Fleshing Out Characters

Characters are a vital part to a story. There are so many great plots that are ruined simply because the character is stereotypical, undeveloped, or a Mary Sue. These are a few things that I do to make my characters come to life within the text. To help me with this tutorial, I’d like to introduce the latest creation of my crazy mind, Juliette Daes. She would say hi, but she doesn’t exist.

Errare Humanum Est

Or in English: To err is human. People have breakdowns, they make mistakes, and they miscalculate. The best fiction is able to project life realistically – even if the world isn’t quite real – and the way to do this is through your characters.

Now, a lot of people hate on Bella Swan because all she does is cry, but some characters I've stumbled upon have the emotional depth of a rock. (Kudos to you, Bella, for feeling something.) There’s a way to balance the strength of your character, with a bit of an Achilles heel.

Try figuring out what might bring you character down. For Juliette-in-Glass-Houses, she has the pressure of her father’s career weighing down on her and that is what assists in her rash decisions. She also can’t dance, and her artistic skills are those of an untalented second grader.

Avoid Stereotypes

Stereotypical characters are what you can find in any run-of-the-mill book. These are a few of my least favorites to read in fiction:

• Blonde/Prep: For some reason, blondes have been dubbed evil. All the girls that are considered “popular” or “preppy” at my school aren’t even blonde, they’re all brunettes. People come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors so by making your character the typical Barbie, you’re buying into the stereotype.
• Jocks: Big, masculine and stupid. They’re sometimes the love interest, but mostly the companion of the Blonde/Prep. They’re good at whatever sport they try their hand at, but seldom with academics.
• Emos/Goths: They wear black, they listen to loud music, and they wage war with the Blonde/Prep.
• The Best Friend You Ditch the Moment You Get a Boyfriend: Sisters before misters. Don’t introduce a character that you’re not going to do anything with in the future. This can unintentionally make your main character unlikable when she leaves behind her friend, and then goes crawling back to said friend when the boy breaks her heart.

Be Omniscient

When I was younger and outlining my characters, I would literally write something like this: His past is a mystery. Well, duh. To the other characters, and perhaps to the readers, everything about him might be a bit of a mystery, but as the author, I should know.

Getting to know your characters will make them so much easier to write. Sometimes it takes more effort and sometimes less. When I was drafting a few of the characters in Glass Houses, I really only needed this for Trey:

_{Trey Fields}

_{The lead singer of Play With Fire, Noah’s old band. Manipulative, and uncaring for anyone else.}

_{Physical Appearance: Blonde hair, brown eyes.}

_{Character’s Role: Minor}

_{Where does your character live? New York}

_{What talents or skills does your character have? None besides his voice. (Which is on its way out, thanks to all his cigarettes.)}

_{Is he/she the oldest, youngest, or middle child? Oldest.}

_{How many brothers and sisters does your character have? One other, a sister.}

_{Hobbies: Beer pong, hitting on girls, being a BEEEEEEEEP.}

_{Mannerisms: “…, man,” redundant, rude.}

But for Noah, I actually wrote a short story just to get inside his head. By figuring out the littlest details, you’re setting yourself up for an easier future. You’re eliminating possible discrepancies in your storyline which are a pain to fix, and you’re taking a lot of pressure off yourself and when it comes to the writing itself.

They’re Not You!

You can instantly ruin a character by turning them into a clone of yourself. No offense, I’m sure you’re wonderful, but there only needs to be one of you.

When you make a character some kind of variation of yourself, then they instantly become a flat-tire. You know yourself pretty well, so you find it less important to share characterizing details, which depraves them of a tangible personality. This is why I don’t really like the statement, “Write what you know,” because if I wrote what I knew, Juliette would write tutorials, love All Time Low, and be wearing chipped purple nailpolish.

This may also lead you to having a dreaded Mary Sue character. When you insert yourself into the text, you usually try to make yourself a better version – Me 2.0. And that usually leads your character to creepy, unrelatable perfection. For more on this, scroll up to the Latin segment.

The first trait I give a character is something that’s nothing like me. Juliette’s first trait was her addiction to painkillers, Noah’s blind, Tara has awful parents, etc. Thankfully, I have none of those, and I’ve already separated myself from them.

There’s a lot that goes into making a good character, but if you pay attention to their ins-and-outs along with separating them from yourself, then you’re headed in the right direction.