People might forget a story’s plot, but they’ll never forget its characters. A strong lead can be inspirational, thought-provoking, and moving. No matter what you’re writing, whether a novel, short story, or screenplay, writing believable characters is one of the most important skills you can learn as a writer.
Great characters aren’t just people with perfect personalities or exciting backstories. They are memorable because they change and evolve, make tough choices, and react to obstacles in believable ways. Learning how to write characters like these is an important step in becoming a better writer.
Every Character Must Have a Goal
A great character always has a driving motivation. This motivation is the reason behind every decision they make, every conversation they have, and every conflict they face.
When you start your story, you should know what your main character wants more than anything. Maybe they want to succeed at something, save someone they love, find out the truth, or find where they belong. Whatever it is, this goal will steer your story forward.
This motivation will also help your reader understand why your character is behaving the way they are. Even when they make bad decisions, their motivation will make sense to the reader.
Give Them Good Qualities and Flaws
A character who is “perfect” can feel unrealistic because they never face any serious inner conflicts. It’s much easier for readers to relate to characters who have both positive and negative traits.
A brave character might struggle with being afraid. A smart detective might struggle to trust others. A brilliant artist might be afraid of what others think of them. Having these flaws allows the character to change and makes them feel more real.
These flaws should be shown in the story and shouldn’t just be mentioned in passing. As the story unfolds, the character should try to get over their flaws, or maybe learn to accept them.
Show Who the Character Is
Don’t tell the reader who your character is; let the reader figure it out. A character’s actions will say more than a description ever could.
How a person reacts in a crisis, treats their friends, deals with failure, or embraces an opportunity all tell us who they are. Dialogue, decisions, and behavior are what make up a person’s personality.
Even small, minor things can make a fictional person feel more realistic. Giving characters little quirks will make them stand out to the reader.
Relationships Are Important
Nobody exists in a vacuum. A character’s relationship with family, friends, rivals, mentors, or even strangers will impact their personality and their story.
Good relationships will bring drama, support, comedy, and complexity to the story. A good relationship will also give the character a chance to show their true colors in different situations.
Dialogue is very important here. Conversations should sound like something that specific character would say. Everyone should speak differently based on their personality, intelligence, and confidence level.
Let Your Characters Change
Change is one of the most important parts of any story. Nobody likes reading a book with characters that don’t change.
Change doesn’t always mean getting better at something or becoming stronger. Sometimes change means learning to fail, overcoming a fear, learning to trust someone, or changing your mindset.
A big part of your story should affect your character in some way. At the end of your story, your reader should be able to see how your character has grown.
Look at People for Ideas
One of the best ways to improve your character writing is to pay closer attention to people around you. Listening to how people talk, act, and react will give you ideas for new characters.
You can copy real-life traits, but don’t just copy a person. Instead, take a bit of someone’s personality, put it with someone else’s personality, and make a brand-new character out of that. That way, your characters will feel real, but they won’t be the same person.
Taking notes on the little things people say or do can be a great source of inspiration later on.
Conclusion
It isn’t about making your character special; it’s about making them realistic. Characters who have clear goals, flaws, relationships, and who grow and change are the kind of characters readers want to read about.
In your next story, focus less on what a character looks like and more on what drives them. With a little effort, you can create characters that people will remember long after they’ve finished reading your book.