Intro
Ever been stuck on creating a new story with a new, unique character that can drive the story you want to write? Well, I have been for sure. To be honest, creating characters is hard for me sometimes, and they often all feel the same, but I try my best to make them more unique.
I have a process for creating completely new characters, and I would like to go through it with you, using one of my own characters as an example. She will be an RPG character for a discord server I am on in a Harry Potter universe. Hopefully this process can help you get through your own character creation.
Step 1: Brainstorm And Notes
First step, is to brainstorm your character. What are things you already know about them? What do you want them to have as character traits? Are they male or female? Do they have any siblings or are they an only child? Anything you already know about them, add it to a list of random notes! It doesn't matter what it is. If you like characters with siblings, make them have a sibling. It should be a character that YOU enjoy writing.
Example
Since my own character is in the Harry Potter Universe, I would have to consider a few things, like their house and blood status. So as I was thinking about the character there were a few things I thought about:
- Hufflepuff house. It is my favorite house, because it's my house and a character in that house would be a lot easier for me to write.
- Not your typical Hufflepuff. Just because the houses have their own character traits, doesn't mean there are only four character traits in the world. Though Hufflepuffs are loyal, friendly and hardworking, they can still be baddass and maybe even have some darkness in them. Why not? Not everyone has to be rainbow and sunshine.
- Has a younger sibling she takes care of. Simple detail, but interesting for her backstory.
There are a lot of other things running around in my head, but you get the gist. Write down everything you can think of. You don't have to use everything either way. If you decide one of the things don't fit your character after all, then take them out. No one is going to see the notes anyway.
Step 2: Face Claim And Appearance
For me, the face claim is very important, because we need one for the rpg. But either way, I do enjoy matching existing actors or models etc to my characters, because I am a visual person. A face claim won't look 100% like the character in your mind, but enough for you to visualize them throughout the story.
How To Find A Face claim
This can be tricky if you don't already have someone in mind who could portray your character. I have been without a face claim for my main character of my original for a very long time until a friend of mine showed me an actress. She was perfect, so I used her for my character ever since.
But how do you find your face claim? Well, what I usually do is search for actors or actresses with specific traits I have in mind. For example, my original character has red, curly hair, so I went on to find a young actress with red, curly hair. If you know your character has brown hair, look for "brown haired celebrities". If you know your character is black, search for "Black celebrities." and so on. There are so many, I am sure you will find the right one.
Once you found the face claim, you have a general idea of what they look like, and the rest is up to you. Do they have their hair in a ponytail all the time? Maybe they've dyed their hair a different color? Heavy make-up or no make-up at all? It's up to you! The face claim is just the base.
Example
I knew I wanted a character from a different culture, and decided on Indian. So I went to search online for an Indian celebrity that I could use as a face claim. With a little help from a friend, I found a face claim that I liked and basically went from there. Now that I knew the face claim, I knew her general appearance. The rest was up to me.
For my own face claim I went for the actress / model Tamannaah Bhatia. I liked the way she looked and I could see her as my new character. So I know she has thick, dark brown hair, brown eyes and a light skin.
Looking at her, I feel she'd like to wear bright colors, so that is something I'd be adding to her personality.
Step 3: Personality Traits
The most important, and my favorite thing of character creation: Adding personality traits to make your character come to life. How do you give your character personality? Maybe you already have one or two prominent personality traits? This is the part where you layer them with other traits, to fully flesh out your character.
How to figure out your character's traits
Short answer: Go with your guts and trust your instincts. Just look at a list of character traits and pick the ones you think fit with your character. You don't have to stick with them forever. You can toss and add character traits as you develop the character. Even if you are writing the story and realize there is a character trait you hadn't thought of, or a trait that turns out to not fit the character, it's fine. Nothing is set in stone until you have published the book. If you've published a book, then make a sequel and change the character traits... Then you're at least gonna need to give an explanation for that in the story, but otherwise it is completely fine. No one will know what the character was like before you published your story.
But, do remember the most important thing I always say on my blog. Say it with me: No hero is completely good, no villain is 100% bad. So add good and bad traits to that list of traits!
For the process, I use the Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus, which I have all in e-book, but you can do it without. To start, have a look at this list of character traits. 638 character traits should be enough to flesh out your character, shouldn't it? If you don't know what a certain trait means, you can easily google it and see if the trait fits your character.
Now, the next part could be a little bit tricky without the books, but I wouldn't say it's impossible with everything that we can find online. The books have a few different sections, including:
- Possible Causes (Why a character became this way)
- Associated behaviors (What a character having this trait usually does)
- Associated thoughts (What a character with this trait often thinks)
- Associated emotions (What kind of emotions a character having these traits usually has)
- Positive aspects
- Negative aspects
These are all things the book considers and gives you a lot to work with for a new character. If you don't have the books, honestly google is your friend. And, I just found a website that does about the same thing as the book, so I will leave this here for you all! Not all character traits are in there, but to get you started. Found this by simply searching for: "adventurous character traits possible causes".
Now, if there is a trait you are not 100 percent sure about, look it up and go down the list. Look at the associated behaviors, thoughts and emotions and ask yourself: "Is this how I see my character?" If for the biggest amount of things on the list, the answer is yes, then this trait is definitely for them. If a large amount is a no, then maybe leave that one out. They don't have to match all the things on the list, as long as they match more than one, it could be a good trait.
https://prowritingaid.com/inspiration-decks/character-traits
Example
Alright, so for my rp character, the sheet says to include at least three good, and three bad traits. Since she is a completely new character, I have created a list of character traits I feel like she could have. The character trait Spunky kind of stood out for me, so I will be using that one as an example of how I would do the process.
