Creating Meaningful Characters in Your Novel

Eight Things to Consider To Create Memorable Characters

Nov 25, 2008 Nina Munteanu

Each character in your story has a dramatic function and a role in advancing the plot and/or theme. They need a reason to be there.

Your characters are the most important part of your book (more so than the plot or premise). Through them your book lives and breathes. Through them your premise, idea and your plot come alive. Through them you achieve empathy and commitment from the reader and a willingness to keep reading to find out what’s going to happen next: if the reader doesn’t invest in the characters, she won’t really care what happens next.

Eight questions you need to ask about your characters include:

1. If you can remove the character, will the book fall apart? (if not, you don’t need that character; they aren’t fulfilling a role in the book).

2. How does the character portray the major or minor theme of the book? That’s what characters are there for.

3. What is the role of the character? (e.g., protagonist, antagonist, mentor, catalyst, etc.). Each character fulfills a dramatic function. They can’t just be there because they’re cute.

4. What is the story arc of the character? Does s/he develop or change, learn something by the end? If not, s/he will be two-dimensional and less interesting. This is just as true for minor characters as for your main characters.

5. What major obstacle(s) must your character overcome? He or she needs these to struggle and “grow” and change, otherwise there is no tension in your book, no development and movement and no story arc.

6. Who are your major protagonist(s)—the main character who changes the most? This is usually the character who changes the most.

7. Who are your major antagonist(s)—those who provide the most trouble for your protagonists, the source of conflict and tension? The antagonist needs to be as strong as your main character, otherwise the reader doesn’t buy into the struggle.

8. What’s at stake: for the world (plot); for each individual (theme) and how do these tie together?

Make your character bleed, hurt, cry, and laugh. This needs to be clear to the reader, who wants to empathize with some of them and hate others. How characters interact with their surroundings and each other creates tension, a key element to good storytelling.

Characters need to “appear” real without “being” real. For instance, in real life a person may act through no apparent motivation, be confusing, incoherent, etc. Characters in fiction fulfill a dramatic function in the story for the reader and are, therefore, more logically laid out. They may, as a result, be more coherent, consistent and clear in their actions and qualities than a person in real life.

Fictional characters come to life by giving them individual traits, real weaknesses and heroic qualities that readers can recognize and empathize with. You play these against each other to achieve drama. For instance, a man who is afraid of heights but who must climb a mountain to save his love is far more compelling than one who is not; a military man who fears responsibility but must lead his team into battle; a shy scientist impelled to discovery; etc.

Characters written by beginning writers often suffer from lack of distinction, or purpose, and just clutter up a story. For a character to “come alive” their “voice” must be unique. Give them distinctive body movements, dress, facial features and expressions that reveal inner feelings, emotions, fears, motivations, etc. Then keep them consistent.

The copyright of the article Creating Meaningful Characters in Your Novel in Writing Fiction is owned by Nina Munteanu. Permission to republish Creating Meaningful Characters in Your Novel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
An An "Old" Character
   
What do you think about this article?
NOTE: Because you are not a Suite101 member, your comment will be moderated before it is viewable.
post your comment
What is 9+0?

Comments

Feb 2, 2009 4:18 PM
Guest :
I liked the article. It helped a lot with my main characters. But what about the minor characters? How can I make them interesting even if they play such a small part in my book?
Feb 2, 2009 5:22 PM
Nina Munteanu :
Great question. There's no reason why a minor character can't be three-dimensional. In fact, minor characters should also play a role in the plot of your story. Each and every character provides a function and possesses an emotional and narrative weight to a story. Think of them as parts of the setting that enhance the stage upon which your main characters play out their drama. The minor characters serve various roles (see my January 28th article on character archetypes) to help or hinder the major characters' journey. One of the things you can do to give your minor character life is to give them a "quirk", a unique trait (e.g., funny laugh, strange gait, a saying they always use, a way of seeing and/or commenting on the world) that the reader will remember. I discuss this in my writing guide, "The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now!" by Pixl Press. Thomas Hardy was stellar at creating very memorable minor characters. He made each one unique with foibles and endearing qualities, etc. that readers thoroughly enjoyed. Pick up a copy of his Far from the Madding Crowd. It's a classic for minor character development.
2 Comments