Character of a Character

I know it looks easy, making a character that is, but believe it or not there's a lot of factors you need to think of to make them feel like actual people. I'll go through my process of how I create my characters to give you as best of an in-depth look.

There are two starting points, there is basic concept and there is the name. Each comes with its own set of restrictions and freedoms. Starting with a name leaves you to come up with any name you feel, but restricts you to a certain kind of character. You chose a female name? Then they have to be female or feminine. You chose an Orcish or an Elven name? Then they have to be that race or have some tie to it. The strengths of this start is that the name can often figure out the basics of the character without you having to try very hard, but it limits are that you have to stay within the character concept it creates. Starting with a basic concept is the reverse, you'll have to try a little harder to figure out the basics of the character, and then the name has to fit them. Like, a man needs a male name, a demon needs a demonic name, and so on and so forth. You can loosely do both together, but it'll require a little more playing around.

Next is their personality and, in combination, their look. Are they innocent and playful? Then they'll have bright, color or childish clothing. Are they posh, snobbish or higher class? Then they'd probably wear something befitting wealth and luxury, like a tuxedo or a dress. Are they a hardened veteran or an anti-hero? Then there's a chance they'll wear something darker or more rugged, maybe some armor too. Often times, a characters look can tell you their personality before they've spoken, and in some cases this can be used to surprise the reader. Like making the innocent playful clothed one actually a hardened assassin, or the posh character in truth a poor person posing as wealthy.

Third is their weapons, abilities and talents. What are they skilled at? And what are they not? What are their limits? Their abilities need to both fit the character along with the story and world. If they're a chosen one, then around the start they might be good with a few specific talents relating to their background but not much. If they're a soldier, they'd definitely know their way around a firearm. If they're a sorcerer, then they'd definitely need to know some magic. Give them abilities and weaknesses that make sense and keep within established rules. If you break one of your own rules, that will likely frustrate them.

What is the characters role within the story? In a book, every character has some role to play? The Antagonist, Protagonist, Supporting cast, they all need to fill at least one role. The exception to this is throw away or background characters, who don't need to fill a specific role as long as they achieve the goal intended for them. But the big names, such as the main character, will have a lot more complexity to them. Why is this person the antagonist/villain, what is their motivation, how do they interact with others? If you can figure out this part, you'll be golden.

Then there are the extras, but this kind of goes in hand with some of the questions from the last step. There's their background, you'll have know where they came from and why they're doing what they're doing. You can also use this to explain why they have certain personality trait. Your character is a drunk, well why are they? Bad memories? Alcoholism? Some personality traits are formed naturally, others are formed through habit and upbringing, and the reader shouldn't be expected to figure it out on their own, unless that's the point of the book. Just make sure not to dump exposition on them, or they might get bored and not bother reading. "TL;DR" is the message of the day here.

The only thing to do now is to add them to the story, along with some minute details. And don't take this as gospel either, this method is at most a simplified version of the complexity of character creation. Overall, there are many things to consider when creating someone, and whether you do it perfectly or lazily throw one in, the only thing that defines if they've done well is readers opinion. All you can do is buckle up and improve, both you and the characters.