Creating Believable and Compelling Characters

Whether it's a short story, novella, or novel, characters need to feel like real people with unique personalities, desires, and motivations.

Let's explore some tips and strategies that can help you create characters that will captivate readers and keep them invested in your story from the first page to the last.

Understand Your Characters

Take the time to develop their backstories, personalities and motivations.

Ask yourself:

• What was their childhood like?

• What are their strengths?

• What are their weaknesses?

• What are their goals and desires?

• What are their fears and flaws?

The answers to these questions will help to create characters that feel fleshed out and realistic. You might even consider writing character bios or “interviewing” your characters to help you get to know them better.

Make Your Characters Believable

One key to making your characters believable is to give them flaws and vulnerabilities. Nobody is perfect, and your characters shouldn’t be, either. Think about the people you know. What are their quirks and imperfections? Giving some to your characters will make them feel more human and relatable.

Another way to make your characters believable is to ground them in realistic details. Consider what they look like, their mannerisms, and the way they talk. Details like these help bring characters to life and make them feel more authentic.

Make Your Characters Compelling

Your characters also need to be engaging. Give your characters unique personalities, interests, or quirks that make them stand out from other characters in your story.

Think about the characters that have stuck with you long after you’ve finished reading a book. What made them so memorable? Including similar elements into your own characters can help make them more compelling.

Make sure your readers can relate to your characters' desires and conflicts, so they feel invested in them. What are some things your characters want most in the world? What's standing in their way?

Write Dynamic Dialogue

Dialogue helps reveal your characters’ personalities and motivations. When writing dialogue, it’s important to make sure that it feels natural and authentic.

Use Subtext

Not everything your characters say should be taken at face value. Consider the underlying emotions and motivations behind their words.

Incorporate Unique Speech Patterns

Just like in real-life, each character should have a different way of speaking. Think about factors like their age, background, and personality when crafting their dialogue.

Keep It Moving

Dialogue should move the story forward and reveal new information about your characters. Avoid long, static conversations that don’t advance the plot.

Develop Character Arcs

It’s important to give your characters room to grow and change over the course of your story. This is known as a character arc. Your character’s arc should involve them facing challenges, learning important lessons, and coming out the other side as a changed person. Some tips for developing a satisfying character arc include:

• Identify the character’s flaws and how they will overcome them.

• Create obstacles that will force the character to confront these flaws.

• Give them a clear goal or desire to work towards.

• Make sure their growth and change feel earned and believable.

Getting to know your characters, making them believable and interesting, giving each of them a unique voice, and having them develop throughout the story will help you create characters your readers will love (or love to hate).