I recently received an email from a writer named Ariana who is struggling with character development: “I am currently writing a book and would like your advice on it. I’m stuck on how to make it so the reader can feel like the characters in my book…if that makes sense.”
It makes perfect sense, Ariana! Thanks for asking such an important question. A vital part of the reading experience is getting so invested into the main character that you begin to feel like you’re in her head, experiencing everything as the story unfolds.
But how do authors make that happen? How can writers create characters that evoke deep emotion within the reader?
First, I believe the writer has to be in touch with her own emotions in order to transfer that to characters.
Second, if a writer wants to create a rich emotional experience, then she has to take the story below the surface and share what’s going on in the character’s head (learning to balance internal narration with keeping the plot moving).
Finally, to get readers to care about characters, the writer has to care about them first. In order to do that, a writer must get to know her characters intimately, essentially becoming the character during the writing process.
But how can a writer get to know the characters that well?
One thing that really helps me is that I spend time getting to know both my hero and heroine BEFORE I start the book. I find the process of developing my characters one of the most delightful aspects of the entire writing process. I relish the idea of playing “god” and breathing life into people. I get to make my characters exactly how I want. And while it’s daunting to have so much power, it’s also euphoric.
Here are just a few things I take into consideration as I get to know my characters:
1. Make them distinct.
Obviously I consider their physical appearance. I have to visualize every physical detail about my character before they come alive. In addition to hair, eyes, and body type, I consider distinguishing physical traits (usually two or three unique things). Often I find a picture of an actress or actor that serves as the basis of my character.
But I always go much deeper than physical appearance. I pick an action tag (something they do like nail biting or head scratching). I also choose a verbal tag (something they say like “My, my” or “heaven have mercy”). And finally I narrow down a characteristic tag (something like timidity, arrogance, or boldness). I also analyze if they have any quirks or eccentricities.
2. Flesh out their personalities.
When analyzing their personalities, I try to understand their skills, abilities, and talents. I also determine their personality type and lately have been using the Enneagram descriptions to help (Here’s a great website with a simple breakdown of the 9 types).
I also go deeper with these kinds of questions: What makes them angry and how do they handle their anger? What embarrasses them and how do they handle embarrassment? What makes them afraid and how do they handle their fears? What are their prejudices? What is their sense of humor? What’s their philosophy of life?
3. Understand their past.
I may not need to know when they had their first scraped knee or lost tooth. But I do try to look for those defining incidents in their past that have shaped them into the characters they are in the present. These are usually the painful, life-shaping events (big or little) that provide the impetus behind their motivations in the story. I usually answer the question: What are the most painful experiences in the character’s past to prove why they act the way they do?
4. Define their strengths.
I try to narrow down the qualities that will help my readers care about the characters. Some refer to these as the “heroic” qualities. I brainstorm a list, then try to pull out a top strength. This is the one I show my character doing in my first chapter, to get my readers caring right away. I also pick out a few others that form the backbone of the character.
5. Define their weaknesses.
I carefully decide a main inner struggle or conflict that my character will need to work through. This is sometimes called the internal plot which is separate from but woven together with the external plot (and the relationship plot in a romance). The weakness needs to arise organically in the story out of those past motivations that we know but won’t divulge until later to our readers.
6. Understand their goals.
As chapter one opens, I want my characters’ story goals to become clear right away. But that means I have to know what they want first. Their wants often stem out of the past hurts and pains. I ask myself three questions: What’s my character’s biggest dream? Why do they want that goal (or dream)? And then what’s keeping them from that goal?
Getting to know my characters doesn’t stop in the pre-planning stage. In fact, the real knowing happens once I start to live out the story. With each new page and chapter, I understand them better, and they often surprise me with new things that I didn’t see coming (such as a hobby, quirk, past issue, etc). They come to life in unexpected ways, but that only happens because I’ve already laid a foundation and can build upon it to develop richer, more complex characters.
What about you? What are some ways writers can help readers feel like the characters in their books?
Jody Hedlund
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Good morning Jodi, this is a very interesting post today. And this is why I love your books so very much. I can get into the characters head and live with them and experience their times. Thank you for being such a wonderful author and for helping other authors that would like to become better.
What an fascinating article! As I read it, I kept saying “yeah, I do that too.” (I am a novice writer.) It was good to see an established writer sharing the behind the scenes planning. By the way, I love your books! Thank you for taking the time to do all that background work; it shows!!
I think a sense of humour makes readers love characters much more. But a character who always makes bad jokes would be horrible. The ‘tags’ you mentioned are important too. One other thing is that if the character is too weak (not determined), readers might feel annoyed and disgusted. I’m not saying they should not have weaknesses, but that some weak characters might be a bit infuriating.
This is so helpful! What I love about this post is how practical it is. So often, I read books or article on the writing craft and I come away frustrated. This is the kind of stuff I find really helpful. Thank you!
You’ve delivered fantastic advice here, Jody! I develop my characters in much the same way. It’s a process! I work to know them well before I start writing, but I inevitably get to know them much better IN the writing and rewriting and rewriting of their story.
I’ve been away, just catching up. This post is so illuminating. I understand now why an agent wrote that she sensed I was holding back on what I really wanted to say. Today, I’m returning to work, re-structuring something that didn’t feel right. I need to know more about one of my characters.