Building an Unforgettable Character
Character building is one of my favorite parts of writing a novel. I love seeing where theyâre going to take me and where their journey is going to end up. Even though I plot extensively before starting a new novel, I always leave room for the characters to lead me somewhere new.
So, whatâs the secret to building an unforgettable character? Here are some tips to lead you in the right direction:
They need to be relatable
If your audience canât relate to your character, thatâs usually a huge problem. We relate to characters like Harry Potter not because weâve been to Hogwarts and practiced magic, but because we can relate to his pain and to his connection with his friends. He represents emotions that a lot of us have struggled with and he doesnât quite feel like he fits in. His struggle to find himself is relatable.
Take some time to figure out what your character ultimately represents and donât be afraid to bring emotion into it. We want to feel connected to your characters and we want to find something in them that matches something in us.
They need to be realistic
Itâs important that your characterâs actions should remain realistic. Not in the sense of remaining true to our world, but to theirs. Their actions should make sense in context to what theyâre going through. If youâre constantly questioning why a character would do something because it just doesnât make logical sense, youâll have trouble respecting that character. Itâs important that we understand their actions.
They need to be proactive
A good character is a go-getter. Iâm not saying they will always make the right decisions or that theyâre all good people, but all main characters/protagonists should be able to do things on their own. Iâm also not saying they donât need help, but they need to overcome the big challenges on their own or through what theyâve learned. They canât just stand around waiting for everyone else to finish things. They need to take initiative at some point, and this should be due to their personal growth throughout the story.
I understand that this point does depend on the story youâre writing. Maybe your character is an unmotivated person. Maybe theyâre lazy. Â This usually doesnât matter because a story isnât interesting if that person remains inactive. They can have periods of inactivity and become unmotivated during parts of your story, but ultimately that does need to change at some point.
Flaws will humanize your character and are usually what stands in your characterâs path to success. A character that does everything right all the time and doesnât have any growth because theyâre already perfect is VERY BORING. They should fail and they should learn lessons. Iâm not saying all their flaws should be fixed by the end of the novel because thatâs not how people operate in real life, but character flaws should help build interesting layers.
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