Request: How I Build My Characters · 9:18am Dec 11th, 2013
Whew, this one's been a long time in coming. Not because it would take me a long time to write (I just sat down with some sketch paper to run over my character creation stuff in my head to make sure I wasn't missing anything and then started on this), well, it probably will (addendum: it totally did), but mostly because I've been splitting my time pretty widely over the last few weeks. But since this has been heavily requested on multiple occasions from various readers of both my fics and my blogs, it's high time I finally delivered on what a large number of you have been quite vocally asking for: how I build such vivid, real characters.
Now, before I start, I'd like to point out that my way is not the end-all. I'm simply posting what works for me when I set out to create characters like Steel Song, Nova Beam, Sky Bolt, or even Jacob Rocke (for those of you who have read my book). The fact is, there are many different ways for creating characters. I'm simply posting the one that works for me.
To be fair, I think it's a good method. When I first started writing, back in the day ... well ... yeah. My stuff was bad. Everyone starts out bad, we all know this. But my characters were flat, one-dimensional cutouts. So how did I get from where I was then to where I am now, at this point where people tell me that my characters are some of the most real they've ever read (no joke, and while I repeat it here with a little pride, I say it both to show that improvement at something you suck at is possible, and to acknowledge the people who tell me so)?
Lots of careful study. You may laugh, but eventually I realized that there were things that made some characters more real than others when I was reading. And I read a lot in school. All through elementary, into middle school and high school and beyond. I read during college. Crud, I skipped out studying for finals because the last Mistborn book was released during my finals week (and since the author taught at my college, he knew what he was doing). I read a lot. And all the while, I took mental notes. I still do, in fact. I'm currently rereading Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, and thoroughly enjoying breaking down the way he presents his characters and setting (in case you're curious, he does dialog mostly in-character, but writes the rest of the story almost like a narrated documentary. Almost, not exactly like, but it's easy enough to picture as a series on Netflix). Being able to identify what I enjoyed about certain characters or scenes and what made them real led me to find elements in my own writing that would achieve the same effect. Again, if you want to write well, read well. I can't overstate that enough.
But that's about how I got where I am today, and that isn't exactly what most ask for, although it will help. 
So let's talk about my process. What I do.
The first step is make a decision. Do I want to sort of invent the character as I go, or do I want to come up with them beforehand? Jacob Rocke was an on the spot creation, someone I created as I wrote the story. The further the story went along, the more developed he became, but he was quite literally a case of "here's his power and his name. Now GO!" In that case (and this seems to work better for me with shorter works) I had to at least at the start choose what defined him. All characters have a narrative arc of some kind, or at least the good ones, because people change. Or ponies, whatever. If you want a meaningful character, they need room to grow. Rocke's "defining characteristic" was that he was a complete workaholic. Everything in his life was related to his work. From there, I moved through the plot of One Drink, filling out his role as the story required.
But that's exploratory writing, and despite being my sole published work, One Drink was initially a writing exercise in the vein of "can I do this?" No, most of the time when I sit down, each primary character to the story undergoes a four step process. So, as asked, you're all going to get to see my in-depth madness process.
Step 1: The Role
The first thing I do when I create a character is play with the basics. What roles do I need to fill? What void will said character fill in this work if they exist? What void will be left empty? Every character needs to have a place, a position, in the pantheon of primary characters. This void is usually what primary purpose the character will provide. Steel Song, for example, I knew was going to be the team leader. I had to decide what kind of character I wanted craft for him to "fit" that role.
Once I have that "role" picked for character, then I start playing with various "versions" of what that character could be like in my head. I play with mannerisms, looks, things they would say. I shuffle accents and speech patterns—usually nothing specific, just vague concepts like "southern" until I get a character who begins to feel concrete for the role. This ... can take a while. Dawn Triage, for example, took nearly a week of solid thought before one day I hit on the right balance and something inside of me screamed "That's the one!" It's a bit like hitting "random" on a character creation generator in my mind over and over again, locking down the elements that feel right and giving everything else a spin of the wheel. Sometimes I backtrack and tweak earlier looks or general ideas because they don't mesh with new ones. Sometimes I come back to this step later when a character isn't panning out in a way that feels right. This is the core of what the character will become, the raw numbers if you will. For example, with Steel Song the process was easy. I wanted an older stallion, grey-maned and tough as nails from years of service of some kind. I wanted him to be gruff but understanding. And he needed to have the kind of voice and charisma where other ponies would listen to him, because he was the leader. So that meant experience.
