5 Ways to Develop Stronger Characters for Your Novel

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the secret to a great story is well developed characters. Sure, we might find entertainment in books or TV shows that prioritize plot over character development (I’m looking at you, Gossip Girl), but at the end of the day, these aren’t the stories we fall in love with.

The stories that truly tug on our hearts and go on to become favorites are those whose characters captivate us from beginning to end.

Because I’m currently trying to build strong characters in my own novel, I’ve been paying close attention to character development in any book I read or TV show/movie I watch. These are some of the things I’ve noticed writers can do to build characters that come to life on the page and will have readers behind them from the start.

Know What They Want

This one is obvious, but it’s so important that I believe it’s worth mentioning again. If you want to create a strong main character, you have to know his/her main motivation(s). A great example of a character who was written with a clear motivation is Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. From the start of the series, Katniss’ main goal was to keep herself and her family alive. This is why she volunteers for Prim and why she fights to stay alive in the arena. Over time, she’s awakened to a new desire: to help Panem free themselves from President Snow. But for much of the series she’s hesitant to lead the revolution because that wasn’t her original motivation. Her original goal was simply to keep Prim safe.

Your character can have several motivations and develop new ones along the way, but it’s crucial that the most important ones remain consistent with their values. If you want to create some interesting tension, you can also give them conflicting motivations - such as wanting their best friend’s significant other to fall in love with them, but also not wanting to hurt their best friend.

Define Their Personality Type

A type-A, driven and organized personality type would respond very differently to a crisis - like a natural disaster, for example - than a more laid-back, indecisive character. That’s why being familiar with the personalty type of your characters is so important. Before you even start writing, you should know what kind of people your characters are. Are they emotional, or level-headed and rational? Messy or super organized? Serious and reserved, or always the life of the party? Knowing these things will help know how they should respond to each scene of your story.

One of my favorite tools to use when it comes to creating a strong personality type for my characters is typing them according to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). I don’t always settle on a specific personality type that I want them to have because I don’t want to end up creating a stereotype of a certain type. But I do try to at least choose a spectrum for each character on the Extroverted/Introverted, Feeling/Thinking and Judging/Perceiving scales. This helps me keep my characters consistent throughout the story. That doesn’t mean they won’t ever act surprisingly or out of character. It just means that when they do, it’ll make sense according to their personality type.

Give Them Some Quirks

Some of the most well-known and beloved characters had little quirks that made them unique. Superman was graceful and practically invincible, but he was also kind of socially awkward. Lizzie Bennett was witty and bold, yet she had an affinity for long walks that got her dresses dirty.

Quirks give life to your characters because they make them come alive beyond a stereotype on a page. Real people don’t fit neatly into boxes - so why should your characters? A quirk can be something unique that your character is into - like cosplay or playing an unpopular instrument - or a random activity they love doing with their friends. More often than not, thinking about how/why they got into that particular thing will help enhance that character’s backstory and voila - you’ll have a better developed character!

Complicate Their Relationships

Complicated relationships with others are part of what it means to be human. If you want to create a truly believable character, don’t give them a picture perfect family life and flawless significant other. Add in a little tension in there, even if it’s lurking beneath the surface (I think that makes it more interesting, actually). Give your main character a complicated relationship with his/her mother, a best friend they’re secretly competitive with or an ex they’re still in love with. Not only will that make them more real and relatable - it’ll add some great depth to your plot.

Give Them a Secret

Some of the best main characters have a secret that other characters (and sometimes even the reader) don’t know about. I’m not saying they have to be hiding a crazy and earth shattering secret - it just has to be something that’ll adds a little bit of mystery and depth to them. For example, in The Truth About Forever, a novel by Sarah Dessen (aka the queen of YA), the main character feels guilty about the way her father passed away, even though she won’t admit it to anyone. This secret eventually helps her connect to Wes, who becomes an important person in her life, and also helps explain why she approaches certain situations the way she does.

Find something that your character is ashamed or afraid to share with most of the people in his/her life, and use it to create some tension in your plot. It’ll keep your readers hooked, and add a new layer of dimension to that character.

What are some of the ways you develop stronger characters?

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