Creating Believable Characters

You're a writer, and you have all these great characters in your head… how do you get them out and onto paper? How to create, through word-pictures, flesh-and-blood characters that are three-dimensional, characters that make your reader say, "Oh, yes, I know someone just like him…"

Any seasoned writer will tell you that creating believable characters takes some work. It's a little like painting a picture, stroke by stroke. Characters have to be constructed, bit by bit, until the whole, complex individual finally comes into view.

Here are a few of the "strokes" that help to build a character:
A characteristic mannerism: If you watch a very good actor creating a role, chances are that one of the things you will note is a distinctive mannerism that defines that character. It can be a small thing, a way of glancing in the mirror admiringly at his own image, a way of rubbing her hands together (remember Lady Macbeth?), or maybe a way of talking. It should be a mannerism that expresses that character's inner being. If you give your character a characteristic mannerism, and use it sparingly but tellingly, that character will take on individuality and stick in the reader's mind.

A consistent world view: When you create a character, you should know all about him or her, whether you actually express those details in the story or not. What does your character like to eat for breakfast? What is his favorite color? Who's his best friend, his worst enemy? Even if those details don't play into your plot, you, as his creator, should know them by heart, and they'll give your character dimension, even if they are not expressed.

An inner life: All right, so your character likes to wear Armani and drink lattes and hustle ladies in singles bars. What's going on inside his head? Does he have an inner life? You, as the author, need to express his thoughts, his way of looking at things, his inner conflicts. You can do this through his dialogue with another character, or you can simply show the reader the character's thoughts in his own inner dialogue. When you go into a character's thoughts, you deepen him, and he becomes more real.

A base in reality: A character also seems more real if he is based in reality. In other words, the old writer's dictum—"Write what you know"—extends to characters. Write characters you know. If you base your character on real people you have observed—even a pastiche of people—the character will seem more real, and you will have a wealth of material to draw on.
And finally, a last word of advice for the would-be creator of characters:

Do your homework: You may have to research your character, especially if you give him a particular profession or a context that requires some special knowledge. She's a scuba diver? Then you'd better know everything you can about scuba diving.

Learn from the greats: A good writer is a good reader. Refresh yourself by taking a look now and then at how the greats wrote their characters. Go back to Shakespeare's Falstaff or Chaucer's Wife of Bath or any more recent character in the hands of a great writer. Study how they do it. Study their strokes. You will see the results as your own characters take on more depth and dimension.