How to Create Characters
The fundamental elements of a compelling story
I wanted to learn more about the creation of good characters as part of my study for my next book. So, I thought I’d share some insights with you all.
Storytelling is all about characters.
Characters that stick in our brains long after we’ve seen a film are what make a story memorable. But how do you truly create characters, and what should be your primary focus while writing a fictional character?
Character Belief System
Character’s belief system is the foundation around which everything else is built in a story. What a character believes will impact their desires, how they will accomplish them, and most of their strengths and weaknesses will be generated by their belief system.
Let’s take an example — We all love the movie The Matrix. Neo doesn’t believe in fate or destiny, but Neo is looking for Morpheus because he is searching for the truth. Morpheus and his team are those who have found the truth about the Matrix. Morpheus believes Neo is the one who will save the humans from the machines, and he believes in helping Neo achieve this goal, even if it costs him his life and there will be blood.
In Sicario, Kate Macer believes in the rule of law and doing everything as per rules. She is a moral person and follows legal structures. She believes that without these guidelines, we are just like the bad guys.
Because of the foundation of Neo and Kate Macer’s belief system, the plot grew naturally and evolved over time.
Beliefs are the core of your characters. The beliefs of your different characters become the core of your story and ultimately defines the deeper meaning and reason that an audience would care to watch your film. The beliefs that your characters hold are what create the meaning and the theme of your story. When you understand what your characters believe about themselves and the world, then you can start building the next map.
Character — Want and Need
You’re surely aware that your story’s protagonist requires some sort of drive — a purpose (or several) to keep them going throughout the plot.
A character’s want is their visible goal, and this is what makes up the main events of the plot. The want is external, and the audience is usually aware of the “visible goal” or “the want.”
But think about what your character wants versus what they need? (External vs. internal motivation is another way of putting it.)
However, there is something else under the surface, which is what your character needs. There are very few things we all actually need, in order to be happy—for example, compassion or love of others.
On a deeper level, the story is about the character’s development into a position where he realizes and follows his inner aim, first subconsciously and then consciously (which is his need).
The need is about a character’s internal conflict. Build your character to the point where they will evolve from their WANT to their NEED.
For example — A King’s daughter wants power because her parents didn’t have time to give her the love she needed as a child. Keep your character’s want and need in mind while writing your story.
For more information on what the character wants and needs, please check out this post I wrote about Pixar’s film “Soul.”
A powerful way to end your story is to confront your character with their flaw by giving them a choice between their ‘want’ and their ‘need.’ If your character sacrifices their want and chooses their need, then they will ultimately be fulfilled. However, if they shun their need and seize their want, then they will be doomed to continue in misery. Either ending is fine, depending on whether you want a happy ending or a sad one.
The need is about a character’s internal conflict. Build your character to the point where they will evolve from their WANT to their NEED.
You can see how understanding your character’s wants versus needs could be one of the most useful tools in your toolbox as a writer.
To summarise, in order to master the concept of want vs. necessity, you must:
- Determine what your character want against what they require.
- Examine how the two are inextricably related and how their desire causes their shortcoming.
- Explain how their decision between want and need results in a clear consequence.
Character development for a strong story
This is how you might begin writing a story that is not just entertaining but also meaningful. How do films deal with such a wide range of beliefs and worldviews? They do this by allocating distinct personalities to various worldviews or value systems and pitting them against each other.
The plot and each scene add depth and complexity when different characters represent various points of view and a philosophical argument in a story. As a result, throughout the story, there is a web of opposing and evolving opinions and beliefs.
The actual way to encourage people to engage with the character is to provide them with a set of beliefs that make sense from that character’s point of view of the universe. The audience does not have to agree with the character, but they must be able to understand his or her actions in the context of their own worldview. Empathy comes from understanding.
In the book The Anatomy of Story, John Truby writes- To empathize with someone means to care about and understand him. So the character’s beliefs are the core of creating this empathetic connection. But there are other ways to add this connection. Another way to get an audience to empathize is to attach the audience to the elements of a character that they wish they could be.
A good understanding of your characters is important whether you are writing a detailed outline or a simple two-page short story. The process of character building will help your story off in the right direction.
The process of creating a three-dimensional character with depth, personality, and obvious motivations is known as character development. Character development can also refer to the changes that a character goes through as a result of their actions and experiences during a novel.
Follow these tips for Writing Great Characters
Characters, like people, are imperfect. They don’t need to be likable, but they must be interesting. Here are some tips for effective character development.
- Develop characters who reflect your interests. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your characters, so the fiction rule “write what you want to know” applies to them as well. Don’t be afraid to invest your protagonist with familiar qualities, but prioritize your passions and ensure that your main characters emerge from the setting and topics you’ve developed so far.
- Reveal their physical world through detail. Different writers focus on different details to evoke character, whether deliberately or not. Whatever details you choose, it’s important for you to know your characters’ physical world intimately, and how they relate to it.
- Give them the right skills. Your characters should have skills that will allow them to function in your setting. If you’ve chosen to set your story on the moon, then make sure your character has a spacesuit or learns how to use one.
- Give the reader access to their inner conflict. One way to create intimacy with your reader — and to get them to care about your main character — is to use internal monologue. This means letting the reader see a character’s thoughts as they happen, which exposes that person’s inner conflict, motivations, opinions, and personality. Internal monologue not only reveals character: it’s a neat way to convey information about your setting, events, and other characters.
- Subvert your reader’s expectations. The most interesting characters will surprise your readers. Think about it: We don’t have to pay attention to things that are stable. But when something unexpected happens — a wolf comes out of the woods, for instance — we pay attention.
A story is made up of a character’s interactions with events over a period of time. Character and story are inextricably linked since a person is defined by their experiences. The reader will be unable to appreciate the significance of your events unless you have a clear sense of who a character is, what they value, and what they’re scared of unless you have a clear sense of who a character is, what they value, and what they’re terrified of.
Fictional characters, like real people, have hobbies, pets, backstories, and interests. These traits influence how a character reacts to and feels about the events in their lives. Therefore, it’s critical to your novel’s success that you know everything there is to know about your characters so you can predict how they’ll react to the pressures they face.
The best stories are about characters, whether we’re talking about Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. While narrative mastery can aid in the construction of intriguing twists and turns, outstanding character development entices readers by providing them with powerful characters with whom they can empathise.
