We won’t demand a king’s ransom, but if you buy something through a link on any of our blog posts, we may receive a small token of gratitude. Learn more about it in our affiliate disclosure.

The basics of creating characters

They are our friends, family members, coworkers, and rivals, but most importantly, they are the characters in our story.

If someone walked into your house (invited, of course) and said they wanted to be your main character, let’s say you nodded excitedly and said, “Sure! Let’s do it.” Would you start writing right away? Or would you get to know your volunteer more so you could create a character who portrays them well?

We want to have unique characters, so the person or creature we write out is not always based on a friend or family member, or even ourselves. But if we don’t have someone to listen to and analyze, how can we create a solid and unique character with dimension and purpose?

How indeed. Well, let’s first start with the basics.

First, how will you get your answers from a quiet character?

Sometimes you start with a plot, not a character. That makes character building difficult but not impossible. Some people want to let their character form as they go, but sometimes the end result is a two-dimensional creation made to fit the needs of the plot.

Why is this a bad thing? We aren’t usually built for the lives we lead. We hit obstacles and overcome them or fall to them, and those things form us in a way that never ends. Not when we’re old or when we’re retired. We are always changing, as should your characters.

Start with something you know

What is the plot? If you know this, what is the primary conflict, and what type of person would have to face that conflict? Would it be something you want them to struggle with the new purpose at first, or would you want them to dive in, determined to overcome a challenge because of what they believe in?

If you don’t know anything, use your needs to form the type of character you’re looking for

Don’t let your character form without a foundation. Sometimes, it may work for you to write out the story and let the beginnings of a character form first, but once you have a better idea of who shows up, take a moment to meet them. Yes, the goal is just to write. And please do, but know who you’re writing about as soon as possible. That’s who drives the story forward; that’s who fuels your creative mind.

How much of a character should be in a story?

What we’re about to go over is important, but let me stress this: not everything you know about your character will be in your story.

You want to make your character real. It’s a lot easier to write about someone you know than it is to come up with hair color in chapter four and accidentally change it in chapter eight. Not everyone will outline a character, but even if you simply write your first draft and build as you go, you want to try to end up with a character outline so you can develop them during revisions. 

Remember, this article isn’t an in-depth character development article. It’s the beginning of character creation. If you have a character and their basic motives, values, purpose, etc. One thing that might help you on this journey is to get a character sheet, like this great one found on our formatter’s website.

Basic character musts

There are a handful of things you have to know about your character to create your own image, and most writers think about this before giving them the honorable title of “Main Character”:

• name
• gender
• birthday
• culture/ethnicity/nationality
• age
• body type and build and height
• family members
• purpose in the story

Simple things. But with these things, we have a basic character.

We will say our MC is a broad man, about thirty years of age, and his name is John Mackleberry. His family is in another state, he was born on January 2, 1995, and he is the protagonist who meets the love of his life.

Handsome fellow, ain’t he? We don’t know. We know something about him, and we even know he will fall in love, but we still don’t know much about the guy. We don’t even know what color his hair is yet. We should keep going. But with this information, we can write the story. And coming up with hair color and dress might be easy for you if it’s not significant, so if that’s the case, add physical description to that list up there. If not, let’s continue.

Ask your character what you would ask an MC applicant

I won’t get into physical details yet. You may know this almost immediately because it is typically part of your description in a scene. (Georgia spun her raven hair around a manicured finger.) But as I said above, that isn’t usually the hardest part, so we will worry about that in a minute.

We’re looking deeper here. You’re interviewing someone who wants to be your main character, so don’t be shy. They’ll give you their credit card information if you ask for it.

(Stores will not accept fictional characters’ credit cards. Just saying.)

• is the character athletic?
• current occupation
• allergies? Diseases?
• right-handed/left-handed
• what does his or her voice sound like? Dialect? Accent? Speech impediment?
• quirks or mannerisms? Bad habits? Good habits?
• smart person or major slacker?
• favorite movie/book/song/etc.
• goals in life
• internal conflicts/external conflicts (both plot-driven and character-driven)

The list could go on, but these are some of the basic questions you could ask your character. No, you don’t have to include every one of these facts in your book. But if you know the answer to these questions, you will discover so much about your character, and you will have a stronger plot with a personality to back it up. Now your MC can interact with the story.

Let’s pretend our John Mackleberry is athletic, a coach, and he has asthma. That would get in the way of his athleticism don’t you think? That will give us something to think about. We’ll say John is smart, and he’ll be right-handed. He doesn’t like reading, and he has a habit of feeling the need to prove he can do things because his asthma always held him back from what he loves—basketball.