Dawn on the other hoof, took probably a week of straight work. Maybe more. I bounced all over with her character, rejecting archetype after archetype. I had a few things set in stone (she had to be female so Sky Bolt wasn't the only mare, she was going to be cultured to round out Hunter and Nova's less serious nature) but aside from that I was in the dark for quite some time. I must have drawn up and then summarily dumped dozens of characters (old, young, strongly cultured or self-trained, accent/no accent, etc) before hitting on the Dawn that exists today. When it clicked, it was a complete "eureka" moment as well.
Nova took about three seconds.
Step 2: The Core Details and the Big Three
From here, I move onto the core details. It's at this point that I start my character file, a word document or GDoc that is going to contain all the relevant information on the character that I am creating. And at the very beginning of this, I have a set of criteria that I fill out that begin to get some of the characters details "set in stone." These details can vary based on what I'm writing (for instance, in MLP works I have entries for coloration and species, while in a normal book I may just have hair/eye color and call it good), but they usually include the basics: Name, Looks, Age, and Demeanor.
The first few are pretty straightforward. Demeanor is a little more detailed. Usually, it ends up being a few paragraphs on what this character will act like on an average day or when presented with certain situations. Are they a loudmouth? Quick to judge? Do they have trouble making decisions under pressure? This is all stuff that will be fleshed out in The Big Three, so it's important to get a good handle on a characters demeanor in this step. I don't need to know everything, but I need to know basics like attitude so I can extrapolate how they will react if, for example, someone comments that they've had a bad day. It's better if this relates to the story and the role the character will play in it, because this will affect their role.
Then I move on to The Big Three. Three things that are the most important aspects of any character I create. The Big Three are three question that I must be able to answered to my own satisfaction before I can proceed. If you want to know the most key part of my process in creating characters that are real and three-dimensional as well as enjoyed by others, this is how.
The first question I ask is 'Why does the reader like this character?" I sit down, and prompted by this question, write out all the things about this character that the readers will enjoy. Will it be something about them that resonates with the reader? Jokes that they make? Character traits (or even flaws)? Why will your readers read about this character and then care about them? Often, I start with what I like about a character and work from there. But there needs to be something about this character that resonates.
For example, with Dawn Triage I wrote (this is a direct copy/paste)—
Why We Like Her: Dawn is smart and determined to do good for others (she’s a doctor). While she can be a little curt, it should be clear to the reader that she is soft on the inside. She should also serve as an example of determination, somepony who continues to find ways to work hard and do what she wants even after being forced into an early retirement. She’s headstrong, but not in a bad way. Dawn should be (curt personality aside) a strong, balanced female character, and readers should like her for that. I hope. She is also very self-sacrificial, heedlessly jumping into dangerous situations to save those in need. You DON’T leave anypony behind with Dawn. Or she stays.
For comparison, here's Nova Beam—
Why We Like Him: He is occasionally funny and he can kick a serious amount of butt when he thinking things through and uses his abilities with the team. He’s the character on the team with the most to learn despite his age, and he needs to show genuine character growth over the series so that people can empathize with him. In addition, he does need to show that he forms attachment with the characters and does care about them; he just doesn’t know how to show it. Readers should initially not like him, but learn to like him as he grows.
With that second one, I think I hit it right in the sweet spot. As a writer, not only does this give me a goal to shoot for when I introduce a character, it can often give me a better idea of where I want the character to go over the course of the story (like in Nova's case).
