How do you create you characters?

[lisamarie]

I have a hard time making my characters different from each other. I've tried filling out the character questionarre sheet, and when I'm done, they all look similar. Do you have any tricks to making each character stand out in his or her own way?

[The Grump]

I listen to them talk about their problems.

Granted, it gets a little scary when we have a conversation about what a pain in the butt another character is. ;)

[Wolvel]

give your characters personality. give them a vice or attitude probelms, you can make them shy or outspoken.

when you create a charecter sit down and visualize the character as he or she is standing in front of you. make them have a physical flaw that stands out.

[Willowmound]

I can't do sheets. But then I don't actually make characters. They just show up.

I find practice helps. The longer I write, the more I find my characters appear fully formed, with their own minds and their own agendas.

[Rhea L]

How do you create you characters?

I don't. They just hop onto the bandwagon and refuse to leave until their story is told. =P

And seriously. What makes characters stand out is their personality. Personality is shaped by past experience/history - just like with real people. So when you have a rough outline of a character, think about their past (or 'ask them', if you're comfortable working that way). Drag them through the mud, push them through some hardship, introduce them to a potential love interest - how do they react? Why do they react that way? Et cetera. This has worked for me in the past.

However, I've found that my characters only come to life for real in the course of writing their story. So right now, I'm okay with starting with sketchy characters - I can always go back later, when I've learned who they are and what they are like, and fix/write in whatever I need to complete their portrayal consistently throughout the story.

And that's that, really - when I started my current WiP, I had very vague ideas as to who the characters were - three chapters later I had a new main character, who seemed nothing special at the beginning, but ended up evolving so much that I realized it was, in fact, his story.

[Susan B]

Interesting question.

I am just starting to write fiction. I have done a little outlining, tried to use various templates where you lay out your characters. But most of this was in my head rather than on paper. And still pretty unformed.

But finally decided I needed to start writing. (Partly trying to do something besides wait and fret while my first book, nf, is out on submission.)

So I've been amazed at the way simply starting to write, even a page or two, gives characters life--and an independent existence. Especially when you write dialogue. They call to you, demand time and attention, start to evolve. I'd read about this happening, but I'll confess it sounded a little hokey to me. Till I tried it myself.

Some of my characters do include components of people I know, of course. But less than I feared.

I'm especially pleased with my MC's sidekick, who is turning out to be a real smart mouth!

Susan

[sunandshadow]

The simplest technique would probably be to base each character on a real person you know, or a movie or cartoon character you have watched - the idea is that if you have visual and audial memories of how the character talks and move you will be able to describe them more vividly.

[NicoleMD]

Maybe people watching would work for you. That's always entertaining.

Nicole

[Oberon]

How do you create you characters?


However, I've found that my characters only come to life for real in the course of writing their story. So right now, I'm okay with starting with sketchy characters - I can always go back later, when I've learned who they are and what they are like, and fix/write in whatever I need to complete their portrayal consistently throughout the story.

And that's that, really - when I started my current WiP, I had very vague ideas as to who the characters were - three chapters later I had a new main character, who seemed nothing special at the beginning, but ended up evolving so much that I realized it was, in fact, his story.

I agree. Of course, it may not work that way for everybody. I started my latest with only a vague idea of where it was going or who was going to be in it. As I wrote, things began to clarify. Two-thirds through I suddenly realized that the relationship of my MC with a 13 year old girl was becoming the core of the novel, what I thought would be central was now secondary. When a new character arrives I have a good idea of what they look like, and more or less what kind of person they are. Then they begin to take shape. The story sort of evolves. I hate outlines.

[JoNightshade]

I always start with my characters first, plot second, so... this is a hard question for me to answer. It's like asking how I tell my husband and my father apart. Well... they're just different people entirely! That's all there is to it!

Maybe if you focus on one character to begin with, and really develop him/her, the others will fall in place. For instance, pulling from my last WIP, let's say your main character is a computer programmer. How many siblings does he have? Was he an older sibling or a younger one? What does he do in his spare time? Etc. etc. until you know him back and forwards. Then, the rest is easy: what kind of friends would this guy attract? What kind of woman would he fall for? Everyone else should fall in line.

[DeadlyAccurate]

Their actions in the story define their personalities for me. They are created as they're written.