Get more background on their life

We are finding some good information on our character, John Mackleberry. We can assume, based on what we’ve learned, that he’s a tad arrogant because his habit of trying too hard has given him a false confidence. He’s a basketball coach so we could also say he wanted to remain in basketball even if he couldn’t play because his asthma got worse as he aged.

When you find out information like this, you’ll be able to reason with your character and understand why he or she is that way. Why they’re part of this story. And how they’ll address the challenges they face. It’s a process, but it’s fun. You’re meeting someone new!

What writer doesn’t like meeting someone they don’t actually have to impress?

You could even find out other information. This will help you understand your character’s mannerisms and quirks. It’ll also lend a hand when you’re writing the story.

Maybe your muse surprises you and John cheats on his love interest. He’s a great guy, but he cheated. Really, brain? Well, why? Let’s go to the questions we could have asked that could answer the question for us.

• how was your character’s childhood?
• strengths? Weaknesses?
• did he or she enjoy their childhood? Why/why not?
• any previous relationships? How did they end?
• criminal record?
• influence in life?
• most important memory (best and worst)
• fears
• do you share your thoughts and feelings? Why/why not?
• relationship with family
• drug/alcohol history
• daily routine
• organization skills
• what would your character change about their life or character?
• what does your character believe in, faith or otherwise?
• what haunts your character at night?
• how does your character normally react to emotions? Why? (Fefer to background info)

What a list. The crazy part is that this isn’t anything compared to all the things you could ask. These are just a handful. There are always follow-up questions, and you may not even want to know some of these. I don’t know what my best friend’s most important memory is. Questions change depending on your story.

So let’s say John hated his childhood. His asthma was so bad, he rarely finished PE. Because he was so accident-prone he broke his leg twice in primary school, his arm once, and he’s always had a problem with bloody noses. He loves his parents and respects people older than him because his teachers and the principal would entertain him when other kids drove him away. He also had silver caps for teeth because he broke seven in one of his accidents. Thankfully, they were his baby teeth. He’s insecure now, and he is hard on his players because he feels they don’t appreciate the fact that they have so much skill that they don’t use. He also watches out for one of his players who is short and frail; the kid loves basketball, but he’s a terrible player. The team members tease him playfully on the court, but they bash his playing skills, and John has heard them mock the boy for having a girlfriend so much taller than he is, which they say still doesn’t make up for the fact that he sucks at basketball.

John doesn’t tolerate bullies. He picked up basketball in middle school because one of the coaches stood up for him and offered to teach him after school. Now, he wants to return the favor, and this kid’s mother is the future love interest.

That was a lot of information, but it didn’t even cover all the questions. However, because I answered several questions, I managed to find a reason why he would meet this love interest in the first place. I also found a reason he would cheat on her; his insecurity and need to prove himself. Or, later, I might realize she makes him feel more insecure without realizing it, and he ends up in another woman’s arms after another mom takes him to dinner as thanks for his hard work.

Wouldn’t you say his history helped him to be a lot more dimensional as a character?

Now how do they look, and how do you do all this without inspiration?

We have learned quite a bit about John Mackleberry. I’m a bit curious to know if he gets over his internal battles to get the woman of his dreams. I haven’t even started creating her, but I can. I could go through the same steps to do so, and I could use what I know about him (and her son, apparently) to create her. What a deal!

Now, we need to know how this dude looks. Again, that usually comes first, but this is arguably one of the easier parts, so why not do it last in this post? He’s great and all, kinda flawed, but generally a good guy. Cool beans, but we need some imagery when we do write about John Mackleberry, the basketball coach who falls in love.

• eyes, hair, and skin color
• height and weight
• favorite clothes
• daily outfit
• nice clothes (when does he wear them?)
• tattoos/scars/blemishes/birthmarks
• skin problems?
• hair loss? how long is it, if at all?

Even if I don’t tell you what he looks like, I bet you can tell me how John Mackleberry might look.

It’s not easy to define someone well enough that you can point them out in a crowd, but if you can (without info-dumping on your reader), you have a lot to say about your skill in writing.

Every question you ask your character will be different. Some will be the same, but others will vary depending on the character’s situation. What you ask and how you go about asking doesn’t matter. The key is asking.

Not everyone works well by an outline, but some do. Outlines are different for every writer and every story. Some need a detailed, thorough layout of what will happen, when, why, and how. I don’t, and other writers may not, either. Maybe even you. A basic outline can help, though, just like an outline of your characters will. Read my article on writing an outline.

No matter how you begin your character creation, the key is to write it down. Once you know who your character is, you will learn a lot about how your story will go. Whether you interview a friend, interview your muse by a mirror, or just listen to people all day, you can get started with a few details then build off of those. Then you can create a character that your readers will fall in love with. Or not. If that’s your thing.

Basics of Creating Characters