Pebblepup's Writing Den

Writing believable characters requires you to know several things about them. You need to know who they are, what they like and don’t like, what scares them, and what motivates them. The more you know about your characters, more believable they become.

There are a number of ways to get to know your characters. The way I use is to write answers to questions in a character chart, like this one here.

Of course, you don’t have to be as detailed as that chart is. Most of what you write about your characters, using such a chart, won’t make it into your story. The chart is a way you get to know your characters. It can suggest obstacles you can put in the character’s way. The knowledge will also help you to ensure that your characters act in consistent ways.

You need to know what your characters like and don’t like. This is so you don’t have them smoking in one scene and complaining about someone else smoking in another. In short, it helps you figure out what your character would do in a specific set of circumstances. This can be invaluable when setting up a plot.

Believable characters don’t happen without effort. You need to learn about them. Interview them. That’s another technique for creating believable characters. Interview them following interview questions that you canfind online. Think about the kind of questions a hiring agent uses when interviewing people. Their goal is to fill job vacancies. You can find those online as well.

Find a questionnaire you feel will work for you and copy it. Keep a blank copy so you can use it for other characters as needed.

You might not want to use these techniques for all your characters. But they work well to help you get to know your main characters. They can also help you set up problems for your characters to solve, depending on your story’s needs.

Once you’ve completed the questionnaire. the character chart I linked to above, you can reference it when you need to.

This is a good way to ensure that you have created a character that is believable. Having such a character will help your readers immerse themselves into your story. That’s the key to successful story telling.

There are more character charts on the internet than the one at eclectics.com. So if that one won’t do for you, search for other character charts, you might find one that works better for you.

Having the right tools that you know will work for you is helpful when you need to use them. So take the time to research different character charts or interview questions. Find the ones that work for you. You will be glad you did.