Crafting Compelling Characters: A Guide for Fiction Writers

What is a story without characters? Characters who engage your readers and leave them wanting more.

Characters are the heart of the narrative, and the author’s role is to keep them driving the plot and evoking emotions in readers. Crafting compelling characters is important in storytelling. Your readers need to feel for them, without this readers become bored.

Think about the traits your characters will have. What do they look like? What colour eyes, hair, and type of hair? Do they have a talent? If so, does this fit with the story? What your character traits are is important to driving the story along. Don't add a trait that does nothing to keep the story going.

Does your character have a talent? If they do make sure it fits with your story.

Do you want to know how to develop characters who will then entice your readers? Well, here are elements to consider when you start crafting your story.

Depth and Complexity

When I read a story with characters who are dull or not in sync with what a real person is like, this is when I lose interest in the story. Give me characters who move me, stir my emotions and possess depth. Authors can show this by writing the characters’ backstories into the plot, giving their readers an insight into what has shaped their characters' behaviour.

This can be tricky because too much backstory can become boring. A good writer can give snippets of information scattered throughout the story, not too much as to overwhelm the reader who will switch off, too much backstory is unnecessary information.

FAME & Other Disasters is a story with compelling characters who drive the story. Will you be on #teammolly or #teamemma?

Relatability

In certain genres, characters who possess real human feelings and experience real-life events are what readers will connect with. Give your characters relatable traits and struggles so readers will be happy to keep investing in your story.

Books are not expensive, per se, but if you’re like me and can’t leave a bookshop without an armful of books, you can have many $$$ invested in your To Be Read pile. If some of those books in your TBR pile have characters who don’t engage you, then this is money wasted. Authors need to remember that characters are important when crafting a story, so don’t let your readers down with weak characters. Add relatable traits, some good and some bad, to keep readers entertained.

Another tool an author can use to entice readers is the world-building aspect of their story. Characters need to fit into this world and bring the scenes to life within the world around them. There are tropes in all genres authors can use to keep readers reading, but if the characters don't fit the world they're in, no one will believe in your story.

For instance, you wouldn't place a centaur in a science fiction story (although if a writer is clever enough they could make this work; mashups happen). But one character you wouldn't see in, let's say, historical fiction, is a person talking on their mobile phone. This is a ridiculous one, I know, and I don't think this would ever work for this genre.

No matter the genre, characters need to fit the world they are in. The world an author builds needs to relate to the characters in the story.

Clear Goals and Motivations

The character’s actions need to be clear. In a romance, it is their quest for love. A drama may be the fight between good and evil, as it can be in a science fiction novel. Whatever the motivation – love, revenge, or even self-discovery- the character shows these actions throughout the story. The actions and their progression keep readers engaged and invested in the outcome of your book.

Unique Voice and Personality

Consider how your characters will sound. Are they tough, quietly spoken, or have a distinct tone? A main character will need a distinct tone to make them stand out in readers’ minds. When you are writing dialogue, keep in mind the characters' speech patterns and attitudes, their speech needs to reflect their unique personality.

Also, depending on your story and characters, will you use swear words? Does your character like using big words to make themselves feel smarter? Work these things into an outline of your story to keep you on track with who your character is.

I find doing an outline before I start a story helps with character types and who is who in the story. Giving your characters a birthdate will influence their thoughts and ideals and where they were born also does this. Also, think about whether your characters have quirks that make them stand out even more. For example, do they have an eye twitch or a habit of fiddling with their hair?

Growth and Change

If you want your readers to champion your characters, especially the main character, then consider the character arc. Does the character learn from past mistakes? Or does their growth come from another source? Another character may influence their growth in the story.

Readers want characters to succeed and if the story is a journey of self-discovery, then make this an epic journey. This evolution of the character is what encourages readers to want your character to succeed.

Relationships and Interactions

I have read books written in first person and found the relationships and character progression lacking. First person narrative is not easy to write. Not all books written in the first person have problems with character additions, but it is difficult to add other characters to the story when the whole story is only from one point of view (POV).

For me to be interested in a story, it is the other characters and how the main character interacts with them that keep me reading. In fact, I have the opposite problem, in some of my stories I have too many characters. One of my books, Xenure Station Trilogy, a science fantasy trilogy, has an appendix of names because there are so many characters.

How characters relate to each other can reveal different facets of their personality and drive the plot forward. Keep watch on how these dynamics change throughout the story, as they can add layers to both the characters and the world you build around them.  

Flaws and Vulnerabilities

Perfect characters are uninteresting, but a character with perfectionisms can entice readers. Flaws make characters relatable and human. The authenticity of your characters’ vulnerabilities creates tension and conflict, and these drive your story forward.

Authentic characters with relatable human traits make for a memorable and impactful story. Readers expect characters to have flaws, so use them to introduce more about your characters to readers.

Use These Tips

There you have it, seven tips on how to write compelling characters. By focusing on these, you will be able to craft characters readers will like, ensuring they will be entertained. Your characters are the essence of your story, not just participants in the plot. Make them grow and keep this essence throughout your story.

Happy reading (and writing)

Maria P Frino