The second question is just as vital. I sit there, and I ask "What are all the flaws of this character?" No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, and I want to know what mistakes my character is going to make. I look at abrasive personality defects. Physical shortcomings. Decision-making chains that will result in weak points. If there aren't enough flaws, I make more. No character is perfect, and I want a good, starting list for all the ways this character can screw up, either with the plot, with their interactions with others, or some other way. They must have shortcomings. If their shortcomings are the kind that aren't immediately visible (for example, Sky Bolt rarely actually stops talking once she gets going), how do I point this out or draw attention to it so that the reader can understand what the other characters see?
The third and final question is a "flavor" question, but no less vital: "What hobbies and quirks does this character have?" This might seem strange (and in fact, I've had amateur writers actually speak out against me suggesting this, claiming it to be too much work, unimportant detail, or other nonsense), but do not neglect it. Why? Think of a friend of yours. Your best friend. What hobbies do they have? Better yet, what little odd things do they do that no one else does that make them them? Raising a single eyebrow when giving a sarcastic response, maybe? I have a friend who does that.
The thing is that real, three-dimensional characters have hobbies and quirks. Because real people do. Not only do these strange quirks tend to define us and separate our "character" from one another, but they give us context and make us memorable. Even if we don't remember the action itself, we remember the character for it. How many of my readers would remember that Hunter has a habit of strumming on a guitar or playing amateur jazz on a sax to help him think? Probably not many (except those that are the die-hard fans), but it gives him character and flavor. Character and flavor far past "he sat at the desk, thinking." We get a glimpse into his life, of what he does, how he thinks. And this makes him real, because everyone around us has a similar set of things that make us unique.
Better yet, this question more than any other will help us delve into the character's life story. We'll need to discover how he came by his talents or skills. Why he does what he does. If you want to create good character-driven piece, you'll use this. Ever notice that Princess Luna does not use contractions when she speaks in the show? That's a quirk. A defining one. And even if it totally slipped past 99.9% of you, on a subconscious level it set her apart from all the other characters.
Ooh, language. That's a quirk, a defining trait, and a whole 'nother bundle all in one. We'll get to that. But first, now that the core details and Big Three are done...
Step 3: Other Details
Now we move into some other details that are going to be relevant to the story. I usually write up a good several paragraphs or more for each of these sections (sometimes a page or two) as needed. These sections can change a bit based on what your story entails as well. In my case, many of these change based on the story I'm telling (after all, a non-Dusk Guard character does not need two full pages on all combat training they've had). But this section is where I write pages and paragraphs on topics such as body type (describing in detail their fitness, shape, looks, and everything else), story role (what capacity they fill in the narrative and what elements of the plot will involve them), skills (which can come from what role you want them to fill), and most importantly, their personal history, a summation of their entire life to this point. This is when I really start looking back at the things I've written to this point, asking questions about how or where said character picked up skills, talents, mannerisms, or hobbies. Is your lead character currently a successful restaurant cook who happens to be freakishly skilled at sidewalk chalk? You want to know how, why, where, and when they picked that up in some form of light detail. If you want to understand your character when you write them, than you need to know where they came from. What they've been through. Hit the highlights, but don't neglect the quirks as well.
Along with this, it's easiest now if you come up with their family situation. Let's face it, the hero without a family was boring hundreds of years ago, and we want characters we can relate too. How many siblings do they have? If their parents died young, how? Maybe they're estranged from their family? Again, how? Why? Details like these come across in your character's voice, actions, and thoughts, so get them down now. Then, move on to the finishing steps.
Step 4: The Finishing Touches
So, now you have a character sheet like I create. Now you've seen my process. But there is one more step. One more vital step. Now that you have all this information, you have to bring it together. And now comes the most important, and arguably difficult, step of the process: taking all these details, getting inside the characters head, and writing as if you are them.
