How to develop compelling characters

Creating compelling characters is essential for engaging storytelling. A well-developed character resonates with readers, making your story much more impactful. In March 2021, SilverWood Books and I hosted a masterclass for authors where our guest speaker was the celebrated late author, Marcus Sedgwick. He was well known for his ability to write complex and memorable characters, such as Laureth, in ‘She is not invisible’ where in the opening paragraphs of the book, she’s narrating. Here he clearly demonstrated how we all have a limited perspective: she does not tell you immediately why she’s dependent on her young brother. Yet with her dramatic fall over a bag on the floor, she shows the reader that she’s blind. Here’s how to craft such brilliant characters:

1. Decide your character’s backstory

A character’s history shapes their present behavior and decisions. Exploring their past provides depth and authenticity, even if you don’t include all of it in the story. Imagine who they are, visualise what events happened to them.

• Consider their family dynamics, upbringing, cultural background, and early life experiences. These elements influence their concept of the world and interactions with others.

• Pivotal moments: Identify significant events that have left lasting impressions. Any character who faced early loss or bullying may have developed trust issues.

• Secrets and regrets: consider whether they have hidden aspects of their past. These can drive motivations and add complexity to their actions.

  
  

2. What do they do when no one’s watching?

A character’s private interests, actions and motivations reveal their true nature. This insight adds layers to their personality even if you only allude to the details.

• Habits and routines: do they enjoy and engage in activities that contrast their public persona? Such contradictions can make characters more interesting.

• Values and ethics: what do they care most about? How do they hold themselves accountable in life?

• Inner world: what are their beliefs, priorities, and contemplations during moments of introspection? This internal landscape shapes their external behavior.

• Inner conflicts: what might they be thinking about while alone? This can highlight internal struggles and unconscious desires.

  
  

3. How do they react when they’re feeling angry, sad or afraid?

Anger responses and how they handle big emotions can portray a character’s depth, behavioural responses and coping mechanisms.

• Expression: do they lash out, cry, become silent, or retreat physically into alone time? These reactions stem from their backstory and personality traits.

• Triggers: identify what provokes their anger. Understanding triggers can provide insight into unresolved issues.

• Maturity: what are their coping mechanisms like? How resilient are they when life happens?

  
  

4. What emotions do they most often turn to? What is their default?

Showing a character’s most common way of being and their emotional expressions help readers connect with characters. Especially if it’s repeated and a relatable personality.

• Dominant emotions: decide whether they often exhibit joy, sadness, anxiety, or confidence. Designing consistency in their feelings helps build a believable character.

• Emotional growth: show how their emotional expressions evolve throughout the story, reflecting their personal development path and growth or when they are shrinking under pressure.

  
  

5. Physicality over appearance

A character’s physical responses often convey emotions more effectively than descriptions of their appearance. Maybe a character feeling sad might hunch their shoulders to stoop or drop their head? These subtle movements provide visible cues to their internal state and they’re more interesting than just pointing out their hair colour or height. Understanding and talking about body language as part of the story can enhance the depth of your characters.

A character’s dominant emotions inevitably surface in their demeanour. Much like a cup spilling its contents when tipped, a person filled with hatred might exhibit clenched fists, narrowed eyes, or a tense posture. These physical manifestations provide tangible evidence of their internal emotions.

6. Speech patterns, favourite phrases and dialogue

If you want to create lovable, compelling characters, think about their manner of speaking. It reveals a lot about their personality. Nervous characters would speak in short, fragmented sentences or avoid speaking altogether. Whereas confident characters might use longer, more elaborate sentences, and are comfortable dominating the conversations.

7. Direction and movement

Instead of stating “Lorna was a quiet, timid lady,” you might write, “Lorna entered the room and tiptoed around the side.” This approach shows her character doesn’t want to interrupt people through action. 

By integrating these elements and building a backstory for each character you're bringing into the story, you can create multidimensional characters. Some of these traits may stay out of your narrative, yet imagining and visualising them enables you to write about the character in ways that resonate with readers and enhance your storytelling.