“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”-Ernest Hemingway ⁶

 

Equipped with a general idea of your plot, it’s time to create and select your characters poison. Is your poison going to be in a nicely packaged container or is your poison going to need to be made on the spot? When it comes to characters, stories are a chemical mixture of idols and original characters (OC). The exact mix of each depends on the demands of your plot.

Look at your plot outline, then think about the what type of characters fit that it. At this point, don’t focus on an idol or an OC you want in a role that will limit your creativity. Write down the roles you have included in your plot as well as anymore you may have thought up. Under roles, jolt down what characteristics that match what you have in mind for each character. Also, add each character’s motivations. Desires are the basic components of people’s thoughts and actions: “Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.”⁷. Write down at least one sentence on why they have that desire. That is the history reinforces their drive.

Here’s how that would look for the mermaid story from the previous page. In addition to the Mermaid and human, whom I can changing to Blacksmith, there will be Merman, Sorceress, and Farmer.

 

Mermaid	Blacksmith	Merman
Traits: Determined Adventurous Intelligent Straightforward Female Brave Motivation: She wants the freedom to travel anywhere her heart desires. History: Her kingdom forbids all merfolk from the surface. Growing up where currents directed lost surface-world items to her, the mermaid became fascinated with the forbidden world.	Traits: Kind Strong Religious Humble Motivation: It goes against his morals to leave those in need alone. History: His father’s only son, the Blacksmith was taught the worth of hard labor at a young age. His devout mother ensured that his morals did not fall behind his work ethic.	Traits: Blunt Traditionalist Realist Solider-like Motivation: He wants to retrieve his childhood friend before she is punished. History: He grew up next the mermaid and they became like siblings. He comes from a line of imperial soldiers.
Sorceress	Farmer
Traits: Bitter Loud Cunning Domineering Motivation: She seeks to amuse herself. History: Because of her appearance, she was isolated and eventually rejected by her peers. She learned sorcery in an attempt to became respected but that caused her to be further hated. Finally she gave up on being accepted and settled for keeping herself content where she was.	Traits: Simple-minded Sweet Loose-lipped Calm Motivation: He wants to create a heir. History: His family has been farming since the line was created. He was a late child so he barely had time to learn how to man a farm before his parents passed.

 

After the previous step, you can brainstorm idols that match those roles or consider which characters you want to write as OCs. Since you created the roles first, it just a matter of consideration. Think of what fits your fic best.

When you are matching an idol to a role, I suggest go with your gut. If you want to write about a certain group, do it. Consider who from that group fits any of the roles you have jolted down. Although many fanfics do so, do not feel pressured to make very character in your story an idol. There is also no requirement that all members of an idol group have to be in your fic or that your fic should only include idols from the same company. Feel fix to mix and match idols.

When it comes to original characters, things are more difficult. Since OCs are not based on an idol, audience has no prior knowledge of their personalities, quirks, and appearances. There is no automatic recognition that idol based characters have. With an OC, you have to build them up so that the audience will connect with them. The most important thing to pick is their name. Research different names until you find one that suits your character. Then, deal with how they appear and act.

Here is an example based on the mermaid story:

The most common reference to mermaids in contemporary culture is to The Little Mermaid produced by Disney. That was based on Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s  “The Mermaid” so all of the characters will have a name and appearance based on Danish.  

 

 

The next step is to create well-rounded character biographies. I know a lot of writers may not use these, but they should. Having even a basic character biography gives you a deeper understanding of your character. It helps you understand and keep track of why and how your character ticks. That keeps your character’s actions consistent. Everyone has a history that drives their actions and characters are no different.

If a character’s past is not directly relevant to the story, you still have to write one. Real people cannot be divorced from context they were born and raised. Ignoring a character’s personal history, you have taken away an element of  their personality. Backgroundless characters lack depth because they only action just because. There is no deeper motive or force driving them. The only two exceptions I can think of. One is having a character that was just born, in that case, write out the environment they are. The second is creating a flat character intended to appear once who does very little. Once you have your character’s past, expose it on a need-to basis. Always writing out their history implies that audience is not smart enough to figure it out.

As to how to write a character biography, having the list that I told you write earlier helps. You can use that to fill in an character sheet. Search up character biography worksheets or builders and figure out which one you want to use. How much you write in a character bio should vary by their importance in the story. It also depends on the type of writer you are. Pantsers would probably prefer to have less detailed character bios so they can learn about the character as they write.

Here is a basic format with elements I consider essential to a character bio:

Name:

Age:

Personality:

Motivations (and Goals in Life): They can have more than one.

Background/History: It should be at minimum around 100 words long and include the reasons behind the character’s motivations.

Quirks: What makes your character different? Do they stutter? Collect butterflies? Etc.

Likes:

Dislikes:

     Here’s how that would look like for Merwanna. I am going to add a category for species since she is a mermaid.

Name: Merwenna

Age: 135

Species: Mermaid

Type: Octopus

Personality:

• Bitter
• Cunning
• Domineering
• Aggressive
• Grandiose

Motivations:

• Have fun.
• Be respected by her kind.

Background:

Merwenna comes from a rare line of mermaids in that part of the ocean. Rather having fish-like tail, she has octopus tentacles. Octopus mermaids generally live in deeper waters so she is alone. There are bad superstitious around deep water mermaids so she was shunned from a young age by anyone who was not her family. She was an only child so when they dead she had no one. She was a bright child wanted to prove that there was nothing wrong with her so she became skilled in magic. Her attempts only brought on her more distrust and hate. Eventually, she realized that nothing she would do can change people’s impressions of her. She gave up and moved where she wouldn’t have to deal with their judgement.

Quirks:

• She sprays ink when angry or overly excited
• She has a collection of items she considers lovely
• She a tattoo on her wrist
• She winks and tends to call people “doll”

Likes: Beautiful Items, Sunlight

Dislikes: People

 

    Character biographies may not be the most interesting thing to write but they are the backbone of your character. Experiment with the level of detail and type of format until you find one that fits how you write.  

 

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⁶Death in the Afternoon

⁷57 Tips For Writers, From Writers