Associated Behaviors
I'll be answering it with a simple yes or no, so I can keep it simple and not make the post too long or boring.
- Enthusiasm: Not sure, but I'll say yes
- Wanting to make people smile: No
- Excitability: No
- Curiosity: Yes
- Having a cheerful outlook: Not necessarily
- Speaking quickly with lots of gesturing and touching: No
- Enjoying surprises and making new discoveries: Yes
- Waking up energized and looking forward to the day: No
- Desiring to learn by experience: Yes
- Seeing the magical in the every day: No
- Trying new things for fun: Yes
- Enjoying new challenges: Yes
- Friendliness: Yes
- Interrupting out of excitability rather than from intentional rudeness: No (she usually doesn't interrupt people)
- Skipping or moving with a bouncing step: No
- Positivity: Not necessarily
- Assertiveness: Yes
- Enjoying music, crowds and events: No
- Not complaining: Not sure
- Letting go of things that are beyond one's control: No
- Committing random acts of kindness: Maybe?
- Spontaneity: She could be spontaneous yes
- Making suggestions for fun activities: No
- Being active, enjoying exercise: Maybe
- Not worrying about what others think: Yes
- Not wasting opportunities: Yes
- Being determined, never giving up: Yes
- Encouraging others: Yes
- Being happy: She is happy, but not necessarily as a trait, no
- Speaking one's mind: Yes
- Wearing colorful clothing: Yes
- Having a strong sense of identity: Not necessarily
- Not being afraid to show one's exuberance: Not sure
- Unpredictability: No
- Difficulty going slowly, taking one's time or just lazing around: Yes
So, looking at the list, there are a lot of yes and a lot of no too. It's a tough one, but for now I am saying no to her being spunky, cause there might be better options for her character.
It's a large process, but for me, this is what works very well. You could also use these kind of things to get to know your character more or flesh out your character with these traits. For example if you have a character with a specific trait, this can give you some ideas of how they would act dring the story and maybe even give you inspiration for scenarios in your scenes.
Step 4: Naming The Character
To be really honest with you all, I never found the process of naming a character too important. Sure, they need to have a name, but looking up specific meanings or choosing 'powerful' names, is not really what I go with. To me, names are just names. I pick one that I like and give it to my character. No real thought behind it.
What I used most of the time, is Fantasy Names Generator. It's a huge website with all sorts of generators that you can use.. Don't be hesitant by it's name of 'Fantasy Names Generator', you can also use this for real names. There is a whole section for that. Just go for what you need, randomize and pick out one you like. You can also mix and match to find the perfect one or adjust a name slightly.
Example
Bonus Tip For Naming A Character
If you want to consider meaning into your character's name, there is one tip I can give that I heard, and completely agree with. Don't pick a name that fits your characters personality. Pick a name that fits their PARENTS personality. The parents are the one that give the name, and usually a character doesn't pick their own name. If for example someone who is into nature and flowers gets a child, it would make sense to give them a nature / flower related name. Because they love nature. If a character who loves to read gets a child, they could name their child after a character from their favorite book etc. Usually the name shows their parents personality, unless the person legally changed it.
Step 5: Backstory
The backstory is a very important part of the character. It explains how the person became the person they are now. Sometimes there isn't really too much of a backstory for a character, but there are at least some important things you could consider.
The way I like to go about it is to ask myself questions to explore their backstory. For example, if you have a character being raised by someone else than their actual parent, like extended family or even adopted... Where are their parents? What happened to them? Are they still alive? Do they remember their parents? Are there any important memories with their parents? Those kind of things. You expand on those things easily. Even personality traits. If your character is very closed off, how did they become like this? Were they more open and outgoing before or have they always been this way?
A good thing to remember, is to focus on the parts that are important to your story. You can include a whole list with childhood friends, which schools they went too, what their favorite class was... But is that actually going to be used in the story? If you just like to go into detail about that, then sure go ahead, no one will stop you. But these are things that often the reader will never know and doesn't need to know.
Example
I have already decided for Myra that she is basically her younger sibling's guardian. So questions for me to answer would be:
- Where are their parents?
- Are they alive or dead?
- Were they also wizards or were they muggles?
- Who is taking care of the sibling when Myra is at Hogwarts?
(Quick context for HP fans out there: In the server's universe, they start their first year at eighteen. So don't worry, there is not an eleven year old taking care of their younger sibling and abandoned by their guardian 😅)
Step 6: Hobbies and Manias
Another thing that I think is important for all characters, even side characters, is having a hobby or a mania. It doesn't have to be something special. Could be cooking, or maybe they like gaming. Just something that they enjoy to do in their free time. Everyone has a hobby, and so should your character.
Example
I always like to put a little bit of myself into a character. I gave Myra the hobby of writing. She just enjoys writing stories and you can often see her scribbling notes in her notebook if she gets an idea for a story or anything she wants to remember.
Step 7: Trivia
This is where for a lot of people the fun parts comes in. Are you one of those people that likes to think about little details, like their favorite color, flower or even their favorite book? Do you want to connect them to a house of Hogwarts, or a the 16 personality types? This is where you can do that. Just make a list of little details. You can use them in your book, or not. You can also reveal them after publishing your book, which is what writers also often do. It's not important at all so you can skip this step if you want, but it IS very fun.
Step 8 (Optional): Moodboard and Playlist
Something I enjoy doing, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. You can create a pinterest board for your book or character. Or make a playlist with their theme songs, or songs that fit scenes of your story. This one is completely optional, so don't feel forced to do it, but I enjoy doing it, and I know there are others who like doing it as well. So this would be the last step for me to create my character.
Conclusion
This was a long one, but I hope you all enjoyed reading this and can use this to create your own character. How do you like to create your character? What are your methods for it if you have one? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you all.
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