How to Create Relatable and Believable Characters

Have you ever come across a book where the characters felt so relatable that they almost jumped off the page? This happens because they know how to create relatable and believable characters. Sometimes, they seem like people you might encounter in your daily life, drawing you into their world so deeply that you became invested in their journey. These characters become a part of you, and you can’t help but root for them, laugh with them, or feel their pain. This is the power of crafting relatable characters, and it is a vital skill for any writer aiming to create an engaging story.

Put quickly, much more than creating compelling characters in your current book, you need to fix yourself within a community of exceptional individuals who have lifetime access to exclusive content on book writing, book editing, book marketing, and book printing? Then sign up for TEBEBA Knowledge Bank. Take that for a bite from the big loaf. Along this aid to excellent character creation, you will find important tips or useful hooks (if you like), that can guide you further in your writing journey. Pick the points:

Know Your Characters Like You Do the Palm of Your Hand.

The foundation of any great character creation is a thorough understanding of who they are. Before you can make your characters compelling to others, you need to know them intimately yourself. This means delving into their background, understanding their fears, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and desires. How now do you go about this?

Start by creating detailed character profiles. These should include basic information such as age, gender, and physical appearance, but going much deeper than that, consider their upbringing, their relationships, their beliefs, and their habits. What are their biggest fears? What drives them? What do they love and hate? By answering these questions, you create a solid foundation upon which to build your character’s actions and decisions. Putting these in place, take the time to develop comprehensive character profiles for each of your main characters. This will help you discover creations of more believable characters that your readers will connect with.

Show, Don’t Tell

One of the cardinal rules of writing, and particularly important in character development, is “show, don’t tell.” Instead of telling your readers about your characters’ personalities, show them through actions, dialogue, and internal monologue. This approach allows readers to draw their own conclusions and become more engaged with the characters. For example, rather than writing, “John was brave,” you might show John acting bravely in a dangerous situation. Perhaps he runs into a burning building to save a trapped child or stands up to a bully. These actions speak volumes about John’s character without explicitly stating it. Similarly, instead of saying, “Mary was kind,” you could show Mary taking care of a stray animal or comforting a friend in need.

However, too many writers write without the cognizance that they had rather told than show. This is why it is advisable to allow for excellent editors as you would find in TEBEBA to help assess your manuscript and identify places where you are telling rather than showing.

Give Your Character Something to Chase After

Characters need goals to drive their actions and the story forward. These goals provide direction and purpose, making the characters’ journey more engaging. Whether it’s a personal ambition, a relationship goal, or a mission to save the world, having something to strive for gives characters depth and makes them more relatable.

The goals should be significant enough to influence the plot and contribute to the character’s growth. For instance, if a character’s goal is to become a successful artist, their journey might include struggles with self-doubt, financial instability, and the search for inspiration. These challenges will reveal different facets of the character and make them more relatable.

Notably, you would do well to define clear, meaningful goals for your main character(s) especially. These goals should be relevant to the overall story and contribute to their personal development.

Give Them Flaws. This Will Ring a Bell in the Minds of Your Readers.

Perfect characters are not only unrealistic but also unrelatable. Flaws make characters more human and relatable because everyone has imperfections. These flaws can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and they add depth and complexity to your characters. You may be writing a story that would hardly sell if your main character is all perfect. Thus, a character’s flaws should also influence the story and their interactions with other characters. For example, a character with a quick temper might frequently get into conflicts, creating tension and drama. Alternatively, a character who is overly trusting might be betrayed, leading to a significant plot twist. Basically, you have a compelling story when you incorporate meaningful flaws into the behavioural making of your character(s), your protagonist especially. Ensure these flaws play a role in the story and contribute to the character’s development.z

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Develop Authentic Dialogue

Dialogue is a powerful tool for character development. It reveals personality, background, and emotions, and it can make your characters come alive on the page. To create authentic dialogue, listen to how people speak in real life. Pay attention to their word choices, speech patterns, and the way they express emotions. Remember that each character should have a unique voice that reflects their background and personality. For instance, an educated character might use more formal language, while a teenager might use slang. Additionally, the way characters speak to different people can reveal a lot about their relationships and social dynamics.

Build A Believable Backstory

A well-developed backstory can add believability to your characters and make their actions and motivations more relatable. The backstory provides context for why characters are the way they are, explaining their fears, desires, and personality traits.

However, it’s important to balance backstory with the present narrative, in order to create a feel of amusement and excitement of discovery, when your readers finally link the present with the past within your plot. It will also help you to avoid overwhelming readers with too much information at once. Instead, reveal the backstory gradually through dialogue, flashbacks, and character reflections. This approach keeps readers engaged and curious about the characters’ pasts.

Show Growth and Change of Your Characters.

Significantly, allow your characters to evolve over the course of the story. This growth can be positive or negative, but it should be believable and driven by the events of the plot. Characters who start out flawed and imperfect can learn and grow, making their journey more compelling and relatable. For example, a character who begins as selfish might learn the value of selflessness through their experiences. Alternatively, a character who starts as naïve might become more cynical as they face challenges. This evolution should be gradual and influenced by the character’s experiences and interactions.

Get the gist, this works for your story when you architecture your character arcs quite well. Do you want to know so well about character arc? It is the plot of character development, that shows significant growth or change in your character. Ensure these arcs are driven by the plot and the character’s experiences. To learn more about these intricacies of character creation, hit this link to find learn more.

Use Inner Monologue – the Stream of Consciousness.

Inner monologue provides insight into a character’s thoughts and feelings, revealing their true motivations and conflicts. It allows readers to connect with the character on a deeper level, understanding their internal struggles, psyche and emotions.

You can simply use the inner monologue to show the contrast between a character’s public persona and their private thoughts. This technique can add layers to your characters, making them more complex and interesting. In the same way, it can equally help you develop an inner conflict – which automatically keeps your audience glued emotionally to your story and the character too, Who can tell if you were showing the exact inner drifts within a reader who you never met?

 Thus, the flow of a stream of consciousness within the cognitive or psychological build-up of your character helps you explore your characters’ internal worlds, why you reveal their deepest fears, desires, and conflicts – which may be the reality of some reader. Such reader will never stop flipping your pages over until they hit the last full-stop.

Surround Your (main) Character with Salient Relationships

The relationships your characters have with others can significantly influence their development and make them more relatable. Friends, family, and romantic partners can bring out different aspects of your characters and create opportunities for growth and conflict. However, you should develop these relationships with the same depth as your main characters. Consider how they influence each other and how their interactions drive the story forward. Meaningful relationships add emotional weight to the narrative and make your characters more engaging.

Hire a Professional Editor – the Real Doctor of Your Character and Story.

Creating consistent and believable characters can be challenging, and evidently, you need a professional touch. Professional editors, like we have in our team at TEBEBA, will help you refine your characters and ensure they remain true to their creation throughout your story. Our editor(s) will also provide invaluable feedback and trail out inconsistencies that you might have missed while creating your character or story. Just as you may realise that you need help with ghost-writing, content writing, book editing, book publishing, book distribution, book printing, website design and app development. We’re just a mail away.

Altogether, creating relatable and believable characters is essential for crafting stories that resonate with readers. By knowing your characters inside and out, showing their traits through actions, giving them meaningful goals, incorporating flaws, and developing authentic dialogue, you can create characters that feel real and engaging. Remember, the journey of writing is continuous learning and improvement. Don’t hesitate to seek professional help when needed. At TEBEBA, we are dedicated to helping writers create stories that captivate and inspire.