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Creating Characters: The Complete Guide to Populating Your Fiction
Create characters that leap off the page--and into readers' hearts!
Populating your fiction with authentic, vivid characters is a surefire way to captivate your readers from the first sentence to the last. Whether you're writing a series, novel, short story, or flash fiction, Creating Characters is an invaluable guide to bringing your fictional cast to life.
This book is a comprehensive reference to every stage of character development. You'll find timely advice and helpful instruction from best-selling authors like Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Sims, Orson Scott Card, Chuck Wendig, Hallie Ephron, Donald Maass, and James Scott Bell. They'll show you how
• Effectively introduce your characters
• Build a believable protagonist
• Develop strong anti-heroes and compelling villains
• Juggle multiple points of view without missing a beat
• Craft authentic dialogue that propels the story forward
• Motivate your characters with powerful objectives and a believable conflict
• Show dynamic character development over the course of a story
No matter what your genre, Creating Characters gives you the tools necessary to create realistic, fascinating characters that your readers will root for and remember long after they've finished the story.
Populating your fiction with authentic, vivid characters is a surefire way to captivate your readers from the first sentence to the last. Whether you're writing a series, novel, short story, or flash fiction, Creating Characters is an invaluable guide to bringing your fictional cast to life.
This book is a comprehensive reference to every stage of character development. You'll find timely advice and helpful instruction from best-selling authors like Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Sims, Orson Scott Card, Chuck Wendig, Hallie Ephron, Donald Maass, and James Scott Bell. They'll show you how
• Effectively introduce your characters
• Build a believable protagonist
• Develop strong anti-heroes and compelling villains
• Juggle multiple points of view without missing a beat
• Craft authentic dialogue that propels the story forward
• Motivate your characters with powerful objectives and a believable conflict
• Show dynamic character development over the course of a story
No matter what your genre, Creating Characters gives you the tools necessary to create realistic, fascinating characters that your readers will root for and remember long after they've finished the story.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2014
142 people are currently reading
648 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 29, 2016
What I liked best about this writing craft book is the variety of approaches to character development. This is not just one teacher’s view, nor one way to build your characters. We have over 20 authors’ advice. Screenwriter and novelist Chuck Wendig gives you “25 Things You Should Know about Character.” How the character is your vehicle through the plot, finding the 3 beats for your character, finding the darkness inside, and more. Novelist Joseph Bates discusses how external motivation and internal motivation achieves the conflict for suspense. James Scott Bell, best-selling suspense writer has got you covered on how to “Relate to Readers with a Lead Character.” How do you build sympathy for your character? There are 4 ways. How do you hook the reader on the first page? What are the rules for successful exposition? Bell has 3 you need to know and “do the iceberg” is one of them. I really loved this–so clear! What about character arc? Oh this one has 4 veteran authors showing you the path: Joseph Bates, James Scott Bell, Jeff Gerke, Jack Smith. Everything from creating the character arc, to the arc within plot, to that critical moment of truth, and how to rethink the characterization using the direct method and the indirect method. Award-winning author and novelist David Corbett will show you how to “Push Your Character to the Limits.” His pages on the role of contradictions is five-star: Jungian psychology, the Shadow, and subtext. If you're a writer in need of help with learning everything you can about developing characters, this is a good one.
February 1, 2024
3.0 - This is a solid book for people who aren’t sure how to approach character creation. It covers all the basics of what makes a character interesting, character arcs, and how to go about creating the conflict for your character. There were a few moments where I felt that it went a bit deeper in depth on how to develop characters, but I personally didn’t find much beyond what you would learn in an entry level creative writing class. However, some of the included authors provided their own anecdotes that put old information in a new light that caused me to view certain aspects of character creation from a new perspective. I’d definitely recommend if you’re not sure where to start with making a character, and while this book can also assist in developing characters that you’ve already created, I’d look elsewhere if you’re searching for more deep-delving tactics.
March 1, 2019
I felt this book was very helpful so much so I decided to buy a copy and return the library copy I borrowed. The viewpoints and helpful points from multiple writers was refreshing and though it did feel a bit repetitive it was nice to get fresh takes. I think this is a helpful read if you have written a book fully through and are wanting to expand it and or write something new and fresh. After reading this I feel like I understand what I need to fix and what I could do better on my first book and future ones.
