Characters are not simply people you create because you know they would fit the story well. They are not only there to move the plot along, or to make things interesting---they are the very foundation of your story, and are ultimately who your readers are going to fall in love with (especially if they're handsome princes).
Personally, I am attached to a very large number of fictional characters, and by attached, I mean that I wish they would come to life so that I could be their friends. I find their traits fascinating, and I often think back to them when I am constructing my own characters, which are not necessarily born after an idea for a story comes to my mind---sometimes, the story stems from the character themselves.
What I mean is that sometimes certain stories need to be told because authors want to introduce a unique cast that readers can deeply relate to. Of course, stories can be told for a number of reasons, and often a combination of reasons (we'll get there later when we talk about theme) but characters have the ability to become a representation of the author themselves, or even a representation of the readers.
For example, many books feature characters that are of minority classes, which in some cases impacts the theme of the story, such as if a story is intended to promote anti-racism or gender equality. Other times, characters have certain attributes that aim to include a variety of readers (since we are not all the same), and these attributes do not actually connect to the theme of the story, but instead allow diversity within the cast. After all, it would be boring if every character shared the exact same qualities!
For new writers, creating characters can seem overwhelming---you are, essentially, making a fictional person, and that means the possibilities are limitless, especially if you're a speculative fiction writer (should they be an elf, a royal, a magic-user, or all of the above?) However, I will share with you some of the strategies that I personally use to create my characters, and the attributes that define who they are, whether these are physical or personality traits.
In this post, we are going to be focusing mostly on protagonists.
1. What Does Your Story Look Like?
If you don't have a story, and you're just creating a protagonist in hopes of developing a story afterwards, then the possibilities are essentially endless. However, you probably have an idea of what genre you want to write in, and possibly which age group you're aiming for, too. Those two elements will help you to define the parameters of character-building.
If your genre is realistic fiction, for example, then your protagonist is probably not going to be an immortal warrior elf. And if you're writing for small children, you might want to avoid a serial killer as your central voice.
If you have a general idea of what is going to happen in your story, then consider who would best fit the lead role---for example, if you wanted to tell the story of a woman who decided that she never wanted to fall in love, she would most likely need to have a reason as to why. She might be closed-off, she might have trust issues---she would not, in short, be like Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She might have experienced a significant amount of heartbreak in the past which ultimately changed who she was as a person. And since your protagonist is the focal character of your story, you want to make sure that they are prepared for a significant amount of development as well.
2. Good or Evil?
Everyone is familiar with the idea of the "Chosen One," with Harry Potter himself being a classic example. We all love a character who we can admire, who shows bravery, cleverness, and fierce loyalty during times of adversity, who has the ability to carry the story on their shoulders, and who eventually becomes strong enough to defeat the final foe. However, these types of characters usually correlate to theme---in other words, the author is trying to inspire the reader and make them believe that they, too, can be strong enough to overcome whatever challenges life throws at them, whether that's evil dark lords or upcoming exams. In short, these types of characters make us believe that we are special and unique and powerful in our own ways.
However, these types of characters do not always fit certain stories. When I was writing my first novel, I knew that I wanted to tell the story of a "Chosen One" protagonist, but now, I find myself drawn to the stories of underdogs. Of course, I still enjoy Chosen One stories, because some of my favourite characters in literature are the ones I admire the most, but sometimes, it's really fun to write characters who are not necessarily worthy of saving the world. In other words, you might want to make your protagonist have questionable morals---you might want to make them a villain, or an unreliable narrator, or someone who is essentially on the wrong side of society. I mean, how much fun is it to tell the story of someone who you as a writer don't even trust? There are still ways to make the reader like these types of characters, but not in the ways a reader might admire a "Chosen One."
3. Physical Traits
As for physical traits, you can make your protagonist appear however you want---there are so many people of different identities to represent on this planet (or not on this planet). However, the only restriction that you might have regarding physical traits is the time period of your story---and this usually only applies to historical fiction. For example, Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Water Dancer features an African-American slave as its protagonist, since the story takes place in southern America during the time of slavery.
Once again, physical traits can be broad. In many young adult books, protagonists and their lovers tend to be painstakingly beautiful, and even have qualities such as wings or tails that make them unique and special to readers. This includes villains as well, especially in stories where the protagonist finds themselves falling in love with their greatest enemy. Of course, your readers are ultimately going to love characters for their actions and not for their physical appearances, but appearance also plays an important role in helping your readers to visualize who are they are reading about, and thus makes your story much more vivid.
In some fantasy books that take place in fictional kingdoms, characters may have physical traits that are based on the appearances of people from real-life countries. For example, Inej Ghafa in Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows appears to be brown-skinned, but she classifies herself as Suli, which is of course is an identity created by Leigh Bardugo herself.
Characters may also have certain traits that isolate them from their fellow cast members. For example, Harry Potter's famous lightning-shaped scar helps readers to instantly recognizes him, and also becomes a physical representation of his tragic backstory.
4. Personality Traits and Flaws
Once again, the personality traits of your protagonist usually depend, to a certain degree, on your story. For example, the "Chosen One" character may exhibit traits of bravery or perseverance, whereas if your protagonist is a villain, they might be selfish or cunning.
Some people like to base their characters off of people they know in real life. Personally, I don't do that, but I do like to base personality traits, interests, and even flaws on attributes of myself, which I believe is another way of expressing my feelings through writing. This allows each of my characters (my protagonists, at least) to be connected to me somehow, and though I would not consider any of them exactly like me, they still have some of my qualities.
Having flawed characters is extremely important part of crafting a good story. This prevents your character from being too powerful, and instead allows readers to relate to them in some way. Also, these flaws can create conflict, which makes a story much more interesting to read. No one on this Earth is perfect, and so it's important to make your characters imperfect, too!
5. Backstory
There is such thing, I believe, as over-excessive trauma, in which the backstory of a character is so tragic that it becomes unrealistic, and therefore impossible for the character to ever recover from. And yet, we seem to see, over and over again, even in my own books, tragic backstories for our favourite characters. But I believe that a good backstory is something that is somewhat based on truth---whether that is the author's truth, or the truth of the world---and something that helps define their outlook on life.
Therefore, you want the backstory of your character not to simply be mindless pain, but something that helps to establish who they are---their fears, for example, and thus their goals as well. If someone they loved was killed, for example, they might be vengeful, or if they were hurt by someone, they might be less trusting.
They might be haunted by something in their past, or might recall a memory that inspires them to take action in the present, such as the memory of their long-lost identity. But all in all, just as our experiences shape our lives, the experiences of characters shape their lives as well. Their upbringing is what helps them to define their interpretation of the world, how they might respond to danger, and how they interact with others.
6. Characters and You
I have, to a certain extent and only in some cases, based the experiences of my characters on my own life. This is not always done literally---sometimes, the desires or fears of my characters can be figurative of my own dreams or life experiences. This is usually a subtle way to help readers understand a message I am trying to deliver, and to help people who have gone through similar struggles to connect deeply with my characters. I always find that when it's hard to find people in real life who can understand your experiences, then you can always turn to books, because chances are there is a character who has gone through similar things. This is another reason, in my opinion, as to why literature is so important.
So, don't be shy---write characters however you want to, even if that means revealing the deepest parts of yourself. It's ironic, I think, how speculative fiction can be so accurate to real life, when it is supposed to be as far from realism as possible. But perhaps it is that balance between escapism and realism that we are ultimately drawn to!
I absolutely love constructing characters, so hopefully this post will help you if you're feeling stuck. As always, thank you for reading.
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~ Ayishah