All writers need characters to make sense of their stories. If you want to write a story, you will need it too. But where did these characters come from? Right from you!
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Develop Your Characters
Step 1. Start by outlining your character's personality
Then it will already be easier for you to imagine its physical appearance. Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half. On the one hand, write down all those qualities that you think are positive in people and on the other, those characteristics that you find negative. Use this system as a reference method to create both your protagonists and antagonists. The protagonist is the hero of your story, while the antagonist is the one who opposes him, i.e. his rival.
- Keep a notebook handy and take note of the small details of the people around you. Does your friend have a particular way of fiddling with her hair when she's nervous? Have you noticed that your brother always has the answer ready for everything? These are the kind of details that bring a character to life.
- Don't make your protagonist perfect. If I did, it would be more difficult for readers to empathize with him, plus the story would seem less credible and therefore less engaging. Rather, it uses a mix of qualities on both sides to create a more multifaceted and therefore more realistic character. In any case, it may be okay to attribute 60% positive and 40% negative qualities to the protagonist.
- Just as it is not convenient for you to paint your protagonist as the perfect being, so you should avoid making your antagonist hopelessly evil. Also use the same method described above to make the characters realistic, but this time give your antagonist 60% bad characteristics and 40% good qualities.
- Outline the personalities of your characters by playing with different combinations of strengths and weaknesses. The characters close to the protagonist should be more "good", so favor the positive qualities, while those close to the antagonist should be more "bad", therefore assign them a higher percentage of negative characteristics. As we said, it is easier for the reader to relate to realistic characters.
Step 2. Create the physical appearance of your characters
What are the physical characteristics that you admire in the people around you? What about the ones you don't like very much? Pull out a new sheet and make another list. As before, use a mix of quality on both sides. Remember that the protagonist doesn't have to be perfect. You can also take a look at fashion magazines to look for ideas and take note of those physical features, face or build, that catch your attention.
Step 3. Think of creative names
In your notebook, keep track of the names you would like to use. You can include the names of friends and relatives, or even names you came across while reading or browsing the internet. There are names that are very popular and therefore easier to remember, but you should also take note of those that are not often heard around.
The names should be relevant to the context of the story and therefore consistent with the setting and the era. A story set in post-modern Japan might very well have a protagonist named Sakura, for example, but we will hardly read about an Italian girl who goes by that name! Long or hard to pronounce names should be reserved for science fiction stories and used in moderation anyway
Step 4. Bring your character to life
If you're working on an important character, have fun with him! Build him a whole profile! What is his name? Where was he born and when? Do you wear striped or plain socks? Do you have blue or fiery red hair? Make a note of these kinds of details, even if they aren't necessary for the story to unfold. If you're sketching a character modeled after someone you know, keep in mind that readers don't know who he is. So don't leave out important information! You have to make sure that your readers are able to get an accurate picture of your character, as if they knew him.
Step 5. Prepare to be surprised by your characters and their reactions:
that's how you'll know you've done a good job. Even fictional characters are opposed to living in a story already written!
Advice
- There are those who argue that creating character profiles is useless. It is not so! These profiles can provide important information. There's no need to overdo it, of course, but you should be able to talk about your characters as if they were real.
- Let the reader know that your characters are more than they seem. Sometimes first impressions can turn out to be wrong.
- Show your characters in a different light when you get the chance. Show how they interact with each other, how they see things from their personal point of view, hold their inner monologues, contradict each other (but make sure that the contradictions are consistent and sensible anyway), change perspective, manifest crisis of faith, self- they justify, make decisions and act on their own, take risks, make mistakes, try to remedy and, above all, give rise to various conflicts, more or less serious, personal or interpersonal.
- Make the characters interact with each other. Good dialogue says a lot about a character's personality.
- When creating your characters' past, make sure it actually played a role in shaping their current personality. It doesn't have to be just a way to tell what they have done previously.
- When writing the story, don't add too many details about the characters. A story all about the constant and continuous descriptions of the characters would be boring. Descriptions are fine, yes, but without being repetitive.
- In character development, don't imitate the style of your favorite author. Be yourself. Your characters are exclusively yours! Be creative!
- You can always have more than one protagonist and more than one antagonist, but it is good to emphasize the importance of each and the relationship that binds them. For example, in the "Harry Potter" series, by writer J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter is the main protagonist, while Albus Dumbledore the secondary protagonist; Lord Voldemort is the main antagonist, while Severus Snape is believed to be the secondary antagonist. The main plot is represented by the opposition between Harry and Voldemort, while the one between Dumbledore and Snape can be defined as a sub-plot.
- Remember that protagonists aren't always good, just as antagonists aren't always bad. Try developing a negative protagonist.
- Consult essays on character development. You can also find some online. They might come in handy!
- Don't overdo it with completely irrelevant details. Not many readers will be interested to know that your characters' eyes change color according to mood or that the protagonist's parents have spent a million euros to buy a Ferrari. Hit the readers so they don't get bored.