[preyer]

i basically have a stock set of characters i prefer to use generally. the ones i use depend on the story, and the characters get altered to fit the situatons and plot. these are characters i've developed over time. occasionally a new character will come into it, normally as a foil for the MC for drama reasons. rarely do i begin with a character in mind first and build around that, rather i let the premise or plot dictate the type of character i use.

watch people. i think most writers who realize it's about the character are people watchers. this is where you can find a lot of detail for your characters. you have to get out in the real world, too. you can't do, say, a biker justice unless you've met a biker, eh? obviously you have to fill in the blanks and make a lot of stuff up, but my main goal is tying to keep the characters in tune with psychology (that's why i always say skip creative writing class and take a psyche class instead).

sitting at your keyboard all the time isn't going to do much for your characters. be an experience whore. living life outside your walls and observing and listening to people blather endlessly is great. you learn other attitudes and philosophies. i like to think i've had a wide range of various kinds of people to draw from.

i think the characters and the story influence each other. sitting down and working either out without the other is, for me, pointless. i just have to get in there and see what happens to each. because it's expected that the characters grow somehow by the end, it's helped me sometimes to ponder how i want them to grow so there's a beginning and an end. after that it's about putting down the experiences in the setting that shows how that character gets from a sleazy sex peddler to being redeemed somehow.

[JBI]

First I come up with a main character, then I draw his/her family history. From there I think about what other characters I need, and I try to picture them from my main character's point of view. Thereby I get a sense of how the narrator would see them, rather than a more accurate neutral point of view of the character.

[JohnDavidPaxton]

I take people that I've met and enjoy and tweak them. I use dialog the way they do and explain their past the way I understand it.

But I'm a damn, dirty, blatant thief.

[aadams73]

I sit down at my keyboard, start typing, and they just spill out onto the page as distinct voices. But it's taken some practice to get to that point.

[reenkam]

If I'm having a problem with a certain character being particularly elusive then I usually just people watch. It gives me some ideas to write and then the character's own personality will come out and I just go back and fix the stuff I've made-up.

[Shady Lane]

I just make sh*t up.

[Doogs]

My case is a bit different, as each of my MCs are pulled straight from the pages of history. Of course, being ancient history, there are huge gaps in those pages. In the two years over which my story unfolds, for instance, my main MC is mentioned precisely twice.

I worked out his personality by taking in accounts of his later exploits and forming a rough idea of who he was, how he thought, etc. Then, it was a matter of going back to the established events of the story, applying that rough sketch, and figuring out not just how, but why he got from point A to point B.

After that, after the why, everything sort of fell into place for him.

[farfromfearless]

With mashed potatoes and peas. Its all fun and games right up until I have to kill my sweetheart by drowning her in gravy.

[bassmickeyd]

Mmmmmmm. Gravy
Like people you meet some characters don't deserve anything to say until they prove worthy. I like to write around them until even they feel a need to be in the conversation.

[Esopha]

Sheets are only vaguely useful. Try sticking your characters in an absolutely ridiculous situation (IE: they're being chased by mutant gummi bears from planet GI-95x) and see what they do. Then ask them what they thought of the experience.

[Azure Skye]

So far, I haven't created a character. They've all just shown up, baggage in hand, and asked me, "Ready?" I don't even bother to answer. I just go along for the ride.

People watching is a good idea. Read over your favorite books, pick two characters and watch how they interact with each other. Ask yourself, what makes them different, the same, what are they're little quirks? Everyone has some odd quirk and they're usually annoying. ;)

[lisamarie]

People watching is a good idea. And I tried asking my character's questions today, and came up with some new things I didn't know about them. Thanks!

[chartreuse]

Their actions in the story define their personalities for me. They are created as they're written.

Same here. Every time I try to create a character ahead of time, it's like trying to put a square peg in a round hole - they just don't fit into the story in the way I want them to, and mostly they completely refuse to do what they're supposed to do. Better for me to just start with the vaguest idea of who my character is - name, age and occupation usually does it - and let them and the story evolve together.

[ZannaPerry]

I don't find this strange, but do any of you, when you write, visualize a real life actor/model to portray your characters? You go from their looks, not so much personality since that is up to the author, but do you look at a celebrity and think HEY! You could be a great "so and so!"

