character profiles online. Look for one as specific or broad as you'd like! Julia Martins Julia Martins BA in English, Stanford University Julia Martins is an aspiring writer currently living in San Francisco, California. She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in English and has been published in Cornell University's Rainy Day Magazine, Stanford University's Leland Quarterly, and Bards and Sages Quarterly. Julia Martins Julia MartinsBA in English, Stanford University

Start building a character profile, even if you don’t know all the details. Sometimes details about characters don’t make themselves apparent until you’re in the midst of writing. But—whatever details you can decide on up front, write them down. Things to include: Their name, age, occupation, special skills, education, family details, approximate height and weight, eye and hair colors, mannerisms, habits, and important dates. There are so many details you can include, and a lot of them may never make it into your story. But the fact that you know them helps you write a more well-rounded and believable character. Visit https://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/how-to-create-a-character-profile-6986 for a more comprehensive list of things you can include in the character profile.

Consider the kind of story you’re writing to guide your characters. Did you start your project with a great story idea? Or are you being driven by an awesome character and aren’t quite sure of the plot yet? There is no right answer! But it’s helpful to think about where you think the story is going and how your character lives in that world. Add these details to your character profile. For example, if you have an awesome idea for a love story and you know some of the twists and turns it’ll take, write them out and see if your character fits into those moments. If you need a protagonist who is romantic and plans extravagant gestures, it probably wouldn’t make sense if your character is forgetful or sloppy.

Spend some time world-building before you begin to write. Whether you’re writing something based in our world today or a story that takes place on a fictional planet, it’s important to think about the physical space in which your character will live. What does their home look like, for example? Or how do they get around from place to place? Other concepts to define if your world is different than ours or set in a different time period: government, social classes, job structures, economy, cultural norms, transportation options, living conditions, historically significant events, laws, recreation, and nutrition. This is the world in which your character is going to be living—it can really impact how you need to shape them, so plotting out some of that information beforehand is really helpful.

Adapting as You Write

Listen to your character and make changes if you need to. No, literally—read your work out loud and listen to how your character sounds. Pay attention to the dialogue and how it flows, and listen to your character descriptions. Hearing your own writing out loud can show you where you maybe need to add more detail or even take away some repetitive writing. There are also some software programs that will read your documents to you. Check out your writing program to see if it comes with that function.

Pay attention to your minor characters—they could be important. As you write, you may find that a minor character plays a bigger role than you thought they would, or maybe someone you thought was going to be a major character ends up being not as important. Use your character profiles to track these changes and work with them rather than trying to force your characters into certain roles. For example, J.K. Rowling had several of the “minor” characters, like Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas, originally playing much bigger parts in the Harry Potter universe, but she ended up cutting down their roles as the stories developed.

Research. Your character needs to be good at what they do, and if you find you’re writing about something you’re only vaguely familiar with yourself, it’s going to make the character flat. For example, if you find yourself writing about a sword fight, do some research on sword fighting to make your writing and your character more believable (unless your an expert on sword fighting already). Similar situations can arise when your character has to travel to a different place or needs a skill that you don’t actually have experience with, like fly-fishing or picking locks. If you can, try to have someone with experience in the topic review your story for realism. For example, if your character is an avid chess player, and so is your sister, ask her for insights. She may have valuable insider information on chess play and culture. If your character has a marginalized identity you don't have—such as a character of a marginalized race, an LGBTQ+ character, a disabled character, or a female character, do research to make sure you aren't relying on stereotypes and creating a fully-fleshed character.

Be open to changing details—nothing is written in stone. A lot of fiction writers believe that their characters lead the story and sometimes things can change drastically from the beginning to the end of a project. Maybe you find that your main character needs to be a different gender (or not gendered) at all. Or perhaps you thought your story would take place in a certain time period or world but the writing leads you to discover something else. A helpful way to not feel like you’re losing all the work you’ve done when you make drastic changes is to create a copy of your original document titled “cuts” rather than just deleting it. That way you have the material if you want to go back to it and can reference it when you need to.