Writing.Com General Discussion

Three-dimensional characters are pretty easy in principle, but harder in reality. All this is just my opinion, but backed by what I've learnt from books and courses on writing.

Before I dive into character creation, I always do some world-building. People are products of the world they inhabit, so understanding the world is crucial to me. Other people do it the other way around - create the character, then the world - so it is obviously flexible. Even if your character lives in the contemporary world, they inhabit a microcosm within it. I firmly believe you need both the world and the character to allow the character to make sense.

You give your character some traits - skills, things they are not good at, personality and disposition, a network of friends and family (or the lack thereof), things they like and dislike.

Next you need to give them a flaw. This can be any of the following: fear/phobia, misbelief, lack of confidence, etc. The trick with this flaw is that it must stand in the way of them achieving their desire. This is their internal conflict, and the plot should trigger this conflict every time the character collides with it. Flaws are necessary for at least the protagonist, often the antagonist, and sometimes the other major characters.

Lastly, you need to understand your characters, what makes them tick, why they act in the way they do, why they have the beliefs they hold. This requires backstory, and this should concentrate on two areas: the seminal event that planted the seed of their flaw, and several subsequent events that make that seed take root; the second area is their relationship with friends, colleagues and family, explored through additional scenes. None of this backstory need ever appear in your story, but it will help you crystallise the character - the better you understand her, the better you will be able to portray her.

Real people have flaws, hobbies, interests, things they gravitate toward and things they avoid like the plague. They are also the sum of their history - their past makes them who they are today. Keep that in mind, and you can create powerful, well-rounded, realistic characters.

I'd strongly recommend the "Start Writing Fiction" course at futurelearn.com, which is an off-shoot of the Open University. The course is free, lasts eight weeks, requires 3hrs per week (although you'll probably invest a lot more) and is a peer-review course. The course description reads: This hands-on course helps you to get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters.

You can take a look at the course here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/start-writing-fiction
Having taken it myself, I can assure you it is worth its weight in gold, and you'll meet many fine students from around the globe.