Are you familiar with method acting? Well, I do something similar. By this point, I've spent hours, days, even weeks thinking about this character. I don't know them perfectly, but I know them quite well. Now it's time for me to start exploring their character. I look back at their file. What will they talk like? Will there be words or phrases that they use in their dialogue that others won't? What about in the narration? I'd be willing to bet that none of you noticed, but each piece of "The Dusk Guard: Rise" was not only written from a perspective, but in the dialogue and prose style of the viewpoint character. Hunter's chapters make use of much more "relaxed" terminology and phrases than other characters. Steel is direct, his viewpoint chapters featuring to the point descriptions and taking notice of the things that he would notice first. Dawn, meanwhile, uses much more sophisticated dialogue in her descriptions of events, and focuses things that Steel glosses right over. Even the way objects, settings, or other ponies are described varies based on which character is giving the view. It wasn't quite as distinct in the early chapters, but by the end it's very clear once you know what to look for (for example, an easy indicator is that Steel is always referred to as "the boss," or "Steel" in Hunter's chapters, but as "The Captain" or "Captain Song" in Nova's chapters until Nova feels comfortable enough to even think of Steel as anypony else).
This is not easy to do. In fact, it can take upwards of ten thousand words or more sometimes before I get the "hang" of the character I'm writing. When I write, I "method write," becoming that character when I write their scenes. I try to think like they do, write what they would do, make the dialogue their own, rather than my words parroting back what I think they will say. I let them make their own choices. I let them have real dialogue. I let them forge their own path. This is why I write up such a huge amount on each character (as much as ten pages, single-spaced). I need to understand them. And I give them leeway. Originally by his file Hunter spoke with a southern accent, but he rebelled, and suddenly he was speaking with an aussie slang. It felt so much more natural, I rewrote four prior chapters worth of his dialogue on the spot.
"Method writing" can be difficult. For instance, I'm male, which makes it difficult indeed to try and write from a female perspective and have it seem unique. Really, this method is challenging anytime I try to "get inside the head" of a character who is very different from myself. Sabra has been one of my greatest challenges so far, and I'll see what you all think of him soon.
Also, I make sure to let the characters drive their own voice and dodge some pitfalls that amateur (and even experienced writers) fall into. I don't have characters constantly dropping names in their conversation (try this sometime, keep track of how often a group of people that know each other will refer to one another by name. It's not nearly as often as many writers think). I let some conversations be less direct, because in the real world, we often are less direct. I let the characters be themselves, make their own choices. I guide them with plot, but let their own choices be their own choices, in their own words.
Now that I've done this, I have a character. Someone who is going to grow, change, and be themselves over the course of some mighty adventure.
Time to repeat this step for all the other main characters.
And there you have it (phew!). My character creation process. Let me know what you think in the comments below! What are your methods? Also, if you like it, feel free to share it (like in the writing group forums, for example). Also, don't forget that the character AMA vote is still going! Right now, Steel Song is in the lead!
Anyway, thanks for reading! It's late now, and I need sleep!
Nice piece, dude. However as a fellow writer I wonder, how do you write everything down well enough to have everything of that character to that point? I have a large document containing all my characters in varying degrees of completion of which my most complete to that point is:
SilkShine the Innkeeper;
Nickname: n/a
Age: 40+
Job: Innkeeper
Facts: A pegasus mare in her forties who runs the inn ‘High on a Top’ in Rocky slopes. Her hobby and talent is cleaning and making things and ponies look presentable. Another hobby is reading romance novels. She is on good terms with most if not all of rocky slopes. Partly due, most of the miners have or still stay at her inn. Also the ponies she has met in other ways generally like her as well. Despite Lapis’ unusual behaviour when they met in the morning, she has taken a liking to him, during the time they weren’t in the story.
Positive Trait: Motherly, tidy & competitive.
Negative Trait: Finicky
Personality: She is a gentle, motherly pony, who cares for others, in both hygiene and health. She doesn’t show her anger, but she does show her irritation. One of the things that tick her off besides filth, is being reminded of her age. Her work doesn’t allow much room for romance, but she is sure to make time for social visits to her friends. While she may not look like it, her competitive nature from her childhood is still inside her, though slumbering. Once sparked, she becomes quite fierce. She respects her guests, but there are limits to it.
Likes: Tidiness, good manners
Dislikes: filth
Fears: Isolophobia
Heart Desire: a romantic relationship
Appearance: A beige, unblemished coat, with the ends of her brown mane and tail curled. She has blue eyes.
Speech: She doesn’t use vulgarities.