[KTC]

I just create them as they are needed. There are so many attributes out there...I find it easy to make each character individual from others. I borrow from people I know in real life, from the news, from tv shows, etc. I find that it's so much easier to make them unique based on their traits than on their looks. They just do things differently because they are who they are...they always come as prefab people...I guess I have a lot of people upstairs just waiting to get out?

[Chasing the Horizon]

I throw them into every situation I can possibly think of and watch what they do, then figure out why they're doing it (or not, sometimes they don't really have a reason other then 'why not?'). I call it 'scene testing' and it all takes place in my head. I get the basics of the plot at the same time, because I choose the scenes which were most interesting to test as the 'pivotal' plot points and build the entire story around them. Basically I tailor the story to the characters, rather than vice versa. I keep scene testing until I can say exactly what the characters would do in any given situation without any hesitation to think; until I know them so well it's like asking what I would do myself (only usually with a very different answer). I was even able to answer Esopha's crazy gummy bear question almost instantly for all my MCs.

This technique is very time consuming and I suppose wouldn't work unless you were good at playing things out in your head, but it sure seems to work well for me.

[FloVoyager]

I reverse engineer them. They spring into my head pretty much fully formed, and I ask myself how they got that way. The answers fill in the blanks and make them "real."

[Esopha]

I was even able to answer Esopha's crazy gummy bear question almost instantly for all my MCs.

Really?

Gee, I feel silly now. I don't know what my MCs would do.

[necia phoenix]

Lets see... I go over to walmart and get the dehydrated character mix (the kind with no trans fat) and just add water...


:D

Ok in all seriousness I have an array of characters that I have developed over years. They each have family history, personal history, a job history. I imagine them in all sorts of situations from sex to a funeral, I write out short blurbs and get an idea of who they are.

Now when you say they all look the same, are you talking personality or physical features?

Personality wise; go get one of those astrological profile books and read on the differant traits differant sun signs have. Then find traits that fit your character.

There is a book on creating romance heros and heroines (I can't remember what it is called) but it goes over the differant personality types; ok they've got it online, gimmie a min I'll find the link...

ok this is a fantasy archetype list:
http://zombienirvana.com/miscdebris/FantasyArch.pdf

here is Kathryn Smith's blog link to creating characters...
http://yakkingwithkate.blogspot.com/2007/01/creating-characters.html

HERE is the book I was thinking of (that someone stole off of me :( ):
The Complete Writer's Guide to Heros and Heroines (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Writers-Guide-Heroes-Heroines/dp/1580650244/ref=sr_1_1/002-5998089-0038460?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186450061&sr=1-1)

what I find interesting is taking a fully developed character and seeing where they fit in that list

~~
Another link:

The eight Hero Archetypes (http://www.hodrw.com/alpha.htm)

she also has the eight heroine archetypes too... I think... **wanders off looking for em**

[amber_grosjean]

I take a little bit from each person I know including myself. The hopes and dreams, personalities, how they all look, and mix them up. Some of my characters share those qualities but in different levels so they appear to be their own people. Some characters are developed more than others. I try to focus more on the main characters first. They are the ones the readers will relate to more, and read more of so they mean more. Characters who only appear once in the story, I don't really develop at all. I may give them a description and a name but that's about it.

Secondary characters are almost treated as the main character with less time on development. Most characters are nice but there are a few who aren't because that is a trait that I don't know very well lol.

It's kind of funny, the one character who's the meanest is from my YA series which I'm still trying to find a publisher for. One said they liked it so I am waiting to hear from them on questions about it. It's a long story lol. This character is a mother who claimed she had no child and when the main character, a witch, sees this woman in a vision; she sees how the woman treats the child who doesn't exist. I asked one of the first people who read it what they thought about this character and they said, "She is a cold-hearted b**ch, very mean." That was actually what I was going for lol.

Every writer is different. Some use their imagination and just make up people (I have for some but not many), some use people they know or see, some people talk to invisible people, and some let the characters tell them. Experiment until you find one that works for you. Take your time and really get to know your characters, what sets them apart from the rest?

Amber

[necia phoenix]

That was actually what I was going for lol.


isn't it neat when that happens?
I have a character who appears to be quite frail and helpless, she kind of stirs protective instincts in those around her. In reality she is pretty tough. One beta reader commented on the fact that even though she knew this character could take care of herself, she still felt protective over the character.

I just about *squee-ed* out loud on hearing that.

