Stephanie Donelson

A common question when writing a story is the quintessential what comes first? Plot or character.

I think the answer is they both need to work together. You can’t have a great plot with a lackluster character, and you won’t have a memorable character in a boring story. They both have to carry their weight for the story to work.

While there are tons of character worksheets out there to help you create their backstory, detail their favorite foods, colors, and activities, and write out every little detail you can think of to flesh them out, when it comes time to writing the story I think there are a few character basics you need to keep in the forefront of your mind.

When I’m working on my stories, these are the 10 things I keep handy to help write my characters in each scene. 

10 ways to write a better character

1. What’s in a name

When it comes to character names in my stories I like to match meanings to their names, or tie their name deeper into their background by giving them a family name and making that reveal relevant to the character’s personality or choices.

If you want to go the meaning route and you’re writing a story about a young woman who’s going on a personal journey to live her best life and has decided to travel the world solo, her name could be:

• Ava: Meaning bird or living one
• Beatrice: Meaning “she who brings happiness”
• Nicole: Victory of the people
• Vivian: Alive
• Zoe: Life

Her name subtly ties her to the plot and has a deeper meaning. Just be careful and make sure their name fits the setting and time period for your story. You wouldn’t see a lot of women named Brooklyn, Madison, or Rylan if your story is set in 1920, but you would see them named Alice, Gertrude, Clara, and Hazel.

Another way many writers go about naming their characters is to make the name match or contrast with their personality or their profession. For example, you’re writing an anti-smoking advocate but his nickname from childhood is Lil Smoky as he loved sausages and brats as a kid and the name stuck. Or, you have a computer hacker whose name is Mac Dell and he’s tired of the jokes. 

2. Personality

Be able to explain their personality to someone, even if you have to use archetypes. Like, my main character is a protector type who’s determined to protect her family, is smart, and takes charge of a situation. 

You have to know their quirks, their personality traits, their moods, and understand why people like and dislike them. 

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using a personality test to learn about common personality types and their associated traits to create a more realistic character. Just be sure to answer for your character!

3. Voice

How do they talk? Do they have patterns or cadences, specific phrases, or tones they use over and over again in their speech? 

“All right, all right, all right!” I bet you read that in your best Matthew McConaughey impression, or I hope you did. It’s recognizable, it’s memorable, it’s part of his voice. You need your characters to have a consistent but realistic voice so readers can identify who’s speaking if there aren’t dialogue tags. 

Know how they’d talk and how they’d express themselves and their thoughts to give each character their own distinctive voice. 

4. Strengths

What do they do well? What will give them an advantage in the story? Do they have special skills or training?

Give your character unique strengths that they can use to impact the course of the story. Maybe they’re really tech-savvy, or they speak a second language that will be useful in chapter 7, or maybe they run 10 miles a day and can outrun the antagonist’s henchmen.  

5. Flaws

What are their weaknesses, flaws, and bad habits that could also impact the story, but this time in a bad way? 

Don’t go easy on your characters and give them faux flaws, like being clumsy or that they just care too much about others for their own good. It’s a cop out and readers will be pissed. Give your character a real flaw that hinders them from achieving their goal.

Yes, your antagonist will be trying to stop the character, but the main character in a sense is also their own worst enemy. Show it. 

6. Goals

What are they going after and who are they accomplishing it for? Are they trying to win a major award because they think it’ll finally get their dad to say that he’s proud of them?

Every character has to have a goal and a purpose in the story. Otherwise why are they so special that they have a book about them? Give the reader something to root for and hope that the character can attain by the end of the book.

Alternatively, you may have set it up so the character doesn’t get what they want because that was never the point of the story or they learned from failure. That’s okay if they don’t reach their goal, but they have to be working towards something the reader can understand.

7. Internal conflict or emotional wound

What are they struggling with internally? This can be their own created internal conflict or an emotional wound, like losing their mom when they were a kid. What’s the emotional journey we’re going to go on with them and what do they need to have a satisfactory ending.

8. External conflict

What or who are they facing in the physical form? Are they fighting against a single antagonist, all of society, or themselves?

A character should have both internal and external conflicts that they need to face during the course of their story. All writers love their characters, but we need to push them and stack the odds against them and that includes internal and external forces working against them.

9. Values

What do they value in life? Values aren’t as obvious or talked about as a character’s goal. You’re not going to have your character pause the story to tell the reader or another character, “I really value friendship and honesty.” 

We don’t normally go around telling others about our values because they’re so deep-rooted they just make sense to us. We don’t need to explain them to other people.

But as a writer, you have to give your main character core values to help make their motivations, their goals, and their actions consistent and clear.

Some values could include:

• Family
• Friendships
• Home
• Faith
• Independence
• Reputation
• Respect
• Stability
• Honor
• Beauty
• Control
• Self-control
• Compassion
• Honesty
• Discipline
• Health
• Loyalty
• Optimism
• Success
• Youth
• Integrity

Now, one way to improve your story is to put your main character in a situation where those values conflict against each other. Let’s use my protector character as an example. She values her family but also values safety and control. She does what she needs to do to keep her family safe and have control of keeping them safe. To ramp up the conflict, I need to put her in a situation where those values conflict.

The antagonist could kidnap one of her family members and sends a note saying if she tries anything, the family member dies. Now what’s my character to do? She has no control over the situation, can’t keep the family member safe, and needs to get them home. I’ve added tension to the story and put my character in a position of action. They have to do something, even if it means going against one of their core values.  

Or let’s go back to the character that values friendships and honesty. Another friend asks for her opinion on something but she can’t tell the truth! You’ve put the character in a real conflict as honesty is a core value of hers, but she doesn’t want to hurt her friend or ruin their friendship. What will she do now?

10. Fears

What are they afraid of? Does the antagonist know their fears? Can they be used against the protagonist or can it strengthen them to do what they have to do?

Don’t be afraid to use your character’s fears against them to add a plot twist, up the stakes, or motivate the main character to take action. Some of the best stories are about characters learning to overcome their fears, no matter how many obstacles are put in their path.

What tips do you use for creating realistic, memorable characters? Share your tips in the comments or on Twitter!