August 2, 2024
Creating Characters: The Complete Guide to Populating Your Fiction from the editors of Writer’s Digest opens with an engaging Foreward. The book is broken into nine parts, with chapters under each making a structured read. It allows readers to choose what they want to read and in what order. The nine parts are all relevant to character creation: Getting Started, P.O.V, Dialogue, Protagonist, Antagonist, Supporting Characters, Conflict, Motivations & Relationships, and Character Arcs. Chapters vary in length but use subheadings, bullet points, some boxed sections, and charts, making for an interesting read.
A helpful tool for fiction writers.
A helpful tool for fiction writers.
December 31, 2019
Good basic guidance on character creation... not as in depth as I was hoping, but a lot of good coverage on various topics, and a good resource for writers to have on hand.
March 26, 2015
This book had a lot of good, useful information.
March 2, 2024
Interesting notes:
It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. She may not know what she wants, but the audience must have that information. Maybe she wants her enemies destroyed, freedom from oppression, her child returned to her, true love, the perfect falafel, a pet monkey, the ultimate wedding, or a secret subterranean moon base. She can want many things, and it’s of the utmost importance that we know what they are. How else will we know how far she’s come? How else can we see the stakes on the table? How else will you frustrate your audience by standing in her way?
Ask this up front, as you’re crafting the story: Why will the audience care about this character? You have unlimited answers to this. Look to the narratives all around us to find reasons to care. We love underdog stories. We love tales of redemption. We love bad boys, good girls, bad girls, and good boys. We want to see characters punished, exalted, triumphant, rewarded, destroyed, stymied, puzzled, and wounded. We gawk at car crashes. We swoon at love. Find a hook. Hang your character upon it.
complexity emerges when a character’s clear-cut wants, goals, or desires come into conflict with, or are otherwise put at risk by, what happens in your story.
The events that unfold in your plot are only meaningful to the reader if they are, first and foremost, meaningful for your character, and for your plot to be meaningful to your character, the events must come into direct conflict with whatever it is he wants.
The first questions you should ask yourself about your use of POV are: Will my protagonist and POV character( s) be the same? If not, do I have good reason for the split? Will I gain more than I lose?
Character Arc: Dorothy Gale WANT WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY RESOLUTION External External External To follow the Yellow Brick Road and find the Wizard of Oz, return home to Kansas. The Wicked Witch, flying monkeys, a field of poppies, etc. Finds Wizard, who can’t help her. Learns from Glinda the Good Witch that she can return home by clicking her heels, could all along. Internal (pre-twister) Internal (pre-twister) Internal To find a place she feels at home and people she feels close to as a family. (Wants to be somewhere else “Over the Rainbow” and gets her wish.) Dorothy is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle on their farm … she’s not sure if she fits in and is accepted. Back in Kansas, realizes her aunt, uncle, and their farmhands are real family. Realizes this is where she belongs. Realizes she’s been “home” all along. That both “home” and “family” mean the people you love and who love you back.
Character Arc: Frodo Baggins WANT WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY RESOLUTION External External External To destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom. Orcs. Ringwraiths. Giant spiders! Gollum. Etc. Takes the Ring to Mount Doom and finally destroys it. Internal Internal Internal Not just to save the world, but to save his world, to preserve Hobbiton and the way of life he loves. His strength of character, which leads Gandalf to entrust the Ring to him. Doubts about whether he, as a simple Hobbit, is up to the important task. The Ring’s influencing Frodo’s mind, tempting him, trying to manipulate him. Faces severe temptation and prevails. Returns to innocence in a sense but is nevertheless wiser as a Ringbearer.
Now it’s time to choose the moment of truth for your book. Fill in these blanks for your main character:
My main character’s knot is______________.
This handicaps him in this way:_______.
My main character has chosen or allowed this state of affairs because it gives her this benefit:__________.
The happy alternative (the “new way”) I’m going to set before my main character is: _______________.
It’s a perfect foil or counterbalance to the old way because _________.
The new way will provide these benefits to my main character: _________.
