How I Create Characters For My Writing
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@ Dreaming By Dusk
Today, we have access to countless writing resources because of the internet and social media. Already, the writing community on Tumblr is thriving and National Novel Writing Month – or NaNoWriMo – is more popular than ever with young, seasoned and aspiring writers.
It is never a challenge to find inspiration for your own writing when you have all these resources available to you. We’ve created an environment where everyone is welcome – no, encouraged - to share their writing and creative process.
I’m no stranger to digging deep into Pinterest and Tumblr search engines, as well as my own tags or boards, for inspiration. It’s fun, diverse and less daunting to see how everyone else approaches the same writing topics as me.
However, I’ve also tried to create my own resources for creative writing. Such as lists of names, plot outlines and fictional character creation tips. I thought it would be a neat idea to share the questions and prompts I like to ask myself when creating fictional characters.
What inspired me to create my own guide for character creation was that I put myself into the shoes of a fictional character. I thought about every little detail that makes me “me” and I wrote it down. At the end of the day you want your fictional characters to be as realistic as possible, right? You want them to be layered, diverse, honest and relatable.
If you’re an aspiring author or artist or you have an interest in creating original, fictional characters, do not go anywhere. This post is meant for you.
Side note: for the sake of keeping the pronouns consistent, let’s pretend we’re creating a female fictional character.
Physical Appearance
Personally, I like to give a good amount of details to my characters. Since I’m mostly writing for myself at the moment, I do it to give myself a good picture inside my head. I’ve seen that the amount of physical descriptions varies from writer to writer, mostly because of personal preference.
Sprinkle some small details throughout your writing of what a character looks like, and let the descriptions flow naturally and not all at once in an info-dump. Give enough so the reader knows what they look like yet don’t stifle their imagination. That seems to be the basic ideas I’ve seen revolving around physical appearance.
Some Prompts:
What can she not control about her appearance? Skin color, eye color, hair type, weight, height, scars, injuries, disabilities.
How old is she? Mentally and physically?
What can she control about her appearance? Clothing choices, hair styles, makeup, tattoos, piercings.
Does she care about how she looks to other people? Is she confident, insecure, positive or unconcerned?
What ethnicity does she identify with?
Behaviors
How characters act and behave on their own and amongst others shows how diverse and original your characters are. It shows their personalities. I’m always checking myself to make sure that none in my character groups are (too) similar to each other; both in my current project and other projects. Differing habits or behaviors between characters might even be a source of good conflict for your writing.
Some Prompts:
How does she talk? Loud or soft volume? Slang or perfect grammar? When/how does she curse? Large or small vocabulary? Fast or slow?
How does she stand or sit? Slouched or perfect posture? What does she do with her hands?
Can she control her facial expressions (especially around other people)? Is her face very expressive? Does she smile a lot or mostly frown?
How does she eat or drink? For enjoyment or sustenance? With proper utensils or hands? Picky eater or eats anything? Any allergies? Can she tolerate alcohol? Coffee or tea?
How does she sleep? Does she snore? Is she restless?
Does she have a sense of humor? Do people laugh at her jokes? Does she laugh at her own jokes?
What are her quirks? Are they normal for her? Do people find them strange? Are they accepting of it?
Is she very religious? Does she have superstitions? Does she pray often?
Sexuality
Not only is this a trending subject that I’ve seen in online writing communities and some of my favourite fiction novels, it’s also really important. Human beings are diverse creatures, and heterosexuality or cisgender is no longer the default. It’s important to represent more in your characters, in whatever way you’re able to. Do your research and talk to people. But also remember that sexuality, like race, mental illness or disability, doesn’t define a character. It is only one key trait of them alongside all these others.
Some Prompts:
What gender does she identify as?
What sexuality does she identify as? What attracts her to a person?
Background
This is my starting point when I create new characters for a writing project. To me, it is their origin point. How someone is raised can be a huge influence on who that person becomes later in life. It can be adopted habits and ideas and inherited health issues. I always try to write a little summary paragraph about this subject before I write anything else.
Some Prompts:
Does she have a family? Parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, pets.
Is her relationship with them good or bad? Why is that?
When and why did she leave home (if she did)?
Does she contact her family often?
Where and what did she study (if she studied)? What did she want to be when she grew up?
Has she ever gotten into serious trouble? Has it left an impact on her?
Strengths and Flaws
These are the dominant good and bad characteristics of the character. It’s easy to find a list of qualities online and give at least 10 on the list to your character. While the author does decide what this character will be like, I think it’s as important to put yourself in the character’s shoes and consider how they view themselves. Their own view might be different to the author’s view and other characters’ views of them.
Some Prompts:
What does she like about herself? Name 3-5 good qualities.
What do other people like about her? Name 1-3 good qualities. Is she aware of them?
What doesn’t she like about herself? Name 3-5 bad qualities.
What do other people not like about her? Name 1-3 bad qualities. Is she aware of them? Does she try to change her behavior because of this?
Motivations
I like to think of “motivation” as a reason for doing an activity. Think of your own daily routine and break it down. What’s your reason for doing each activity in your day? Or major short-term or long-term goals you might have. What’s your reason for wanting to achieve them? Now consider your character’s reasons for doing each activity in their day or working towards any goals.
When I think of character motivation, I go back to my favourite book “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo. Kaz Brekker and the others in the main cast all agree to break into the Ice Court and each of them have their own reasons for wanting to get that reward money promised to them.
Some Prompts:
What is she dissatisfied with in her life?
What does she want to achieve? What are her goals? Why does she have these goals?
Does she have everything she needs? If not, what would she do to obtain it?
Is she happy with her current relationships? Romantic? Platonic? Familial?
Does she have a wish-list or bucket-list? What would she write on the list?
Hobbies
What a person does in their everyday life says a lot about them. It can reveal their personality even more. Such as introverted activities like reading, writing or drawing. Also extroverted activities like social gatherings, sporting events and so on. Hobbies also show values and background of characters.
Some Prompts:
What does she do in her spare time? Is she good or bad at it?
Does it give her a sense of fulfillment? Artistic, spiritual, financial, physical, emotional.
How did she come by/learn it? How dedicated is she?
Does she have an occupation? Does she enjoy it? Why does she do it?
Beginning and Ending
This is the most important thing I do when crafting characters in my writing projects. It helps to map out the character’s own journey within the greater group of characters and the main plot. Keeping this in mind helps you to keep on track when creating your story arc or character development.
Some Prompts:
Who is she at the beginning of the story?
What transformation does she undergo during the story?
Who is she at the end of the story?
Here you have it! My mini guide for creating fictional characters. I might have missed some things, and if you find them feel free to add them to your own character questionnaire. I hope you do find this post helpful to your own process of character creation. Don’t forget to like this post and share it with your friends. Now go have fun creating some characters!
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Disclaimer: I am not a published author or a professional teacher in creative writing. However, I have personal experience because I’ve been writing fiction stories since 2016 (and even earlier in high school) and I am an active member in online writing communities such as Tumblr, Instagram and Wattpad. This post is written for entertainment and inspirational purposes only.
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