Making Characters Come Alive

A few quick ideas

Characters are the life blood of any story. There is typically no story without the characters. It follows then that a story is only as interesting and engaging as the characters in it. No matter how incredible the plot is, or profound the thematic message, a story will often fall flat without well-developed characters.

Here are some brief suggestions I use to make my characters come to life:

Appearance – This is a good place to start, but a character’s physical attributes are only starting-point. Also describe to the reader the sound of their voice (high-pitched to bellowing), including any accent or dialect. Describe unique facial expressions and gestures they might make when speaking or reacting to others.

Backstory – Depending on the length of the story, include the character’s history in as much detail as possible. A window into their childhood, upbringing, early successes and struggles, prior relationships and other events in their life will provide depth and realism to their actions, motivations and intentions.

Strengths and Weaknesses – Your characters will have abilities that enable them to carry out their actions in the story, such as physical strength, but also talents that should be described in detail. These can include skills such as unique knowledge, special powers, singing, designing, teaching, sleuthing, or whatever makes the character integral to the story. These may or may not relate to their vocation (a teacher who has a special gift for teaching, versus a teacher who can fly).  Just as important to bring out are the character’s flaws. These will typically contribute to their motivations as well.

Originality – How is the character not just a cliché recalling many similar characters? Add details that make them original and one-of-a-kind. These can be among the characteristics described above, but it is also helpful to include some physical quirks or odd habits that make the character unique.

These are some of the tools I use when creating the characters for my stories. Please share your suggestions and ideas that you use to bring your own characters to life. As a reader, what is it that makes characters very real for you?