I want more authors to write well rounded characters. By that I mean, when you write a woman and she isn't some cardboard cutout because you make her actions revolve around her trauma, that's not well rounded. That is one thing that is now the focal point of why she does everything. That's a boring character with a boring unrealistic character trait. Not every single action can be based in the single trauma this person had. Not everything is a trauma response.
I say this as someone whose entire life is constructed on a foundation made of various childhood traumas.
i feel like in the fandom, there’s a lot of discord about the houses. slytherin is either the worst or better than everyone, and same goes with gryffindor. hufflepuff is a bunch of morons with hardly any magic, who don’t deserve the time of day, who deserve to be ridiculed. ravenclaws are too smart, too nerdy, and are hardly talked about at all.
that’s dumb. that’s immature. not everything is black and white, and it takes a lot away from the story when it’s viewed in that way.
slytherin is the house of the cunning, the ambitious, where “you’ll make your real friends” (the sorting hats song). none of those things are bad. obviously, they can lead to being immoral or manipulative. i see a lot of fan fictions that play into that, maybe a bit too much, where the bullying is written off as “getting revenge” and spinning a narrative where slytherins are the oppressed, so much more so than muggleborns. a lot of these have the dangerous idea that blood purists are right about muggles and muggleborns, but that’s a separate argument. BUT, slytherins aren’t inherently evil; no one is. being in slytherin doesn’t make them evil. they’re not some sort of overpowered group, they’re all children. maybe they’re harder to read, but i highly doubt most of them can just push away emotions. i don’t think all of them are so cynical. i think they’re careful, they use what’s given to them, maybe they want to learn because knowledge is power. maybe they form connections, but i don’t think it’s them not having any real friends. i think the ambition they have isn’t always just used for their gain, but for the greater good too. they realize that losing a battle doesn’t mean losing the war, that sometimes, you have to surrender for survival.
gryffindor is the house of the “brave at heart” (the sorting hats song), chivalrous, the daring and people with a lot of nerve. that can lead to being brash, bullheaded, not knowing when to stop. but it’s also important to be able to face your fears. i don’t think they’re all dumb, or brash, or rude. i think they’re willing to stand up for people, even if they don’t like them. they might put others first. they aren’t fearless, but they can understand that overcoming fear is very powerful. sometimes, they can’t get over their fears. sometimes, their fears are hard to face, and maybe they don’t always face them. that is not shameful. i think that it’s a work in progress, and that’s brave too. maybe they’re rude sometimes, maybe they’re more of a small picture person. they aren’t exactly always loyal, but they stand up for what they personally believe in, whether it’s actually right or not. they want to protect not only the people they care about, but innocent people as well.
hufflepuff is the house of the “just and loyal” (the sorting hats song), the patient and the “unafraid of toil” (the sorting hats song). they’re described as hard-working. they believe in fairness, even if it hurts them. they aren’t exactly rule followers, but they have strong moral codes. i don’t think that makes them weak. i don’t think they’re leftovers, or stupid. loyalty can be dangerous, and it might cause them to not question the person they’re loyal to, or to speak up against something that rubs them the wrong way. but i also think they’re fierce protectors of the people they’re loyal to. they have good work ethics, they understand why rules might be put in place. they’re kids, so they’re not going to be without their own biases and prejudices, but they’re going to try to be fair. they might not stand in front of someone they’re loyal to, or pull strings from the sidelines, but they sure as hell will be a shoulder to cry on.
ravenclaw is the house of the wise, of the people who love to learn, the witty, “those with a ready mind” (the sorting hats song). this could lead to being snobbish, or believing they’re always right. however, i don’t think they always have their nose in a book. learning can be hands on, and i think they probably run a lot of experiments, whether social or scientific, or some sort of magical experiment. i think they’re less likely to buy into something that erases knowledge, not because knowledge is power, but because knowledge is valuable. i don’t think they’re always on top of their studies, i think they get sidetracked with their own interests. i think they stay up too late infodumping about one of their passions. i think some might be good at checking sources, and others not believing that something doesn’t have a bit of truth. they have friends, people who they care about and will stand by, but i think they also need to be able to talk about the things that keep them going, whether it be algebra or art, muggle or magical, addition or rocket science. they can be sarcastic, they have a weird amount of knowledge about obscure subjects. some of it is completely useless, like maybe they’re learning a dead language for no reason other than why not? maybe they’re mature for their age. maybe they’re hopeless at school, but have high emotional intelligence, or street smarts. learning and knowledge isn’t just limited to school or things you can learn through a book. sometimes knowledge is gained through experience, and i don’t think ravenclaws discredit that.
