Creating Realistic Characters

When creating characters, it’s important to remember that people want to read about themselves. They want to read about realistic characters. That doesn’t mean all of your characters have to be based off of real-life people. No, it means all of your characters must have a few things in common:

Flaws. All of your characters must be flawed in some way. This goes back to the realistic characters. The problem with perfect characters is that there is no conflict, no plot when characters themselves and the world they live in is perfect.

Give each major character at least one major flaw that they must overcome before the story’s end.

For the sake of this article, let’s create a character. Maybe a geeky teenage hero named, Toby. Toby’s flaw will be fear. He’s too afraid to step outside of his small world to experience new things. He’s dominated by fear. But Toby is going to have to change through the course of the story and overcome his fear.

You can even give a character a reason for the flaw. For instance, what if Toby’s dad died while riding a motorcycle? What if his dad had been a daredevil his whole life? So, Toby believed that had his dad chosen to live a quieter lifestyle, he’d still be here today.

Adding a reason for the flaw deepens the character and allows readers not only to sympathize with Toby but to root for him as well.
Good Qualities. When giving Toby flaws, we also want to add some good qualities. In fact one teen writer told me she thinks of qualities she’d like to develop then uses those qualities in her character.

Let’s see, we’re going to make Toby reliable. If he gives you his word, he will keep it. Sometimes this means Toby will get taken advantage of because he’s too weak to stand up for himself.

For one reason or another, he’s never fit in with the other people–not even people his age. This lack of other human companionship and acceptance has probably made him sensitive to others’ needs. He’s probably a kind, helpful person….the kind of guy that would walk a girl home at night. The kind of guy that would put others before himself. This gives us the quality, self-sacrificing.

Details. Now that we’ve gotten the major points of Toby’s character sketched out, let’s give some details that will add life to this sketch. Remember, it’s the little things that can make a huge difference (from the way your character talks to the way they dress).

Toby’s true passion will be photography. He’s the perfect type of guy to be a photographer, simply because other people don’t notice him. People notice the camera but not the guy behind it.

We’re also going to give him an obsession with vanilla ice cream (maybe that’s what he compares himself to). Perhaps Toby thinks the other flavors are too bold or maybe he’s one of those people that doesn’t like chocolate.

Family and Friends. Next we’d layer in Toby’s family and friends. His mom is a single parent, struggling to pay the mortgage every month and probably doesn’t pay enough attention to Toby simply because he’s not a demanding child. Then we’d give him a younger sister, probably around ten and since his mom works all day, it’s his responsibility to look after her.

We could keep going until we’ve given Toby a myriad of habits, phobias, obsessions, hobbies, favorites– and all these things add up to create a realistic character.

However, you should know that there is no perfect ‘formula’ for creating a character. Each writer goes about it differently. The way we created Toby was just one way to do it. Some writers start with the good qualities then add flaws. Some write entire biographies on their characters before ever typing the words ‘chapter one’.

Whatever method you choose, however you go about it, add multiple layers to your characters to make them realistic and you can’t go wrong.