Creating Dynamic Characters
By Samantha Kroese
Characterization is one of the most important elements of fiction. Characters need to feel vibrant and alive to the reader. The story needs to show clearly why the characters are who they are, why they are where they are, and why they do what they do. Writers need to know why one character stands out as the main character of a story. It must be evident to the writer what that main character wants as the outcome of their story. The same holds true for readers. Readers may accept or reject a story based simply on whether or not they can connect with the main character. Does that mean that only likeable characters can be main protagonists? Not necessarily. A writer must make readers care what happens to the characters. Even if readers do not like some aspects of a character, a character that is dynamic and real enough can still reach them and elicit an appropriate reaction.
Dynamic characters will help a writer build their story. Their personalities and actions will drive the plot. Who they are and where they come from will construct the world they live in. Character-driven fiction is often the easiest type of story for readers to connect to characters. A story certainly can be built with the plot or world first, but in these cases the writer must be careful that their characters are still individuals. If characters are just an extension of the plot or world, they will not stand out as memorable to the reader. Much like actors immerse themselves in characters to create believable roles, writers also must become their characters as they write.
Fiction writers known as “pantsers”, those who do not use outlines but only very basic notes, will have a much easier time immersing themselves characters. Fiction writers known as “plotters”, who start with plot and outlines, will need to be aware their outlines may have to change for dynamic characters. If characters are made to conform to an outline and act against their natures, the reader will notice in a negative way. Allowing the characters to make these choices keeps the characters real and is surprisingly helpful in the flow of a story. There are many techniques that can be used to create vibrant characters whose choices seem to the reader to will flow naturally.
First, to have truly memorable characters that readers will remember long after they have closed the book, a writer needs to give the characters something that inspires readers. This could be a particular talent, an endearing habit, or a sympathetic personality trait. Whatever quality is used, it must be written subtly, but firmly, into each character. A writer must develop the skill of completely getting inside the character’s head because this allows the writer to create a character who has his or her own feelings, desires, thoughts. Thus, the ability to make choices.
It is comparatively easy for writers to get readers to champion a good character. Someone who loves puppies and children, does volunteer work, and rescues the damsel in distress is not hard to like. But it is also possible to compel readers to care about a villain. Villainous characters have motivations and reasons for their actions, too. If their background information or thoughts are presented properly, readers will sympathize even if they cannot empathize. A character’s moral compass might be broken, but the strongest villains will have the same conviction that they are right as the stereotypical hero. Even the most vile character can draw support of readers when his actions, words, or thoughts expressed on the page show that he loves someone or accepts responsibility for his actions. It can be more challenging to write a dynamic villain, but it can be fun and a requirement of certain genres.
The next technique involves building each character. How much has to be revealed for the reader to understand a character’s motivation? This is a difficult question for many writers. The simple answer is, as much as is necessary to make the character believable in the assigned role as the plot develops. A character profile may include details such as arachnophobia and wearing blue velvet on Tuesdays. Unless these details are important to the plot, they should be left on the character profile. Putting too much information on the page can be as dangerous as using too little detail.
Character profiles are a popular tool for writers. They can be general or detailed, but most contain information about the character’s physical appearance, personality, family background, education, occupation, and hobbies. For some characters, special skills, health issues, emotional trauma, specific life events, and even details such as dress, food choices, or favorite color may be added. Which information is important to character development will often depend on the genre. Writers may be as detailed as they need to be in their development, but the reader will not need to know all that information.
Another important tool for writers is the use of writing prompts. A writing prompt is a popular writing exercise where a writer is given a prompt and has to write a scene that fits the prompt. The most popular way of doing this is to find a website or book of prompts. This technique is best for seeing how a character will react in random situations. A writer must remember to allow the character to react as he or she would and not push the character to respond in the socially expected way. This is, after all, what people experience every day, and the collection of events and choices made lead to the full development of a person’s character.
Another tool for writers is to use is the Myers-Briggs Test, which tells you which of sixteen personality types you are, or similar quizzes. The writer would then answer only as the character would. There are many sources online for taking personality quizzes. By doing this you can see what personality type your characters are, and the more detailed tests can even predict what sort of life styles, jobs, and relationships they would be drawn to. It is best to remember this is just another tool, and the writer should not use it as though it is law.
A newer technique that has developed over the last fifteen years or so with the advances in gaming technology is role-play. Role-play essentially is the writer donning the character as an actor would and playing the role in a real-time situation. This is usually done with other writers and in set situations. This can be a great tool for teaching the writer to become the character, especially in situations where the character has a different moral code or belief system than the writer. Role-play should always be used with caution. As soon as other writers are involved, copyright and what belongs to whom can become issues. Also, pay attention to the venue being used. Using video games as a visual aid while role playing is popular, however, some games claim ownership to anything written within their program so it is wise to understand the legal consequences. Remember if you role-play your character in another world, you need to retrieve only your character, not elements and pieces from the other world or other writer’s characters.
It is essential that writers understand the expectations of character description within their genre. For instance, in romance readers expect to have details about the character’s physical appearance and attractive features such as personality. In science fiction and fantasy, there may be unique characters so more description may be required. In more action driven plots, such as suspense, details may bog down the flow of the action and irritate readers, causing the opposite affect to the one desired. It is important to remember that readers of a genre will likely know what common creatures look like. It is important not to interrupt the flow of action with unnecessary detail. If a character is about to be eaten by a dragon a writer should not waste a paragraph describing the creature in detail because at that point the reader cares more about the character getting eaten than they do what the threat looks like. On the other hand, if a writer were writing horror where suspense and fear must be built, a detailed description of the creature and the character’s reaction to it would be important. It is vital for an author to pin down the details about a character that will be important for the reader to understand in order to connect to that character and understand the plot.
Another essential thing for writers to decide is what point of view they are writing from. Some writers prefer to have their description done by a third-person omniscient narrator. However, this will feel wrong and out of place if the rest of the text is very limited third-person point of view where we are close to the character’s thoughts so writing in a limited third person point of view may be wiser. In that case we should be seeing only what the character sees in the character’s words. Many writers are also fond of the reflection technique, where the character stands in front of a shiny surface, such as a mirror, and the narrator describes them in detail. This must be used with extreme caution as it sometimes has a negative connotation and if used incorrectly may be seen as an amateur mistake by editors. If the mirror or surface is reflecting something important to the plot, such as the character appears one way to others or does not reflect at all, that would be an appropriate use.
Writers must be aware and careful not to use what is called an “info-dump” technique where they stop the story to tell the reader something. This is the most difficult to avoid in description because the writer may be tempted to tell all of the details about their character at once. It is much more effective to spread out the description throughout the story as needed for the plot.
Having the correct number of characters is also important. Sometimes it is better to combine two or three weak characters into one strong one, or to give one essential plot point to an existing character rather than bring in a new one. Unless all support characters stand on their own, they can feel like surplus to readers. Show why only that character could have been in that situation and augmented the plot in that fashion. Deus ex Machina, or “hand of God,” is a term for when a character that shows up to help the plot along, then disappears. This can be unsettling for readers and is not a recommended technique. All characters involved in the plot should be essential and none should just come out of nowhere.
Dynamic characters will create realistic worlds and interesting plots, and the reader will care what happens to them. When a writer can build characters strong enough that no other characters would have worked in that plot, readers will connect with them, perhaps love them, and definitely remember them, even once they have closed the book.