On building characters

How to make good characters? Well, I myself happen to have a PH.D in Character Creation and Development (CC&D) and can perhaps help you out on this issue.

The simplest piece of advice I can give you would be to look at the people around you, and THINK about them. What motivates the people around you? How do they get what they want? What in their past led them to that behavior pattern? What are some idiosyncratic behaviors they have? Imagine words that you could use to describe them. Read characters in good (and for that matter, bad, for a how-not-to-guide) literature. Observe the author's way of treating his characters. How is the character's past introduced? How does the character contrast with those around him/her? How does the character develop over the course of the story?

Also, there is a more personal route. What sorts of people interest you, and what is it about these people you find engaging? They don't have to be likable in the normal sense of the word. An example of an interesting, but not-so-nice character would be Dr. Gregory House. House is a jerk, genius, and at times, a genuine human being. Ask other people about what they see in others, and for that matter in you. Learning about people, and how people feel about people, is the first step to building characters. This is where your raw building materials are coming from.

Most of us already have something of a people-sense by the time we try to undertake character creation. However, this doesn't always translate into one's writing. One has to know how to apply one's knowledge for truly good characters to be created. The best place to start, in my opinion, is the character's history (although you can start from ANY point in the character's story, or for that matter, you can develop from a particular vision of the character in your mind, any trait, or quirk, can be a starting point). Whoever this character is, he or she has a past (although some characters benefit massively from not having one that the audience has any notion of, such as the Joker from The Dark Night. Characters like this are great symbols, since they lack the human element of history, seeming supernatural, and the idea they are supposed to embody can be more clearly seen.) and it's you're job as an author to bring that to life. Spend a great deal of time thinking about your character. If you draw, sketch your character, and see what expressions, clothing, and surroundings you imagine him/her/it in. You could also write some short pieces, experimenting with various areas of the character.

Of course, few stories have only ONE character (mostly post-apocalyptic). If you have started with only one character, and have fitted him/her in the world, obviously there needs to be another character. If you create a second character, special attention should be paid to the relationship between these two characters. The second should be an interesting coupling with the first, whether her role is that of a primary antagonist, mentor, student, or friend. Make sure that your character's stories reflect the totality of your world. People are strongly effected by their environment, and if characters are raised in a similar culture, their interactions may not be as interesting. Also, you rob the reader of seeing your whole world realized.

Generally, your story will have some themes. Either you will have planned these out beforehand, or your story will spontaneously develop them over time. Your characters are persons, yet at the same time, they are tools that can be used to illustrate a point. There must be a balance between the need for character consistency (that is, they behave like real persons) and integration with the rest of the story (the themes).

Many people warn against stereotypes, for good reason. The problem isn't the stereotypes themselves (as there is a reason they are popular and often-used) but that some authors do not characterize BEYOND the stereotype. The Wise Old Man/Wizard is an excellent character framework. However, if the only traits of your character are his age, and his "wisdom" (although there are so many different ways you could express wisdom, I believe that there is still a good deal of flexibility in even such a primitive outline) than you are obviously going to have a less than interesting character. Develop on this wizened old figure. Just HOW old is he? Where does he live? Why does he live there? What did he do to get himself there? Perhaps he was a scientist, who experimented with technologies that were forbidden by the Guild he became a member of. To reflect this history in the present, your character could be a bold, individualistic, rational minded introvert. He could be a visionary firebrand, a philosophical heretic. Perhaps he is a compassionate man who wishes to improve life for humankind. Perhaps he is a cruel sadist who takes pleasure in the destruction of life. He could also be a drunk as a result of the despair of his isolation. Paranoia, and bitterness could set in (each trait could be expressed in a variety of ways).

As your story goes along, especially if you have multiple protagonists, make sure you keep your characters interesting. Something must always be happening. That doesn't mean they need to be physically going somewhere, but something must always be happening with them. Perhaps the old man above has become more sympathetic toward the reasoning of his captors in his exile, and wishes to return to society to guide his students away from unethical practices. Imagine how he would appeal for release. Imagine the types of people who he would have to deal with getting out.

You must remember to be merciless to your characters. You are not a benevolent God, you are the God of the Old Testimate, cruel, jealous, harsh, and unflinching even as you order the evil orcs to torch the homes of the golden wood elves. It's good to have positive events in a story, but always remember that characters, unlike real people, are expendable. If the story, for the sake of believability, or making a point, or keeping things interesting, demands the sacrifice of a character, don't be afraid to do it. Also, killing a character can inspire strong feelings in your audience (so long as your character has had the time to gain the readers love) and make them more involved in the story. Bringing a character back to life should be FAR more rare than killings if they occur. Such acts are very powerful, and their misuse can be severely unbalancing to a story that needs to have a believable resolution.

So there you go, a crash course in character creation. Have fun!