In this article we'll consider:
Understanding your characters
Show, don't tell
Voice as a tool for characterization
Character arcs and development
Creating memorable visual descriptions
Emotional resonance and empathy
Consistency and complexity
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As a fiction writer, you'll probably agree that one of the most thrilling and challenging aspects of storytelling is finding ways to bring your characters to life on the page. Characters are story; they are what drive you to create and they're what keep readers turning pages. So giving them depth, making them compelling and relatable, is essential to your book's success.
Let's explore some tips and techniques to help you breathe life into your characters and make them come alive.
Understanding your characters
Before you can bring your characters to life, you must first understand them inside and out. Perhaps you're a planner, and you have each character mapped out before you begin, with in-depth descriptions, detailed backstories, unique traits, strengths, fears, desires, flaws and motivations behind behaviours.
Or maybe you're a pantser, preferring your characters to reveal themselves to you as you work.
Either way, bear in mind your characters are a complex mix of genetics, life experiences and conditioning, from which they have developed their own model of reality; in essence, an operating manual that keeps them safe and in control. When this model is challenged, that's when tension and conflict arises.
Given that everyone's operating manual is different, it follows that no two characters will react to a situation in exactly the same way. So what drives your unique character to take action, or resist action, in your story? In what ways might your character compensate for repressed or unexpressed emotions? How might their hidden vulnerabilities manifest in everyday life or challenging situations?
The better you know your characters, the more authentic and multidimensional they'll appear on the page.
Show, don't tell
Stories work best when there is room for the reader to get involved and draw their own conclusions; not just about plot, but who these characters really are. This is where the old "show, don't tell" line comes in. Instead of explicitly stating a character's traits or emotions, demonstrate them instead through:
actions and behaviours - reactions to events, but also their everyday routines
dialogue - what they say, how they say it, what they don't say
perceptions/mood - the way they interpret situations
little details - what their belongings say about them
interactions with other characters
Allow readers to infer who your characters are based on how those characters behave and respond to the world around them. This subtle approach creates a more immersive reading experience, allowing readers to form a deeper connection with your characters based on their own internal operating manuals.
Voice as a tool for characterization
In close point of view, narrative voice is a powerful tool for revealing character personality. Whether first, second or third-person, if the narrative distance is reduced, readers can get as close to your character(s) as it's possible to get. Think of it as a direct link through which to nurture a deep connection between your readers and your characters.
Pay attention to how each character "speaks", either internally to themselves or outwardly to others, and how their voice changes in different circumstances. Their tone, diction, and speech patterns provide valuable insights into their background, their understanding of the world, their opinions (including those they mask), and their mindset.
In particular, the dissonance between your character's external self (the one they present to the world) and their internal self will reveal their core struggles, the friction to their internal operating manual that triggers unease and conflict.
Character arcs and development
While in real life people develop and evolve in a messy, disorganized, prolonged kind of way, in fiction your characters ideally go through a process of change within the parameters of your story, either for good or bad, or they affect change in others.
Just meeting your characters and growing attached to them isn't enough; readers want to witness your characters encounter experiences that will challenge their understanding of the world and affect how they respond to it.
Whether it's a redemption arc, a coming-of-age journey, or a struggle for self-acceptance, character development adds richness, intrigue, and complexity to your narrative. Take a look here for more on Crafting Compelling Character Arcs.
Creating memorable visual descriptions
With all this internal stuff going on, let's not forget that visual descriptions can also play a significant role in bringing characters to life.
Some writers prefer to leave physical appearances to readers' imaginations or even preferences, but providing vivid and specific details about your characters' looks, mannerisms and gestures can help readers to more clearly visualize them. Plus, of course, how they look can be a signal of who they are - or at least how they want to be perceived by others.
Depending on your genre, you might even go to town on physical description. Think of the visually memorable characters in children's fiction, such as Hook in Peter Pan or The Cat in the Hat. Or Charles Dickens's characters, whose physical characteristics embodied their personas so completely - Ebenezer Scrooge, Miss Havisham, Uriah Heep, or Mr Bumble, to name a few.
Emotional resonance and empathy
To truly capture readers' hearts, your characters must evoke empathy and emotional resonance. Ideally your characters will have traits readers can in some ways recognize, or relate to. Even the best antagonists, those we love to hate, have redeeming qualities or a traumatic backstory that draw a degree of empathy from us (deep down somewhere).
After all, we are all human, and at the deepest core we are the same. We have simply developed different "models of reality" based on our own unique upbringing, circumstances, and struggles. So whatever troubles your characters on the surface level, infuse them with vulnerability, authenticity, and humanity to forge a strong emotional connection with your audience.
Consistency and complexity
Lastly, strive for consistency and complexity in your character portrayals. Avoid one-dimensional stereotypes or clichés - they don't exist in real life, not to the degree we may think they do - and instead cultivate characters with depth, contradictions, and a multitude of shades of grey.
Your characters will have internal conflicts, moral dilemmas, and unexpected motivations. Sometimes, when pushed in directions they've never been in before, they may act "out of character" or do something they wouldn't normally. They'll most certainly get things wrong, not have all the facts, misjudge situations or people, and think they know more than they do.
Which is all grist for the fiction drama mill.
Finally...
Bringing characters to life on the page requires skill, creativity, and empathy. But done right the effect is extremely satisfying, as much for you as your readers. When given the chance, your characters will drive your narrative forward, whipping the reins out of your hands and telling you how this whole mess you've got them in is going to play out.
At this point, the book is no longer yours and your only option is to comply.
By understanding your characters at the very core, showing their traits through voice and behaviours, and allowing them to grow and evolve or affect change in other ways, you are creating individuals who live within the pages of your book; and whose personality, actions and story will grip readers and stay with them long after they finish reading.
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Tina Williams of Fiction Yogi is a copyeditor and proofreader who works with writers at all stages, giving them the tools to improve their manuscript and level up their writing so they can meet their publishing goals.
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