i think with well rounded characters, the world of harry potter is more interesting. i think motivations of each character is important. i think it would be dumb to ignore it, from a story telling perspective. i’m not sure how much this ramble made sense, but i would love to see a fic where these houses lived up to what they could be, where the people in those houses were diverse, who had flaws and tried their best to be the best person they could be, whether they go about it in the right way or not. it makes characters interesting and engaging, relatable, it makes them feel real. i’m so sick of hearing the same takes. give me people who contradict a part of what their house stands for, give me people who take their values too seriously and accidentally make it one of their faults. give me people who have traits of other houses too, because we are all spectrums.
When it comes to developing characters for a story, a lot of the questionaires and other prompts have a lot to do with what characters look like: what's their weight? what's their hight? eye color? Favorite color? The thing is, none of these things are usually going to help when it comes to making fleshed out and rounded characters - the ones readers will root for. The reason why is looks don't compare against who a character is on the inside. What are their motivations? Why? Where do their little quirks come from? These are the things that make a character memorable.
When it comes to creating dynamic characters, this is the process I usually default to, adapted from indie author Jenna Moreci. All of the catagories belore are intertwined, which will be broken down as well. The beauty of this method is that you don't have to have everything fleshed out from the get-go. Even if you only have one or two details, you can use this to build that into a whole dynamic character.
The main points you want to get by the time you’re done are:
their backstory/life experience
social role
motivation described in 1-2 words
three strengths/three weaknesses
what the perfect novel ending is for your character
why that’s the perfect end
what your character’s underlying need is
(This has been one of my longest posts in a while, so I’ve put all of the questions below the break)
1) What's their backstory/life experience?
Basically, this is where I bullet-point big life events. Brainstorming isn't always chronological, but for easy reference, when I put this information into my spreadsheet, I put it in the order it all happened. Basically, summarizing their life up until the events of the story in about ten to twenty short sentences.
What this influences:
(Basically EVERYTHING)
Social Role: What types of experience have they had that will influence where they fall in social circles?
Basic motivation: What aspects of their life experience have shaped the backbone of your character's goals?
Strengths/weaknesses: What life experiences have taught them well (strengths)? What life experiences have they not had, creating weaknesses?
Ideal ending: What is a hole in their life that has not been filled that they want filled?
Ending reason: What have they promised themselves they will get out of completing their goal?
Need: What aspect of your character's life has been neglected, at least for a long time?
How to come up with your backstory:
If you've already gotten other aspects of your character down, think about what types of life experience would be needed to justify their ideals, thoughts, and actions. Given that life experience pretty much affects everything, you can refer back to the questions listed above.
2) What's their social role?
This is not the same thing as plot role (mc, love interest, etc). Instead, this is a one to two word description of who they are in relationship to other characters. This can be fairly archetypical. For example, your character might be the leader or bully. Compared to other questions, this is in my mind, less important, but it can be helpful when picking which tropes you want or don't want to include.
What this influences:
Strengths/weaknesses: what aspects of this role allow your character to flourish and develop strengths? What aspects of this role bring your character down and create weaknesses?
How to come up with their social role:
Life experience: What roles have they filled thus far? Did they fit well in those roles? Are they trying to maintain them, or are they trying to escape them?
Strengths/weaknesses: What social roles would make sense for your character's strengths and weaknesses? (This one's going to have less influence, as there are plenty of roles someone can get forced into, such as leadership, even if they don't actually qualify for it.)
3) What is their motivation in one or two words?
This is pretty much the simplest, most boiled down view of their motivation. It also will help to give a basic insight into what their character is. For example, they might be motivated by vengeance, or sense of duty. Pretty much, look at what they want, and boil it down to its bare essentials. Like the social role, this won't offer a ton of insight, but it can be useful for coming up with tropes and themes you want to use and avoid.
What this influences:
Ideal ending: how can the basic motivation, which is more of a concept, translate into a tangeable goal?
How to come up with their basic motivation:
Life experience: What aspects of their life has shaped their ideals to the point that they are motivated by them?