Writing characters takes time and practice. Sometimes it is hard to get a character to be 3d instead of 2d.

[JoNightshade]

Another way to get characters is to steal them.

No, I'm not kidding. Example: Let's say I'm in love with Captain Nemo (which I am). I like him so much I want to play with him. So I pull him out of his submarine, call him "Tyler," give him a kid brother, and put him on an asteroid somewhere beyond Mars. I've just changed the setting, the plot, and the back story. Captain Nemo still remains a gruff, brooding genius, but he's been changed by his circumstances. And nobody's ever gonna know that he was originally Captain Nemo. In fact, he's NOT Captain Nemo at this point. But it helps ME, as a writer, to think, "What would Captain Nemo do in this situation?"

The danger with this is that a lot of "newbies" keep TOO much. They'll feel the need to call him "John Nemo" to let you in on the "little secret," or they'll just put him in a SPACEfaring submarine that hunts other spaceships. If you're gonna yank a character, don't do this. It's annoying.

[mscelina]

My characters just show up. I "see" my stories like movies, so it's like a new character comes onto the screen. Almost all of them have some ideosyncracy that comes through which helps me identify them. Once I figure out that they're going to stick around for a while, I'll draw them up a history sheet. Once I know their backstory, they take on a life of their own.

The only characters that DON'T arrive in this fashion are my MCs. Those unfortunate characters are fully realized before I put my fingers to the keyboard. I consider MC character development as part of my world building (epic fantasy) so I take that part very seriously. My world building files are almost as thick as the first draft of the book--indexed and cross referenced. It's nuts.

[IrishScribbler]

To get to know my characters better, sometimes I'll do a free association writing exercise beginning with the character's name, or something like "I'm So-and-So..." and go from there. I'll also do a journal entry from that character's point of view, which works well for introspective characters.

[jmindigo]

I don't create my characters, they create themselves. When I need to know something about them I sit down with my laptop or notebook and just get them talking about themselves. They often surprise me with details I didn't even consider before - like how my 500 year old kitsune had more then one name in his lifetime.

I've tried sheets, but I've found they are more useful for collecting the information I already have about a character then actually creating the character. Try focusing on a one character at a time and work from the ground up(I suggest starting with their family). Ask them questions not like your interviewing them, but like your just hanging out at a bar. A relaxed setting does wonders for getting information. ;)

[leenakincaid]

My characters just sort of happen. We don't talk. They interact with each other and I write it down. I've done character sheets (questionnaires) before though, and found them to be useful when the characters are becoming too round, or alternately too flat.

[CoriSCapnSkip]

Well, I discussed that here, http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64623&highlight=celebrities posting a link to a thread I started about basically the same subject.

In short: my characters are inseparable from the people who play them. These could be actors from any era or drawn from real life. If I don't have a clear image of a person to "be" the character, the character is also unclear. I steal their mannerisms and parts of their personalities but the character can still be very different from the real person. And, yes, how I feel about an actor or a character they've played tends to greatly affect how I write a character inspired by them.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

If you're using character questionnaires one way you can distinguish characters is to give them opposing features or characteristics. Give them features that conflict. It can be as simple as making one a Coke drinker while the other is misguided enough to actually consider Pepsi not only drinkable but preferable.

The more you know about them the easier things are, but it can be difficult to distinguish them at first. It also helps to use anything from signature phrases or if they are both POV characters have them notice different things in a room or on a person when they meet them. Character A may pay attention to someone's eyes where character B always looks at hair.

Make one character tidy, and demonstrate by having them always put their sugar packets in the creamer containers and making a neat stack, while the other one is messy and just leaves a pile of paper on the table of the coffee shop. Or maybe it's reversed and the stacker is the messy one.

In short, differentiate character by having the characters respond to the same stimulus in different ways.

[jodiodi]

Funny, I don't think in terms of "creating" my characters. They already exist, as real as I am. (Maybe more so.) I'm just telling their stories. :)


Ditto. My characters just come to me and say, "Here's what happened to us. Write it down." Then I just see and hear and feel and taste and smell everything they experienced and am able to read their thoughts as they go along (sometimes--sometimes they hide stuff from me!).

Just start writing them and see what happens. Let them tell their stories to you.

[Doug Johnson]

If you create an interesting situation, interesting characters will probably show up.

