How To Write Unique Characters

How do you write realistic characters? With so many different kinds of characters out there–like a mother who is also a robot, or a gangster who is also a tree–it can be challenging to build believable and unique characters. We’ve all read novels where we wonder how the author could possibly have imagined a character like that, and often those strange creations turn us off from reading further. But what if I told you we could avoid this challenge by learning to understand one character concept: the protagonist.

Everyone wants to write a novel that will be read and loved by millions. I am one of those people. My problem isn’t finding ideas or struggling with grammar or spelling though. My biggest struggle is getting my characters to not only speak differently but act differently as well. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked hard at making my main character, Tia Ester, into someone other than myself over the past year. But even Tia lacks depth in some ways. The three main characters have distinct personalities - and I even went so far as to tell the reader what colors they like to wear (which no one believes but me). But how does one become unique?

What's Next?

It’s about separating your characters from yourself, and start seeing them as someone else. We all see our friends and loved ones in different ways than they see themselves. Using that to your advantage, you can start to create a personality. Try this exercise with me. Start with a name, an age group, and an occupation of someone you know. Now, think about that person you know and imagine what you think they should be named. Your best friend might be called Marie, but perhaps she looks more like an Eliza. Now, if you had to give them any job in the world that suited their personality, what would it be? Are they an accountant, but in your mind you see them as a veterinarian? We’re starting to build a character that’s a bit more realistic. Now, we just have to make them interesting.

We have a character named Eliza, we’re going to say she’s twenty-five years of age, and works as a veterinarian. There are plenty of young ladies in their twenties working as a vet. That’s not interesting, that’s just realistic. It’s time to think about the what if’s. In our mind, we decided that this person we know should be named something different, and have an occupation we believe suits them. What would someone else say? What if they’re a vet in your story, but they don’t want to be a vet? What if they rather be something else? Or, perhaps they love their job, but something gets in their way. A criminal, running from the law may decide to go into a veterinary clinic to get themselves stitched up, but in this scenario, the vet is never in the best position and usually gets killed at the end of the exchange of services. Perhaps your character, your vet, is a bit smarter than that. Instead of using anaesthetic on the criminal, what if they injected them with something a little deadlier, and your character now as a taste for the worst things in life?

The possibilities are endless, but sometimes the best practice to a realistic character, is building off someone you already know. Imagining someone in the place of your character can help build a relationship between you as the author, your reader, and the character they can connect to.

Steps To Character Development

When writing fiction, developing a character profile will assist you in determining backstory and determining which motives and character characteristics are most appropriate to use in your storylines. Unless hair colour or eye colour is crucial to your story, delve deep into your character's life to discover what makes them interesting to read about.

A few writing tips for creating more believable characters are mentioned below:

Take inspiration from real life.

When it comes to creative writing, we sometimes need to draw inspiration from the real people in our lives. Using people you know as a basis for your fictional character, such as family members or friends, is a good way to insure you're writing a believable person rather than a stereotype.

Have bugs in the design.

A strong character is one that has flaws. Unless there is something else about your main character that can bind them with your audience, an invincible main character who can do it all isn't as fun to read about. Also the most powerful heroes have flaws that can be used to create conflict, which is what makes them more compelling characters.

Include etiquette.

It's often the little details in a character's personality or body language that help them feel more grounded in reality. A good mix of quirks can help create more memorable characters in fiction writing by adding small details that make them cute, endearing, strange, or unusual. Overloading the character descriptions with these characteristics, on the other hand, will make them seem ungrounded and unrelatable.

Give the character anything to strive for.

The aspirations of a character are crucial in determining who they are and what motivates them. A bad guy must have a compelling reason to be bad in order to be a decent character. What is this person's goal, and why is it important to them? The best villains aren't cartoonish caricatures; instead, they're nuanced bad guys that readers love and hate at the same time. Finding a way to portray a character's internal turmoil, as well as any physical challenges or roadblocks, can show the emotional difficulty they face. Audiences would be able to follow compelling character arcs if you write plausible motives.

Create believable dialogue.

The way your character talks has a significant influence on how a reader imagines them after reading your work. The more natural their interactions with other characters are, the more realistic they will seem. Dialogue should represent the character's history and be accurate to the time period in which the story is set.

Include relationships between characters that aren't main characters.

When your main characters communicate with secondary characters, the reader gets the impression that they've known each other long before you became interested in their story. Interacting with secondary and minor characters will make them feel more authentic as if they still live in the world even though we're not following the main plot.

Create and develop your characters.

Even if all that shifts is their physical description or point of view, character creation is an important feature of any fiction writing. Over the course of the story, a character can develop and evolve, or at the very least experience or learn something new. For example, when Sherlock Holmes, who was famous for not getting along with or liking others, found a perfectly matched colleague and best friend in his sidekick, John Watson, he grew emotionally. When Holmes demonstrated to the audience that he wasn't just a crime-solving savant, but that he was also capable of connecting with and sustaining a relationship with another person, he became more humanised.