Creating Unforgettable Characters, Part 1: Who Are They?

There are certain characters in literature and movies we’ll never forget. Characters who we connect with on deep levels. Characters who make us laugh, cry, cheer on, love, hate, and want to exist in real life so we can be a part of their story forever, for reals. Characters who we want as friends.

And every character you love was written by an author just like you.

In this 5-part series, I’ll be walking you through the process of fully developing your characters — primary, secondary, and tertiary — and then bringing them all together to create a cast that complements, contrasts, and challenges your protagonist on their journey from page one to the end.

So what does it take to write a character like that? To craft a protagonist or supporting role so compelling their stories go right to your keeper shelf?

It’s not as hard as you might think — or as easy. But all unforgettable characters have one thing in common: they are strong. Physically strong, mentally strong, of strong opinion, or strong on the humor. There is some facet of them that goes the extra mile, and that makes all the difference.

Who are your unforgettable characters?

Before you can write strong characters, you need to know what it takes to make readers connect. Take a minute to brainstorm your favorite characters from genre fiction. Who made your list?

• Superheroes?
• Strong women?
• Feisty children?
• Wacky sidekicks?
• Villains you can’t help but root for?
• Underdogs who have triumphed against adversity?

Spend a few minutes jotting down why you connect to the characters you listed. Consider the following:

• What is it exactly that made them beloved or memorable?
• How are they strong? How are they weak?
• What are some traits that stand out to you?
• How are you alike or different from that character?
• What is the character’s motivation and how far will they go to get what they want
• How do they change from beginning to end?

To go even further, use a search engine and type in “Top 10/20/50/100 [type of] characters.”

Learning what makes characters memorable to you will help you make characters memorable for your readers. That easy. That hard.

Create a Character Bio

The reader only needs to know what’s relevant to the story, but the writer needs to know everything about the character. If you only know what the reader knows, your hero or heroine may not live beyond the page. By knowing them inside and out, you know their personal motivation, their struggles, their pain, how they grew up, and their lens for how they see the world. And that makes all the difference.

It’s time to dive into your character by creating their bio. I’ve created a worksheet for this purpose. It pulls together the basics and then goes deeper. Find the worksheet here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/10VGR9cS_HI0s9cHduwB8lKH41CNx-kW3/edit?filetype=msword

You should know all these things about every main character in your work, whether you’re writing a short story or a novel. Pantsers — don’t be afraid — you can fill this in as you go. When you finish, it will be clear where the gaps are, and you can layer in what you missed in the revision process. Plotters — use a pencil. It’s okay to change what doesn’t make sense or fit as well as you thought it would as your story develops.

Aside from the basic bio, your character should have a deep emotional wound. It doesn’t have to be traumatic — it just has to be enough to form the character’s perspective of something. From the wound sprouts the misbelief. Throughout the story, you’ll reinforce that misbelief until the character learns it’s a lie that’s been created by a wound they haven’t healed from. Anyone or anything can contribute to the misbelief, and because of the character’s lens, they will see the world through this misbelief even when the truth is far different (as it should be).

Let’s Look at an Example

In my book, Love on the Edge, Matt Saunders was unable to save the life of his fellow soldier during an explosion. Matt struggles with PTSD and guilt, which is two-fold. One, the guilt from Jones’ death, and two, the guilt of being stuck stateside, unable to go back and help fight the enemy. He’s let everybody down. Despite that, he feels the only place he belongs is in the war zone because he can’t possibly do any good stateside.

When his former colonel calls needing a bodyguard for his granddaughter, Matt’s fears flare up. How can he protect Lanie when he couldn’t save his friend? Throughout the story, events occur that reinforce Matt’s misbelief that he’s so damaged he can’t protect anyone and doesn’t deserve to be loved. Nothing is further from the truth, and it takes the entire story for him to figure that out. When he does, the reader cheers, swoons, and closes the book with a smile.

Matt is memorable because readers can identify with him. They may not have PTSD, but they’ve experienced failure and letting people down. They want to be loved and cherished for who they are, not who they feel they have to pretend to be. When Matt finally opens up to Lanie and trusts her with his deepest demons, the reader can feel the emotion and pain behind it because they’ve gotten to know him as the story progressed. The groundwork has been laid for the reader to believe these challenges, and as a result, they believe Matt.

Your Turn

Choose one of your characters, published or in your current work-in-progress, and complete both sides of the character bio sheet. See where your gaps are, and join me for Post #2 as I break down how it all fits together.

Did you learn anything that surprised you about your character?

Need help naming your characters? Check out this article by FWA member Marie Brack, Naming Your Characters.