Writing a compelling story is simple, right? All you need are interesting people and some exciting things that happen to them. Characters and plot. No problem.
Even the best story idea, with a strong plotline, increasing conflict, and ultimate resolution, can be disappointing if the characters are flat and one-dimensional. So how can you write strong, interesting characters that readers will like and relate to?
It helps to know your characters inside and out, so you can write about them authentically.
I’ve heard writers discuss different methods and tricks to get to know their characters. I’ve seen recommendations of everything from interviewing your characters to building a complete backstory and biography of your characters. I guess I’m just looking for an easier way.
I like to create characters from people I already know. By taking the personality traits and characteristics of a person I know, I can exaggerate them a bit if needed, and throw them into a plot. What I know about that person determines how they will act and react inside a story.
Sometimes it’s a friend or co-worker whose unique mannerisms or quirks make them memorable. I then put those traits into a character in my story. This lets me draw on my knowledge and understanding of that person to shape how my character will behave.
Sometimes, I take traits from several people I know and combine them into one character for a story. This composite allows me to have an understanding or expectation of how that character would realistically act.
Even my villains are typically based on someone I know or have encountered. I take what I know or have observed, add what I suspect about them, and sometimes let my imagination run wild about how awful or evil they really are. All of their subsequent actions fall in line with that.
I allow myself to use as much imagination and flexibility as I want or need, but by basing my characters on someone I actually know, it gives me a head start and a pattern to work from. That pattern helps me keep my characters behaving consistently, and hopefully causes my readers to care about them and see them as believable.
- The Characters You Know - September 19, 2025
- Writing Contests - December 16, 2024
- Anthony Wood: Hall of Fame Member - June 3, 2024
Very good, Kim. This is much the way I develop characters, too.
Dot