The Single Most Important Lesson For Writing Characters
So, when I sat down to write this first post, I thought what I would be writing was a discussion on the nature of 'round' versus 'flat' characters. Namely, because trying to make every character into the former just tends to make them worse, and it's something that trips up a lot of new writers.
But then I did some thinking, and I realized that a theme I saw with both writers and roleplayers was that many, in trying to make them round, make them flatter than any flat character could be.
As such, I'm going to give you some advice that is probably going to help you improve your writing by leaps and bounds. You ready?
The most important part of writing a character is capturing their voice.
Take that and brand it onto your brain, because it's something that very few people actually understand. In fact, I didn't grasp it myself until I did a lot of trial and error. But we're going to get into it, so buckle up.
When you think about your favorite characters, both from a consumer perspective and a writer perspective, what jumps out at you? Probably the way they carry themselves, the way they talk, the way they react to things. You can visualize how this character can uniquely respond to things because they are unique as an individual, in the same way that you will react differently than your friend will.
You know what doesn't jump out to you? Their Wikipedia page. Their endless backstory points. Their 'canon.' No one goes 'my favorite character is x because in episode 55 this thing happened to them.' They go 'my favorite character is x because in episode 55 they did this thing.'
These are different things.
But let's put this in perspective. Multiverses are pretty popular again, so consider this: what makes a Spiderman or a Batman who they are?
It's not a certain set of plot points. It's not a backstory. It's not even a race or sex or gender. There is nothing concrete that makes them who they are as characters. What defines them, as a character, the thing that will make someone go 'that feels like Spiderman' is their voice.
What do I mean? I mean that when you sit down and write Spiderman or Batman or whoever else, you can tell whether or not they feel 'correct' not by their canon or their features or even their abilities, but by whether or not the voice being conveyed to others is correct.
What this means is that writing a character 'correctly' is not a matter of having memorized their entire backstory and being able to regurgitate it on command. It is whether you, the writer, can convey their unique voice to the reader with words alone.
This is as true with original characters as it is with 'canon' characters. A character, like a person, does not sound like every other character or person. A CEO does not use the same 'voice' as a pauper. A thug does not use the same voice as an assassin. A dock worker does not speak with the same voice as a doctor. A meek person and a brash person do not sound the same, do not behave the same, and you should be able to immediately grasp this in the writing.
Before I mentioned 'flat' and 'round' characters. Basically, flat characters are ones that are not fully formed. Every side character in every series is basically this. They're usually defined by a single trait or a handful of traits. And they are also usually people's favorite character. Why? Because the audience can impose whatever thoughts or desires about that character onto them in a way that they can't with the main character, who is a 'round' or fully formed character.
But writers will often take a character, and in trying to make them 'round' in turn flatten them out. They will crush their voice until that character sounds and feels like every other character.
If you're a writer, you've undoubtedly read bad fiction like this, where if you removed the names you would have zero idea as to who was talking, because everyone sounds the same. If you're a roleplayer, you've undoubtedly encountered people whose idea of writing a character or an OC is memorizing their stats and never bothering to grasp the actual feeling of that character.
The example I like to use for how this works is Friends. Joey, Ross, and Chandler are different characters. If you put them in writing, you would be able to grasp that they were different characters because of how they speak and the voice they possess. Now, acting has levels of this; you have physical actions, you have literal voices, and of course, you have editing. But in general, the thing which separates them and makes them distinct is not their backstories nor what they've done. What makes them distinct is their unique character voice.
Let's put it like this: there are multiple Spider-Men. They are not the same. Peter Parker is not Miles Morales who is not Ben Reilly. They should not sound the same in writing. Their character voices should not be identical.
This is as true for animals as it is people. Do you think an old lazy dog would sound the same as a young, energetic puppy? Do you think a Labrador sounds the same as a Corgi? Then don't write them like they sound alike.
This isn't about traits. You can write the same character traits differently. You can write two old white men complaining about the weather and make them sound distinct and feel different to the audience. You can make every one of the girls in Mean Girls sound different and have different character voices.
The reason I brought up trying to make characters round is that when writers realize that their character feels or sounds bland and indistinct, they try to fix this by adding more character traits. They try to do what DragonBall did, where they just keep giving them new color hair, and think this counts as character development or uniqueness. It doesn't. It feels like what it is, which is just adding food dye.
Hair color is not a character trait. It can be indicative of a character trait. But it is not, on its own, a character trait. Everyone's first anime OC is a silver haired dude with red eyes and a tragic backstory. What does he like? How does he handle forgetting an umbrella? How would he handle not having his favorite cereal at the store?
These are small, pointless things! But they are also how you find a character's voice.
I've heard some people use what's called 'the tavern test.' Basically, take a character, and imagine them entering a stereotypical tavern in any fantasy story. Do not ask 'what is there.' Ask 'what does the character focus on?'
For example, maybe the bard looks around and notices the general mood and they start thinking about how they might be able to score with the cute elf girl at the bar if they play it right. Maybe the druid is disgusted by all the filth on the floor and the way it seems like the place is molding. Maybe the paladin is put off by how loose the morals are but is determined not to make a scene.
Same situation. Different focuses. That's what character voices are made of.
Now, stylistically, you would also tend to write characters differently.
Ugh. It's so fucking noisy in here. Do these people even realize what they're drinking!?! Can't they smell it!?! Wow, I wonder what this stuff is made of? It kinda tastes like sawdust. But... it's also sweet and reminds me of that time I broke a man's heart, in the most literal sense of the word. Oh. My. God. That guy in the corner is definitely looking at me. Play it cool, play it cool. Don't let it be like that time you brought a guy back to your room and woke up the next morning in the dungeon of an evil cult that was planning on sacrificing you.
Notice how this feels like three different people, even though I've given you absolutely no details about them, or their backgrounds, or anything else.
This, incidentally, is what showing not telling means. But that's a whole other bucket of worms.
For now, what you need to internalize is that conveying a voice is what makes character's distinct. It's what makes them memorable. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker should not sound the same in your writing. You shouldn't have two stick figures wearing Han Solo and Luke Skywalker masks on and call it a day.
This will also make it much easier to write your characters in any context. Once you know a character's voice, once you understand how they think, you don't need to think about it yourself. You can just write, because there's no what would they do? You just know. You can think and write in their voice the same as you write and think in your own.
And the first step to doing that is grasping your character's unique voice. Understand them as people, as individuals. They are not Wikipedia entries.
And, if you're unsure? If you don't know how to get better at it? Keep putting them in more absurd situations, or more mundane ones. You want to know how to write a character backwards and forwards? Put them in your favorite shows or movies.
You probably will never have to go 'how would Superman react to meeting Boba Fett' but if you can visualize how both would act and you can convey their unique voices in that situation, congratulations, you have mastered their voices, and you can now move on to understand their complex backstories.
But that comes second. Understanding their voices is the most important thing. Without this, it won't matter if you've written the world's greatest story or character. Why? Because no one will have any impression of them.
Hell, you've already gotten an impression of me, just by reading how I write. Do that with your characters, and you'll find that not only is it easier to write, but that you're a better writer for it.