Write complex and interesting characters

Too many stories with great premises end up disappointing, or even worse, falling short because of poorly written characters. A multi dimensional character will make or break your story.

Unless you have a good reason for it, the characters you write should be fully fledged. No matter how bad, good, or in between they are, characters need depth, a past, a future, motivavion, etc. It will make your story memorable for your audience, have them engage and stick until the very end. So how do you do it? Here are my tips:

Visualize your character

I like to use the “transe” method (popularized by Dorothea Brande in Becoming a Writer) to sit down. I put some music and see my characters (or imaginary friends) in my head. They move around, speak, even appear in scenes.

Write characters description

I’ve always written characters descriptions. I usually write them before I start writing as it makes the process a tiny bit easier. The writer Lajos Ejri has popularized the idea that in order for a character to be multi dimensional, a writer needs to fill a lengthy character description divided in three big parts:

• Physiology

• Psychology

• Sociology

It’s a long process but really helpful. Here is the complete template.

Create a characters’ arc

It’s important to know when your character appears in your story, why and where the character is at the end. Most importantly, ask yourself the question: what has changed (or not) for them by the end? What does it say about the world you’ve created?

Use the characters questions template

Check my previous blog to access the list of characters questions. If you don’t want to write characters descriptions, at least get some clarity about the way you see them. Too often we write stories with a vague idea of who our characters are and therefore, it negatively impacts our stories, the characters’ action becoming non sensical. As a result, we don’t understand or even engage with them.

Create a specific environment for your character

Two people, born from the same parents, raised in the same home, can have drastically different outlooks on life and behavior. You have to create and know the environment your character was born in and the one they are in. That environment will tell you a lot about them and provide some understanding as to why they are the way they are.

Do you have other tips you use to make sure your characters are complex? Let me know in the comments.