If you write about two people talking over dinner, boring characters might show up. If, however, you write about two starving castaways, fighting over the last bit of food, more interesting characters should show up.

[HourglassMemory]

For my first story I came up with the main character based on a the main character of "The Time Machine".
Then something I do is when a film ends....the names come running down (or up) I pick the first name of a person at random, but never from those at the beginning. then I pick a surname from someone else.
that's how I came up with two of my characters.
And what's weird is that the names are so peculiar that they, in a way, bring along personality and little quirks.

The characters that don't come up through this method, I slowly create traits and characteristics. Many times the story demands that a person does this or that. So you're given a trait without having to think much about the person itself.

[celeber]

I had a character just show up in my head and start yammering at me. I was up a lot that night writing down the weird conversation I held in my head and trying to get a handle on the gal.
The next week I was consumed with getting her info down so I can refer to it if she goes quiet. I have photos, info, details, typed stuff, hand written stuff. While doing this more characters appeared and said hey what about me? And now I have several file pages of info on the characters, their personalities, the way they look, their interests etc. I look at the pictures most of all to make sure I am describing what I am seeing.
I just knew what felt right for my MC and writing it down has helped a lot.

[Sassee]

My characters ambush me when I least expect it. Most times, they come to me first. If I absolutely have to pull a new character out of my fluffy bunny butt I usually start with one of my friends as a stand in, and the character later morphs into its own separate entity.

[jodiodi]

If you create an interesting situation, interesting characters will probably show up.

If you write about two people talking over dinner, boring characters might show up. If, however, you write about two starving castaways, fighting over the last bit of food, more interesting characters should show up.

Depends on the circumstances of dinner. I have a WiP where two people are talking over an early dinner at a waterfront crab shack on an intercoastal waterway, and one has no clue what the other one's talking about--She's being accused by some strange man of stalking him. Next thing you know, she's running from him and a large bull alligator shows up to intervene on her behalf.

[swvaughn]

This is a very good question. I have no idea how I create characters. I shall have to ponder this, in order to more fully understand the mechanics of writing and ... ahem.

What I mean is: I dunno. But now I'm going to think about it. :D

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I used to roll three dice six times in order.

[celeber]

I used to roll three dice six times in order.

Yes!!!!!

[Lady Cat]

I don't create characters, characters created me.

Okay, maybe not. But whenever I try to use those character sheets my characters all start sounding the same. And a lot of them end up with my likes and dislikes.

I come up with the situation, decide what kind of person I want to be tossed into it, come up with a name, and the rest takes care of itself. Sometimes I just have a situation and a name and then start "what if" until the character is born.

[lisamarie]

But whenever I try to use those character sheets my characters all start sounding the same. And a lot of them end up with my likes and dislikes.

That's what happens to me, too. Somebody suggested an astrology profile. That was a good one.

[Tornadoboy]

This is probably ground that has already been covered but I haven't had a chance to read the whole thread.

My female protag was actually based on nothing but a movie character I liked, but over time as I fleshed out her past she evolved into someone almost completely different. They started off as almost twin sisters and now at best they could be considered distant cousins, in fact I did a little writing exercise where I had them merely sit and have coffee together, it wasn't fun for my FP but it showed how different they had truly become.

So I guess my point is wherever you characters come from don't be too disappointed with them until they've had time to grow, because you may be surprised at just how much they'll change and become their own persons.

[DancingMaenid]

Hmmm...characters just kind of happen for for me. I think most people have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. For me, I can come up with characters without much difficulty, but plotting causes me more woes.

That said, I've never used charts much for characters, but I think one issue that can arise is that when you're trying to think of traits and whatnot, I think it can be easy to go with things that you personally like or that would apply to you (typing this, I'm thinking of Harold and Maude, when Harold's mother fills out a dating service questionierre for him based on her personality and beliefs instead of his), which might not be best for the character and doesn't make for much individuality in the characters. I find I actually have this issue somewhat when dealing with characters who are very different from me in some way. I'm sometimes inclined to "neutralize" them somewhat. Maybe, for a character, try thinking of a trait or belief or lifestyle that's different from yours, and work off that. For instance, maybe you're an introvert and most of your characters are, too. Maybe try making up a character who's an extravert, and see how it goes from there. Some of the characters of mine that I like the most are the ones that are least like me.