Family: Unknown
Back-story: unknown childhood, lived somewhere on the ground as she was competing with Golden Greens. She started her inn 15 years ago, but due the amount of work that involves she has missed out on some social opportunities, hence she has taken a liking to Romance novels.
Secrets: 1. For short time she worked as a lingerie model. 2. She never had a boyfriend
After Curses: Silk’s romance novels have taken a backseat for a short time, as she now explores other genres, like the adventure genre of Daring Do. Also she has now a friendship with Luna, and opportunities for letter correspondence. The loneliness that she suppressed with the romance novels start itching a bit, she has her guests though.
Cutiemark; Three pearls with an occasional sparkle. It stands for that she is tidy and presentable. Hence she is good at cleaning, dressing and making tight gift wraps.
You on the other hand seem to write paragraphs of text containing data about how characters are perceived. So I am wondering, What do you exactly write down and what is the difference between our methods? (and if you used to make characters in the way I do, why did you change?)
Good reading. The Big Three are, in fact, big.
> Ever notice that Princess Luna does not use contractions when she speaks in the show? That's a quirk. A defining one. And even if it totally slipped past 99.9% of you, on a subconscious level it set her apart from all the other characters.
I AM THE 0.1%
Seriously though, it's awesome to hear that someone else caught (and uses) that subtle detail.
1596414
I used to make character files like the one you posted, and over time it grew to the massive documents that I make now. Looking back on my own experience, I would have to say that the difference is that I began extrapolating quite a bit more. For instance, you have under positive traits "Motherly, tidy and competitive." If I were to use those traits, I would write down why she was motherly, why she was tidy and competitive. Was she the oldest child? Is that why she's motherly? Was her own mother a good role model leading to this, or non-existent? Where did the competitiveness come from? Was she often competing for attention with her siblings? Yes? No? Where did this trait come from? How does it manifest? Does she subconsciously clean up after people? Does this annoy them?
I do this with each aspect. Everything starts as a basic concept. Nova, for example, was going to be a smart-alack. But I thought past that and asked why is he a smart-alack? What does he gain? What does he lose? What keeps him from falling into completely unlikable jerk territory? What makes other characters put up with this behavior? Not all of it gets written down, but it usually gets referenced in some way.
The other thing I do is give characters a huge multitude of details. Rarely do we come across someone who has done nothing in their life. Even the most average person usually has a lot of hidden skills that most people either take for granted or don't think about. Nova may have lock-picking and stealing on his list of skills, but he has a lot past that. He dances. He listens to classical music. I had to train myself to look past the surface shell at the details that make up a persons core.
Take your character, for instance—
Surely she desires more than that. Yes, that might be the one thing she says when asked, but what else does she want? What kind of romantic relationship? Is she looking for tall, dark, and handsome? Or does she want someone who is a good father figure? What other aspirations does she have that feed into her desire for a relationship? Motherhood? Physical lust? Lack of friends/lonliness? What about other desires that are secondary? She reads romance books, does she secretly desire to write them as well? Maybe write one that she could live as a sort of wish-fulfillment? Maybe she always dreamed she'd own a certain kind of house, and hopes that when she gets married, she can have that kind of house? I don't know. But you do, or will.
Even if your readers never notice (or even hear about) any of these kinds of details, they make your character come to life. It's a lot like building a polygonal model—
static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/3/32776/2486940-0248877224-ChsSw.png
After a certain point, you don't need any more details, because you can keep adding poly's to that nose until the end, but it will still be a nose. But there is a huge difference between "wants X" on the left and "wants X because of Y, Z, A, B, and because of that C, D, and E" on the right.
So that's how I got there. I dig. I extrapolate. I ask "why" and don't stop until I have a satisfactory answer. And I do it in advance, so my character doesn't take a sudden OOC turn when I decide on a new element of their backstory, which I usually run the risk of if I don't ask my questions.
1596624
Dialect and speech patterns are powerful tools, muchmoreso than perfectly correct grammar (and in that respect, it's nice to see that you got a pre-reader who understood that, one of the reasons "Rise" was rejected from EQD was because I stayed true to Princess Luna not using contractions. Actually, I'm pretty sure that was an excuse, but that's EQD in a nutshell). Syntax is an amazing tool that speaks volumes about a character, and yet far too many people fail to realize this when they first start writing. A character for whom English is not their primary language making syntax errors is a powerful descriptor and character trait.