But my main character will not initially consider this new way to be a real option for him because _______.
After a while, though, my main character begins to see that she would probably enjoy the following benefits if she went with the new way: __________________
The cost of going this new way will also become clear to my main character over time. He will come to see that if he does this, she will have to __________. It’s a price she is not entirely sure she is willing to pay.
Now that we’ve looked at two useful methods of characterization, let’s look for specific ways to make your character fully human. As you revise, give your character: More than one primary goal, behavior, or attitude Several interests—practical, romantic, intellectual, etc. Some inner conflicts—about goals, about self, about others A personal quirk, odd gesture, or noteworthy habit Distinctive speech patterns or qualities
It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. She may not know what she wants, but the audience must have that information. Maybe she wants her enemies destroyed, freedom from oppression, her child returned to her, true love, the perfect falafel, a pet monkey, the ultimate wedding, or a secret subterranean moon base. She can want many things, and it’s of the utmost importance that we know what they are. How else will we know how far she’s come? How else can we see the stakes on the table? How else will you frustrate your audience by standing in her way?
Ask this up front, as you’re crafting the story: Why will the audience care about this character? You have unlimited answers to this. Look to the narratives all around us to find reasons to care. We love underdog stories. We love tales of redemption. We love bad boys, good girls, bad girls, and good boys. We want to see characters punished, exalted, triumphant, rewarded, destroyed, stymied, puzzled, and wounded. We gawk at car crashes. We swoon at love. Find a hook. Hang your character upon it.
complexity emerges when a character’s clear-cut wants, goals, or desires come into conflict with, or are otherwise put at risk by, what happens in your story.
The events that unfold in your plot are only meaningful to the reader if they are, first and foremost, meaningful for your character, and for your plot to be meaningful to your character, the events must come into direct conflict with whatever it is he wants.
The first questions you should ask yourself about your use of POV are: Will my protagonist and POV character( s) be the same? If not, do I have good reason for the split? Will I gain more than I lose?
Character Arc: Dorothy Gale WANT WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY RESOLUTION External External External To follow the Yellow Brick Road and find the Wizard of Oz, return home to Kansas. The Wicked Witch, flying monkeys, a field of poppies, etc. Finds Wizard, who can’t help her. Learns from Glinda the Good Witch that she can return home by clicking her heels, could all along. Internal (pre-twister) Internal (pre-twister) Internal To find a place she feels at home and people she feels close to as a family. (Wants to be somewhere else “Over the Rainbow” and gets her wish.) Dorothy is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle on their farm … she’s not sure if she fits in and is accepted. Back in Kansas, realizes her aunt, uncle, and their farmhands are real family. Realizes this is where she belongs. Realizes she’s been “home” all along. That both “home” and “family” mean the people you love and who love you back.
Character Arc: Frodo Baggins WANT WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY RESOLUTION External External External To destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom. Orcs. Ringwraiths. Giant spiders! Gollum. Etc. Takes the Ring to Mount Doom and finally destroys it. Internal Internal Internal Not just to save the world, but to save his world, to preserve Hobbiton and the way of life he loves. His strength of character, which leads Gandalf to entrust the Ring to him. Doubts about whether he, as a simple Hobbit, is up to the important task. The Ring’s influencing Frodo’s mind, tempting him, trying to manipulate him. Faces severe temptation and prevails. Returns to innocence in a sense but is nevertheless wiser as a Ringbearer.
Now it’s time to choose the moment of truth for your book. Fill in these blanks for your main character:
My main character’s knot is______________.
This handicaps him in this way:_______.
My main character has chosen or allowed this state of affairs because it gives her this benefit:__________.
The happy alternative (the “new way”) I’m going to set before my main character is: _______________.
It’s a perfect foil or counterbalance to the old way because _________.
The new way will provide these benefits to my main character: _________.
But my main character will not initially consider this new way to be a real option for him because _______.
After a while, though, my main character begins to see that she would probably enjoy the following benefits if she went with the new way: __________________
The cost of going this new way will also become clear to my main character over time. He will come to see that if he does this, she will have to __________. It’s a price she is not entirely sure she is willing to pay.