Strengths/Weaknesses: how can one or more of the given strengths yield themselves toward motivating your character (for example, if they've got empathy, maybe they're motivated by a sense of duty)? What weaknesses, when taken too far, can create a hole that your character feels they must fill (for example, if they have a lot of insecurity, maybe they're motivated by perfectionism)?
Ideal ending: what is the most boiled down version of the ideal ending? What is the driving force behind it?
Ending reason: what aspects of their reasoning point toward an underlying motivation archetype?
Need: how can their underlying need transform into motivation?
4) What are three strengths, and three weaknesses?
The key to creating balanced characters in terms of strengths and weaknesses is to make sure that you list just enough to get the gist, but you don't go overboard on either. For each character, list exactly three strengths and three weaknesses, and make sure that none of them are too similar to each other. Some examples might be: intelligent, athletic, abrasive, entitled, etc.
What this influences:
Social Role: what role or roles is your character going to gravitate toward, based on their strengths and weaknesses?
Motivation: how do these strengths and weaknesses transform into basic forms of motivation?
Ideal ending: what are your character's weaknesses stopping your character from achieving? What do they think they're capable of getting?
Ending reason: how do your character's strengths and weaknesses affect their reasoning when coming up with a goal?
How to come up with strengths and weaknesses:
Life Experience: what aspects of their life experience would have taught your character strengths? What deficiencies would have created weaknesses?
Social role: what strengths and weaknesses might your character develop based on their social role? Which ones are going to be the most apparent?
Need: what strengths would someone who has this need probably pick up? What weakness perpetuate it?
5) If everything turned out perfectly for this character, how would the novel end?
This is basically what the character's goal is. What does your character want to happen by the end of the book? This does not yet go into what they'd do to get it, just their wish. Keep it simple. What is ONE THING? Any more than that and things start to get convoluted.
What this influences:
Motivation: how can this ending be condenced to its simplest form? What is the motivation behind wanting this thing?
Ending reason: why do your characters want this?
Need: what does this thing appear to be fulfilling (even if it doesn't actually)?
How to come up with ideal ending:
Life experience/backstory: what's something they've never had that they want? Or, what's something they used to have that they want back?
Motivation: what is a tangeable manifestation of their base motivation?
Need: how does your character think they can fulfill their needs?
6) Why do your characters want their chosen ending?
This is their rational explanation for their goal. What is it that caused your characters do decide this was the perfect ending?
What this influences:
Motivation: what does your character believe they're trying to do?
Need: what need are they trying to fulfill, even if they don't know it?
How to come up with ending reason:
Life experience/backstory: what aspects of their life experience lead them to believe their goal is what they want?
Strengths/weaknesses: how do your character's strengths and weaknesses inform their reasoning? How do they cloud it or twist it?
Ideal ending: what makes your character want their ideal ending? What do they think they'll get out of it?
7) What need are they trying to fulfill?
This is something your character may not know specifically, but it impacts a lot of their decisions. Basically, this is going to be the thing that they are trying to fulfill throught the story, even if they don't go about it in any productive way. For some juicy conflict, you can make your character's need and goal/ideal ending contradict each other in practice, causing your character to make plot-driving decisions.
What this influences:
Motivation: how can their need motivate your character? What does that motivation look like?
Strengths/weaknesses: what strengths has your character developed to cover up their need? what weaknesses does your character's need perpetuated?
Ideal ending: what type of ending does your character believe will help to satisfy their needs, even if they don't know what their needs are? Or, what type of ending will help them survive without meeting their needs?
How to come up with a character need:
Backstory/life experience: what aspect of your character's being has been long neglected?
Ideal ending: what needs can that goal meet? or, what needs can be covered up by achieving that goal?
Ending reason: what needs does your character think they're meeting?
Hopefully this is helpful for coming up with dynamic characters!
[L]iterary fiction produces more powerful emotional identification with its more fully rounded characters and has a lasting effect on your ability to empathize with others.
Oliver Burkman in When will People Realize that Genre Fiction can be Just as Great as Literary Fiction? - MR Carey (Source) The HELL it does!! Burkman is aptly named (Burke's a way of calling someone an idiot over here) if he thinks that so-called "Literary" fiction produces a more powerful emotional identification with its character than genre fiction (ak SF&F, horror, historical, romance, etc). And I've never found a literary fiction character to be any more rounded than a genre one (many LitfFc characters are, in fact, less fully rounded). So a big FUCK YOU to everyone who pointlessly argues that LitFic is better than genre fic. And stop comparing bloody apples to pears, would you!
