The Ultimate Guide to Character Development: 10 Steps to Creating Memorable Heroes
You’ve settled on the idea for your novel. You’ve narrowed it to a sentence or two, and you’re ready to tackle what seems an insurmountable task—breathing life into your lead character.
If you’re an Outliner (one who outlines your novel first), it’s time for character development, an endeavor not for wimps.
Spellbinding stories feature believable characters who feel knowable.
Yes, even if your genre is Fantasy or Allegory or Futuristic. Your character may even be a superhero, but he* must be real and knowable within your premise.
[*I use male pronouns inclusively here to represent both genders only to avoid the awkward repetition of he/she or him/her, fully recognizing that many lead characters are female and so are a majority of readers.]
I’d love to impart some gem that would magically make you an expert at character development. But, sorry, no shortcuts. This is as hard as it sounds. Fail at this task, and it shows.
You cheat your readers when your lead character doesn’t develop and grow. No growth, no character arc. No character arc, fewer satisfied readers.
What About Us Pantsers?
Our name comes from the fact that we write by the seat of our pants. No outlines for us. We write by process of discovery. As Stephen King advises, “Put interesting characters in difficult situations and write to find out what happens.”
I identify as a Pantser, so I’m sympathetic if you can’t imagine creating a character and giving him a personal history before starting to write. My characters introduce themselves to me and reveal their histories as the story unfolds.
To a new writer or an Outliner, it may sound exciting and dangerous to wade into a story counting on characters to emerge and take over. Believe me, it’s both.
Frankly, Outliners have some advantages over Pantsers here. They know a lot about their lead characters before they start writing.
Fellow Pantsers, don’t ignore or discount this training. We must start with some idea who’s populating our stories. And when we get stuck, there’s no shame in going back and engaging in this exercise. (I won’t tell anyone.