Your character building is about as extensive as I expected from an author of your caliber. What's funny is that most everything you stated is something I usually do, albeit in a different order.
The first thing I do is give a character their quirks. Even before I think of their physical appearance, or even their names, there's at least one or two things about them that separates them from the "normals" populating the background.
Maybe a guard outside a door is more restless, and more prone to fidgeting than their companion on the other side of the door. Maybe an older character is more prone to prey upon the gullibility of younger characters, but only in the same innocent way most kids' grandfathers pull a quarter from behind their grandkids' ears. Maybe one character has a disheveled mess of
manehair that they conspicuously blow from in front of their eyes. Maybe one character has a perpetual Cheshire grin plastered across their face.Chalk it up to how I write, I guess. I pretty much only write stream-of-consciousness (or, as you might phrase it, "exploratory"). Don't get me wrong, I have a beginning, middle, and end planned for every story, but the only thing set in stone is the ending. When it comes to the other aspects of my stories, they're more...general guidelines, checkpoints I feel I have to hit for the sake of the plot or character development. As such, it's not all that uncommon for me to suddenly write in a named character (with their set quirks), if only to make the current chapter interesting. Most of them become running jokes, since I do specialize in comedy. A few of them become more important than that.
When writing characters, for me, the most fun part is why they have that quirk. I might introduce a character in one chapter completely on a whim. But if I feel like they have something to add to a story, the first thing I do is expand upon them, think about why they have the quirks that they do.
The guard outside the door? She's fidgeting because she only got the position to exact justice, and standing around all day guarding a noble and not pursuing the criminal makes her antsy. The grandfatherly character? His occupation is a bitch; he'd rather the vampires he hunts not know he has grandchildren, even if he misses 'em. The mare that has a nasty habit of pursing her lips and blowing her mane from her eyes? Yeah, more family trouble. She's not too fond of the father that tried to recruit her as a soldier rather than raise her as a daughter. Screw short-cropped manes. The guy with a perpetual grin on his face? The amount of mirth he actually feels is up for debate. The last woman he loved never did like his blank stoicism, and bound him with a promise to at least try to be happy.
I don't write character sheets about my characters. But I do at least know why they act the way they do.
As for what role they fill in the story, they have those, too, though my creative process is no doubt different than yours considering our order of character creation differs. I already know where my narrative is going to go, I'm just never entirely sure of the exact path it's going to take. Every one of the examples I listed above is a character in a story I'm writing (oversimplified though they may be with in this comment). Characters—or rather, "individuals"— bungling their way through my plans for my story and fussing everything up have been some of the greatest sources of inspiration I've come across.
There's nothing like having a meticulously detailed plan ruined in the very first chapter by a bored guard with an uncharacteristic propensity for violence, after all.
Writing around all the incongruities is kinda the draw, though. It's not hard to write a decent, safe story (especially in this fandom). But adjusting your story, naturally, to the whims of your characters as they act out of their own volition? That's when the challenge starts to get interesting.
Sorry, drunk. I'll try to refrain from vandalizing your comment section while plastered off my ass. And by "try to refrain", I mean "I'll probably be too inebriated to remember if you delete my comments, so go to town!"
Also, funny you should mention Jurassic Park. Loved that movie as a kid. Loved it enough that I pestered my parents to let me read the book. It's pretty much the entire reason I spent my adolescence reading. Because velociraptors, obviously.
And, at the very least, Tor is kind enough to college students to release the next book of The Stormlight Archives in March 2014, though I kinda wished Sanderson had pulled another fast one on his students and released it this month.
Eh, I usually let characters fall on a role and then I roll with it.
Let's see how it turns out now that I have the time to write.
I'm copying the goal paragraphs thing, though.
If I write something as "poni is seen as dependable and cool". for example, maybe then I won't spend days trying to summarize that trait.
Great guide! I'll keep this in mind when I write.