Character Development: How to Write Compelling Characters in Your Novel

As a fiction writer, your characters are one of the most important elements of your story. Without strong, multi-dimensional characters that resonate with readers, even the most exciting plot falls flat. 

That's why understanding how to craft compelling characters is a crucial skill for novelists. This complete guide on character development will teach you the key principles of creating characters that feel real. You'll learn what character development is, common types of characters, character development strategies, and writing tips. But first, let’s cover the basics.

What is a Character in Fiction?

In simple terms, a character is any person that appears in a story. They can be major characters who drive the plot forward or minor characters who support the story in smaller roles.

Fictional characters have personalities, motivations, backgrounds, and relationships with other characters. A well-developed character will feel like a real person with their own quirks, desires, flaws, and growth over time.

As the writer, you get to decide what kind of person your character is and what role they will play in your novel. Your characters' actions and dialogue will move the plot forward and decide the outcome of your story.

Types of Characters in a Novel

There are several important type of characters to consider when developing the key players in your novel:

Major Characters

Major characters play a significant role in the story and appear frequently throughout the novel. They include the main protagonists, antagonists, and supporting players that move the plot forward.

Protagonist

The protagonist is the central character and often the hero (or antihero) of the story. The plot revolves around them and the choices they make in their journey. Examples: Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Meg Murry in A Wrinkle in Time, or Winston Smith in 1984.

Antagonist 

The antagonist serves as the opposition to the protagonist. They create conflict and obstacles for the protagonist. Sometimes the antagonist is not a character, but a social force or outside pressure on the protagonist. And sometimes, the antagonist is within the protagonist. 

Examples of famous antagonists include Voldemort, President Snow, and Sauron. Antagonistic forces could be society, addition, mental illness, or nature (like a snowstorm). Internal struggles within the protagonist also create central conflicts.

Supporting Characters

Supporting characters complement the protagonists or antagonists. They often assist, advise, or oppose the main character and add depth to your story. Supporting characters exhibit less complex development than main characters. They can be love interests, friends, mentors, or even enemies. Examples include: Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, or Han Solo in Star Wars.

Minor Characters

Minor characters serve smaller, supporting roles and may only appear in a few scenes or chapters. Though their part is limited, they help advance the plot, often by influencing or affecting the major characters in pivotal ways.

For example, Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series is a minor character who befriends Harry and gives him unique perspectives on situations. Though she only pops up occasionally, her presence provides Harry with moral support.

Other minor characters act as catalysts by instigating events or revealing key information at critical moments. They add richness and realism by rounding out the story. Though they stay on the periphery of the story, their interactions with major characters help unveil deeper aspects of the protagonists' journeys. Even small supporting roles can leave lasting impressions and carry themes or ideas through the narrative.

Character Archetypes

Archetypes are common character types that appear frequently in fiction. Using character archetypes can help you quickly establish a character's role in the story through familiar traits and narrative arcs. 

They’re useful starting points. However, complex characters should grow beyond the archetype assigned to them and develop a deep, authentic personality throughout the story.

Some examples of character archetypes include:

• The Hero: Courageous, noble, and often the protagonist. 
• The Mentor: Wise teacher who guides the hero. Think Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.
• The Villain: Evil opponent who challenges the hero. 
• The Anti-Hero: Morally ambiguous character who lacks typical heroic qualities. E.g. Don Draper from Mad Men.
• The Temptress: Seductive man or woman who tempts the hero.
• The Outcast: A character excluded from society who struggles to fit in. Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.
• The Jester: Comic character who lightens the mood and entertains. Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.

Many protagonists start out shaped by an archetype but transform and subvert expectations as they develop. For instance, a chosen one selected to save the kingdom may turn out to have a hidden dark side. Blending qualities of multiple archetypes in one character can also add more depth. For example, a mentor who has some flaws and moments of doubt.

Subverting or going against archetypes can create more compelling characters. Like a villain who elicits some sympathy or a hero who isn't fully virtuous. Writers can use archetypes as inspiration while customizing characters with distinguishing quirks and backstories, but the archetype should inform rather than limit characterization.

What is Character Development? 

Now we understand our character types and archetypes, let’s talk about character development—what makes your characters come alive on the page.

Character development is defined as the process of constructing a fictional character's personality, background, motivations, and growth arc throughout a story. 

Aspects of character development include:

• Constructing a detailed personality profile
• Establishing background details like upbringing, education, and past experiences
• Outlining goals, fears, beliefs, quirks, strengths, weaknesses
• Depicting how relationships and events shape the character's growth
• Tracing emotional, intellectual, and behavioral changes in the character as the story progresses

It involves building up a character from scratch to transform them from a basic archetype into a unique, complex person. Through character development, superficial figures evolve into multidimensional people.

Why is Character Development Important? 

Well-executed character development helps readers understand a character's inner thoughts, emotions, desires, and struggles. It gets your audience fully invested in the story.

Well-developed characters also lets readers:

• Empathize with diverse perspectives beyond their own experience.
• Connect emotionally with the characters as if they are real people.
• Understand the characters' motivations, reactions, and inner conflicts.
• Relate to characters who reflect universal experiences and struggles. 
• Experience meaningful personal growth alongside the characters.

In essence, robust characters act as the emotional conduits between your novel and the reader. They turn a story into a profound, immersive experience.

