Creating Captivating Characters

Everyone wants to create the next James Bond, Scarlet O’Hara, Holden Caulfield or Hamlet. But what makes a character memorable? does adding a bunch of random details to a character give life to him? Ask Sol Stein, of course not! So, what is it? Actually, there are a variety of things that make characters captivating.

Consistency

There is an unwritten rule in fiction; characters must remain consistent. This means that the guy with a bad attitude in the beginning of the novel, will be a guy with a bad attitude at the end of the novel; nevertheless, there are some exceptions. If one is able to show that there is a plausible reason for the change. For example, in The Christmas Carole Ebenezer Scrooge is transformed from a mingy miser into an altruistic gentleman. But it must be noted that he had to go through a great ordeal in order for his transformation to occur. Readers expect consistency, but if change is called for it must be plausible based on the elements within the story.

Flaws Make us Human.

I’ve yet to meet a perfect person. We all have our imperfections, our fears and foibles. So why not give them to your literary characters? Alfred Hitchcock gave his protagonist in the movie Vertigo an extreme fear of heights that he had to overcome. Giving a character some kind of weakness can actually make them stronger and more believable.

What’s The Motivation?

It’s important to know what drives your characters. Is it greed, Lust, Love? Is it honorable or treacherous? Motivation is the subtext for action. This subtext does not always have to be spelled out for the reader, but an author should understand why a character is behaving a certain way. Motive has the ability to change how we perceive a character. What if the nice guy was only nice to fool the girl into trusting him? What if the jerk was only acting that way in order to protect someone? By understanding the subtext of motivation we are able to peer deeper into a character’s being.

Need seems to be a strong motivator. There are a variety of needs which include.

• The need to accomplish a goal
• The need to be loved or love
• The need for a social relationship
• The need for spirituality
• The need to know
• The need to overcome

There are many other needs, but these are a few to keep in mind.

I Sense Something

Many beginning writers seem to neglect every sense except sight and hearing. To bring a character more to life try adding the other senses when possible. A girl’s older brother is wearing his sweaty gym socks; describing the smell of those rancid socks could bring the reader deeper into the reality. A character is eating a piece of her favorite pie; don’t just tell us about it. Let us experience the succulent taste in our mouths.

Physical Traits

It’s important to remember the physical traits of a character. An obese character might not be able to run at high speeds without catching his breath. A skinny kid might not be able to confront a bodybuilder. We must realize that a character’s physical traits may pose limitations on that character.

Somebody You Know?

I won’t say it’s a completely bad idea to base a character on somebody you know, but don’t make it too obvious. There’s a chance that the person you see a certain way may view themselves differently. So when it comes to basing fictional characters on people you know in real life take the safe route of changing enough characteristics that they have no idea who you are talking about. We all have interesting people in our lives that’d make great fictional characters, but they might not think so.

Word of Mouth

Characters are also characterized by what they say, and what others say about them. If most characters say negative things about the character when he is not around, it can be assumed that the character is a bad person. If the character is of few words that says something. If the character is a rapacious loudmouth, that says something.

Luck of the Draw

People get lucky in real life. A teacher may get sick and a dreaded test might be postponed. Even if “happy chances” occur in real life these moments of serendipity are dubious in fiction. However, bad luck is a different story. Readers are more likely to suspend their belief for bad luck than they are for good luck. Maybe all readers are pessimist? I don’t know.

Character Bios

It is also a good idea to make a list of all of the character’s traits. Even those you don’t plan to use in the story in order to make him seem more real. Information can include sex, height, religion, nationality, cultural background, etc.

There is a lot to be said on the topic of characterization and I plan to update this Hub regularly.