Creating a book character

In my previous article, I mentioned that I might dedicate a whole article to how to create your book characters. So, here it is.

Character’s aspects

The characters in a book are an essential part of your story. That is for the simple reason that many readers see themselves in them. They wish they were part of the story, to live what they experience with your characters (especially in romance and erotica) or try to help them overcome the difficulties they are facing. Therefore, your characters should be very likeable to your readers.

How to succeed in it? It is very easy. Just think about what qualities you would like in a real person. Then write them all down on paper. Then do the same with the ones you hate. Choose the three you like the most and the least one you hate. That’s one character. Do the same with the other, but with qualities that complete the first character. Well, now you have your two main characters.

Do you need a bad one for the story? Pick up the three aspects you hate the most and one good and your villain is ready. According to how villain you need him to be, you can pick up more than three negative character aspects.

Physical appearance

I believe this is the least difficult part of the book’s character creation. It is very easy to do. Just imagine him/her. How would you like him/her to be? Short or tall? Maybe average height. Fat, thin, fluffy, muscular, etc. Short or long hair? What colour? What colour will their eyes be? Will he have a beard or a moustache? A tattoo? A piercing?

Of course, the physical appearance should be harmonious with what kind of character and profession they have. You can not create a character for a drama romance with pink rasta hair and be a school teacher… except if it is a fantasy genre book that you want to write, then everything is possible! 😂

Age

Depending on the story you want to write, you should define the age of your characters.

In a young adult romance novel, they will be from 18 to 22 years old. In a thriller, you can have them much older, etc.

If your book is based on an age gap theme, then you should think about the gap. Will it be a 15 or 20 years old gap? Maybe more?

In general, the main characters should not have more than a 10 years age gap in a romance story. In Erotica, it could be a significant one, depending always on the theme that you want to write.

Profession

Your character should have a job, a daily occupation to earn his living. Will he/she be a teacher, a student, a successful businessman/businesswoman, a lawyer, a secretary, an assistant, a doctor, a pilot, a thief, or a Mafia guy?

Of course, his/her work has to be related to the plot and the genre you are thinking about writing. If you are going to write a young adult story, most probably the main characters will be students or assistants or working part-time jobs for pocket money. It will not be the same if you are thinking of writing erotica. Then most probably you will choose a student/teacher, boss/secretary or assistant profession.

(I know the examples are very classic, but I hope you got the message… 😉)

Note: your character could also be without profession. A guy or a young lady who doesn’t know what he/she wants to do with his/her life, for example. Just put your imagination in working mode! 😎

Family life

Now we are going deeper into their life.

According to our story, our characters will be single, married or widow/widower. You could have both. For example, one married and the other single (yep, adultery theme!). Everything depends on the story you want to write.

Do they have parents, siblings, cousins, etc? Do they see them often? Do they have good relations with them? Is there a familial secret or drama in the background? Did they have been abused as children (physically and/or psychologically) by a relative or a parent?

Do they have children? Boys and/or girls? What age? Do they go to school or University? Are they adults? Are they married and/or have children? What kind of job do they do?

Education

Now let’s see their educational background. Have they finished high school? Did they go to College? Or University? Maybe they have graduated from an Art school or a culinary, dancing or Police Academy?

They can be without education. They dropped school at 15, left the family house, been homeless without a job… as I said previously, everything has to do with the subject your story has.

Note: the character’s educational background should be in coherence with their age and profession. You cannot have a 20-year-old teacher who has only a high school degree. Common sense! I know it is something writers hate, but please use it wisely! 😄

Social life

Their friend’s circle! Yeah! I know! We are going deeper and deeper…

As with our main characters, we should do the same with their friends. Who are they? What do they do for a living? What do they look like? What’s their family life look like?

I know it becomes complicated. Do not worry! You can do it! 🎉

Location

Where do they live? Pick up a place/location you know, or an imaginative one. Will it be the same where they have been born? Will they live in an apartment or a house? Or maybe in the trees or a cave?

Where do they work? In a library? In a supermarket? In school? In a legal firm? Do they own their own business?

Choose carefully, always according to your story.

Financial situation

Are your main characters wealthy or poor? Do they belong to the middle class maybe? Or is anyone a Prince or a Princess? 👸

Do they owe money to someone? Did they have financial problems with their business? Or do they try to help poor people? Do they donate to an association/organisation?

Hobbies

That’s a very interesting part of our character creation process. This will show your readers what kind of people your characters are.

I will give you an example from one of my books. In the “Wicked Series” the female character is a junior banker, 28 years old, single and a virgin (yeah… well, don’t ask why… it’s complicated to explain now 😂). Her hobbies are reading books (Jane Austen, Bronte, Dickens etc), dancing (she goes every Saturday to dance with her friends to different clubs in London) and watching ballets and Opera. She has been collecting National Geographic Magazines since she was 16 years old. She hasn’t missed a month.

What does that say about her? What will the readers think about her? Well, first of all, she seems to be a romantic person (from her book’s choices) with a very eclectic taste (ballet and Opera). She seems to be a joyful person (likes to dance) and full of knowledge (National Geographic).

Does this match her banker profile? No. And it doesn’t have to. Why? Because they are hobbies. We can be one kind of people at work and different in our personal life.

Pets/Animals

Some consider them as friends, others as part of their family. So, it is up to you to add them whether you like them to be.

They can also be part of their professional life. Working or living on a ranch, be a vet, for example.

In a fantasy genre story, animals could also be your main characters.

Of course, you are not obliged to add them somewhere in your story if you do not want to. It’s your story, you decide!

These are some of the topics you should ask when you are creating your main characters. For me, my characters look like children. I love them, I like adding many things to them, imagining how they could be if they were real persons.

Good luck, folks! ✌ 😉