Now that we’ve looked at two useful methods of characterization, let’s look for specific ways to make your character fully human. As you revise, give your character: More than one primary goal, behavior, or attitude Several interests—practical, romantic, intellectual, etc. Some inner conflicts—about goals, about self, about others A personal quirk, odd gesture, or noteworthy habit Distinctive speech patterns or qualities
August 10, 2025
Written by a bunch of well knows authors, "Creating Characters" is a worthwhile book for budding authors, to a point. I found it tells you a lot about what needs to be done, without telling you very much about how to do it. I know that no book can tell you how to write good fiction, but I have read better books than this on the subject. But it does go into Character creation in some depth so it is certainly worth reading, despite not offering a heck of a lot of practical advice. But it is a worthy guide to at least explaining what makes a good character, and what not to do when developing characters, even if it is lacking in practical applications. So, if you have the time and the inclination, there is a fair amount to gain from reading "Creating Characters" and not a lot to lose. I would, however, have to say I don't consider it a must read and a lot of its contents can be found in better books about the subject of writing.
October 5, 2017
This was one writing book I couldn't wait to dive into because some of my favorite writers were included. Divided into sections: getting started, point of view, dialogue, protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, conflict, motivations and relationships and character arcs, each sections has essays by various writing experts. And with so many experts weighing in, each chapter is a gem of tips and information. Some of my favorites include: Chuck Wendig's 25 Things You Should Know About Character, Gloria Kemptom's Dialogue that Propells the Story Forward, Orson Scott Card's The Hero and the Common Man, and Victoria Lynn Schmidt's Romantic Relationships. This is a book I can turn to again and again for inspiration.
March 24, 2025
This was excellent book. One complaint you see with books on novel writing is that the authors wind on for too long, loving the sound of their own voice. Not so here. The articles are pretty short, to the point, and they pack a lot in. The variety of contributing authors means you get some well-rounded feedback, and many of them have also written books on writing that you can find in their bios. I learned a tremendous amount about all aspects of writing good, compelling characters that will really help me in writing my current book, and I definitely intend to check out more of these anthologies from Writer's Digest.
March 19, 2018
I was hoping for more concrete help with the idea of creating characters. Most of the book is very generalized in the way it attacks a character build. There are a few lines here and there, possibly one per chapter where I nodded and said, that's useful. It could use more examples.
It didn't have enough (my opinion only) on giving characters a unique voice. I rated it 4-starts because it's not bad. Just not great.
It didn't have enough (my opinion only) on giving characters a unique voice. I rated it 4-starts because it's not bad. Just not great.
March 6, 2022
3.5 stars. This book was extremely informative and it gave me a lot of insight on creating good characters. The good thing about it was that there were numerous experienced people (published authors, editors, etc.) offering insight on different topics. I would definitely recommend it to others. My only con is that I became extremely repetitive, to the point I didn't even feel it necessary to fully read the last 2-3 chapters I just skimmed over them.
March 29, 2024
This is the kind of book that, if I were to highlight all the important nuggets of information, would be 98% day-glow yellow by the time I got through it. Each chapter was super digestible, and it was nice to see multiple authors describing the same goal, motivation, and conflict basics in a variety of different ways — sometimes a concept that didn’t make a lot of sense one way was easier to understand another way. Really, really good craft book.
October 24, 2017
A must-read for any author in crafting characters with depth, character arcs, conflict, motivation, as well as choosing the right name, POV, and theme for your novel. This will be a keeper on my shelf and I'll be referring to it often. Can't wait to check out the other writing advice books by the editors of Writer's Digest.
January 17, 2019
To bad I have to have such high standards in my rating. But it's a book about writing, by a writer and for writers. I hoped to glean more practical steps for how to create better characters. The book focused on reiterating what I already know; that creating characters is important and why it's important.
July 28, 2020
There were some really good essays in here that I’ll be going back to, but there were some others that felt very condescending? Maybe it’s just me haha but there were a few times it felt like I was being talked down to. Of course I’m not a professional writer, but I think there’s a way to teach people and share what you know about writing without being condescending.