How to Create a Character That Feels Real

Crafting compelling, lifelike characters is one of the keys to writing an immersive novel. Follow these steps to build multidimensional characters that will mesmerize readers:

Establish The Basics

Start by writing out the fundamental pieces that make up each major character in your story:

1. Name: Choose a fitting name that matches the character.
2. Age & Gender: Establish these key demographic traits. 
3. Physical Description: Describe what your character looks like. Do they have any unique features like scars or multicolored eyes?
4. Role: What purpose do they serve? Are they the protagonist, antagonist, or sidekick?
5. Goal: What is their main objective in the story? What motivates them? This is usually driven by their backstory.

Give Them a Backstory

Write extensive backstories for your main characters, including childhood memories, past trauma, role models, and life-changing moments. This will add emotional depth.

Describe their upbringing, such as what their childhood was like and whether they had a loving family or traumatic experiences. These experiences will have shaped them into who they are today. 

You can also establish their education and accomplishments. What is their schooling background? Were they studious or rebellious? What are their major achievements so far?

Like real people, fully-developed characters will also have hobbies and interests, as well as relationships. What do they like to do? Do they have close friends, romantic partners, or rivals?

Craft Their Personality

Give your character dimension by designing their values, quirks, strengths, weaknesses, and beliefs. For example: What positive and negative qualities do they possess? Do they have any funny habits, phrases, or behavioral oddities?

You might also write out their psychological profile and belief system, such as whether they’re introverted or extroverted, optimistic or cynical. Demonstrate what principles guide their thinking and decision-making.

Develop Their Voice 

Give your character more depth by making their dialogue distinctive to them.

• Speech patterns: Do they use slang or have a unique cadence?
• Vocabulary: Is their language more formal or casual? Do they use big words?
• Typical greetings: Do they say "Hey man!" or "Greetings, friend!" 
• Communication style: Are they blunt, sarcastic, or warm?

If you’re struggling with this, try observing strangers in public and eavesdropping on their conversations for dialogue inspiration. Or act out dialogue aloud to get a feel for different speech patterns and vocabulary for each character. 

Map Their Character Arc

Every major character in your novel should grow and change in some way. That means you need to understand their starting personality versus their ending personality. How do the challenges they face or decisions they make transform them? 

For protagonists, one of the most important moments can be the inciting incident or catalyst for the story—the key event that sets them on their journey. For antagonists, you should consider outlining the events that have or continue to shape and push them to act the villain. 

You may also want to consider the timeline for your character’s growth and how it lines up with the pacing of events in your story. For some characters, their shifts might be rapid. For others, it could be steady progression, or they may revert to old habits at times.

By the end of the story, readers will want to understand what lessons the characters have learned, and what wisdom they’ve gained along the way. Their transformation should give your audience insights into how the characters see themselves and the world at large. 

5 Tips on How to Write Character Development

Here are some character writing tips for bringing your characters to life throughout your novel:

1. Show, Don't Tell.

Reveal details about your characters through action, dialogue, inner thoughts, and relationships. Show scenes of them interacting with others and making choices.

You can draw inspiration from people you know. Think about their mannerisms and quirks you could borrow and how that might show up on the page.

2. Share Inner Thoughts

One of the mistakes many writers can make is not letting readers into their characters' heads. We all have inner lives and readers long to see this in characters, whether you’re writing in third or first person point of view. 

Describe how characters’ are feeling or reacting to events through brief thoughts or internal monologues. Connect it to the way they feel in their body, as well. Bring your readers into their self-doubts, secret desires, and private reflections.

In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred's fears and observations about the oppressive society of Gilead are revealed through her intimate first-person narration. We gain insights into her mindset and emotions through her vivid inner perspectives.

3. Give Them Challenges to Overcome

Every story needs a conflict of some sort to drive your characters’ transformation—whether they have to make quick decisions in an intense car chase or in a domestic scene.

Forcing your characters into difficult situations, tests and transforms them. Adversity allows their personalities to fully emerge on the page and makes them feel authentic.

If you’re not sure whether your characters feel challenged enough, ask beta readers to give feedback on them. Do they feel real, complex, and emotionally compelling? Revise challenges and scenes of growth based on this feedback.

4. Make Them Change and Grow 

There are flat supporting characters, who personify a particular quality like loyalty or wisdom. But we’re not talking about them. We’re talking about the major characters—and all of those should grow in some way. 

For characters to feel real, they shouldn’t stagnate. When you map their arc, make sure you’re letting them conquer flaws and achieve growth.

For example, in The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen is a defiant teenager forced to fight for her life in a brutal televised competition. As she battles for survival, she evolves from a lone wolf to a galvanizing revolutionary leader. 

5. Surprise Readers 

You can avoid predictability by letting characters your characters defy expectations. Give them depth by blending contrasting qualities.

For example, In Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Amy Dunne first seems like an ideal wife, but Flynn slowly reveals her cunning, vengeful dark side, subverting expectations.

You can also let your characters surprise you. While you’re writing, allow yourself (and them) the freedom to develop personalities and make their choices you hadn’t planned on.

Remember, characters drive your story forward and stir emotions in readers. Vivid, nuanced characters will transport readers deeply into your fictional world. Use these tips to make your characters shine.