10 things to do to design fictional characters

[Raph Luo]

Here’s 2 cents I’d like to share with us writers in designing the characters for our stories. A lot of writers design characters before starting the actual story. This way, the characters’ personality is more likely to be consistent across from the beginning to the end, and thus more credible to the readers’ eyes.

I personally think it also helps the in the story’s plot flow: once the characters’ personality is defined, the characters would “make decisions” themselves when facing multiple choices in a plot fork.

Designing characters can be a detailed work and it helps to go through the following 1-10 items:

1. Who are the characters’ parents? Did they raise your characters? If not, for what reason? And who raised the characters then?

2. Do your characters have best friends since childhood? Siblings? Where are they now? Are they still in contact, or have lost contact?

3. What kind of childhood did your characters have? Peaceful, troubled, or tortured?

4. Do your characters have idols they adore? If yes, who are they and what are they like?

5. When your story starts, what (work, training etc.) are your characters doing? Who trained them to do the work?

6. What are your characters’ religious beliefs? How much effort would they put into defend their beliefs? Who or what taught them the religious belief?

7. Do your characters have any unusual hobby or personal trait? What is other characters’ reaction to it?

8. What are the general attitude other characters have towards this particular character? From your POV, why so?

9. Can your characters kill other characters? Why? Do they have enemies? Can your characters kill their enemies?

10. Are your characters mentally troubled? Any objects/characters that they fear? If yes, why?

This is just how I would do it and it usually presents a pretty good picture of what a character's personality is like after all these questions are answered. But definitely feel free to add in more for your own need.

[Steven Hunley]

This is one heck of a list. Would I use it? Not in a thousand years. 'Can your character kill other characters? Why? Do they have enemies? If yes, why?'

Most of these categories or points have nothing at all do to with any of my characters, they're just not germane. Is that the word? ' Unusual hobbies? Any objects they fear? Who trained them? Where are the siblings now? Who raised them?'

Please. Get a grip. There are so many outstanding characters in fiction that have no past histories, and if they do, none of these aspects are covered unless they apply directly to the story.

Be merciful and give me a break. I just can't do lists. I'm sorry.

[Raph Luo]

This is one heck of a list. Would I use it? Not in a thousand years. 'Can your character kill other characters? Why? Do they have enemies? If yes, why?'

Most of these categories or points have nothing at all do to with any of my characters, they're just not germane. Is that the word? ' Unusual hobbies? Any objects they fear? Who trained them? Where are the siblings now? Who raised them?'

Please. Get a grip. There are so many outstanding characters in fiction that have no past histories, and if they do, none of these aspects are covered unless they apply directly to the story.

Be merciful and give me a break. I just can't do lists. I'm sorry.

The list is for writers to run down as a reference. I do agree that you should decide yourself what's relevant to the situation.

The benefits of having a complete answer to all these is that your character can come out real. It's like refining a piece of diamond with different tools until you reach a very fine level of detail. For example, if I have a vampire character, I can use this list to make him "blood-thirsty but timid, lost parents when young so needs attention, dares not to kill human but also wants to intimate them".

Would that be better than just a vampire who's always hunting human beings?

[Lokasenna]

The issue with creating characters by checklist is that they can end up rather sterile. Perhaps it is only my personal philosophy, but I prefer characters to grow organically rather than through some mechanical process. If I'm writing a short story, my first insitinct on crafting a character is not to wonder whether they had parents or siblings.

In fact, particularly in short fiction, dumping a load of biographical information on the reader can be a serious turn-off.

[cacian]

there are a lots of questions but no answers provided. are the answers supposed to be in similar or differences to a given story?
my characters tend to have no baggage whatsoever that is only because I have the baggage and the characters are supposed to do the opposite and take them off me in my stories. I enjoys stories where characters are neutral with no baggage hidden vice or particular trait with others. the reason being that a story they are implicated with tend to cleanse itself from real life's vices and what not.

[Steven Hunley]

'The issue with creating characters by checklist is that they can end up rather sterile. Perhaps it is only my personal philosophy, but I prefer characters to grow organically rather than through some mechanical process.'

Lokasenna has a point. If you let your characters be born by checking off a check-list, a check list where all the characteristics are already taken account of, they've stopped growing in your mind. You have all the past history. If, as you're creating them, you allow them to grow, they grow and develop for the reader at the same time. You discover their traits as they are needed for the story.

I understand you don't have to look at the list as an information dump, and it's suppose to serve as background material in shaping your character. But that would indicate that everything in your list is germane to the story in one way or another, and that in one way or another, each aspect of character is going to be covered in your story. It's too formulaic.

We all have various ways of developing characters, and for me, a specific set list of background information would never fit every character I create. But what works for you works for you and I concede we all work differently.

[hillwalker]

It's one thing knowing your character inside out before writing about them - their favourite food, what scares them, how far they would go to break the law, etc. It can establish a bond between the writer and the character. But a checklist sounds rather like 'writing-by-numbers' and if I had to sit down and run through this before writing a story I'd give up. Part of the fun of creating characters is diiscovering their hidden side as the story unfolds - if you know everything about them already how can they surprise you? If your characters doesn't surprise you then they are unlikely to surprise the reader.

Also - beware of using this list as simple filler for your story. I tend not to describe any of my characters in detail - I prefer to allow the reader's imagination to fill any blanks.

H