January 17, 2024
My first craft book of the year, and I'm glad I started with focusing on character development. The editors of Writer's Digest each offer unique perspectives, relevant tips, and entertaining analysis on the various principles of what makes a well-rounded, realistic fiction character. I'll be applying these lessons not only to my clients' work, but to my own.
July 10, 2017
The combination of varying viewpoints yet succinct themes and repeated advice from many (very reputable) sources make this a must have for any writer, new or seasoned. The number of ideas this book sparked or fleshed out for my current WIP is incredible! Will reference often as I continue to work.
April 29, 2018
There were some good ideas, but some chapters were skippable. By the end there was too much repetition, and it became tedious. Chuck Wendig's chapter was my favorite and that was at the beginning, so the rest of the book was a let down comparison.
September 21, 2018
I really enjoyed this book and my understanding of how to write good characters has certainly benefited from it. Each chapter is written by a different author and I found myself especially enjoying the ones by Card, Bates, Bell, and Kress. Glad I picked it up!
August 1, 2019
If you are struggling with creating characters - this book hold a wealth of information from diverse writers. It a book that is easy to dip in and out of ,reading the articles that are pertinent to the character you are creating. A useful book.
January 27, 2024
Great foundations and changing between authors was a good way to keep the voice fresh whilst also giving different methods.
Towards the end I found things a little repetitive or even condescending, some very basic things being pointed out.
Towards the end I found things a little repetitive or even condescending, some very basic things being pointed out.
Read
July 1, 2019As with all essay/advice books with multiple contributors, take what works for you and leave what doesn't. I found good, bad, and ugly here, and you might, too.
April 17, 2020
excellent resource for writers - the best for characters - (and I've bought a lot)
August 15, 2020
A great collection of essays about creating characters.
August 7, 2024
Amazing!! This book is a true work of art, encapsulating everything you need to know to make delicious characters :D
March 27, 2017
This is one of my favorite reference books. It's got a lot of helpful insights even though I was aware of most of the topics it covered. I'll most likely come back to it for refreshing in the future.
April 3, 2016
This book is excellent not only for authors that need help with their characters, but also those that have trouble with plot. The book teaches you first the basics of how to craft your character and introduce them to the story, then how to choose a good POV character and how to write good dialogue. It continues with specifics about writing antagonists and supporting characters. But the real meat of the book was in the sections Conflict and Character Arc. These two sections go deeper into what you should know about your character, and help you create plot with that. It teaches you how the character affects plot, and how to create the perfect obstacle, antagonists and supporting characters to block your protagonist or get them to their goal. These two chapters were the real gems, teaching you how plot relates to character and character relates to plot, how to craft the perfect character for your plot and the perfect plot for your character.
The only bad thing I would say is that it got a little bit repetitive. The chapters are all from other books or articles, so the authors sometimes cover the same topics. The real disappointing part of the book was the section Motivations and Relationships. The Motivations part was just a repeat of the Conflict section and the chapter on relationships was not only unhelpful, but also offensive to certain LGBTA+ groups.
All around though, the book was great and I'd recommend it to any writer!
The only bad thing I would say is that it got a little bit repetitive. The chapters are all from other books or articles, so the authors sometimes cover the same topics. The real disappointing part of the book was the section Motivations and Relationships. The Motivations part was just a repeat of the Conflict section and the chapter on relationships was not only unhelpful, but also offensive to certain LGBTA+ groups.
All around though, the book was great and I'd recommend it to any writer!
January 16, 2015
This is a book of excerpts and other short pieces covering (obviously) various aspects of characterization. The presentation of the information is straightforward, and the contributing authors clearly know their stuff. I deducted two stars from my rating because an experienced writer or anyone who engages in literary analysis will have already realized virtually everything contained in this book. It can still be a useful (though limited) tool for those people, though, because it is a condensed version of what they already know that they can thumb through to help focus on specifics. Some of the subjects (such as choosing a name wisely) are general and shallow enough to warrant no more than a skim through the included pages. Articles by Jessica Page Morrell, Jordan E. Rosenfeld, James Scott Bell and Mary Cole are among the standouts.
While I don't regret reading this book, I found very little of use to me. If you are completely wet behind the ears when it comes to writing, it's a good place to start learning how to think about characterization. If you have a certain comfort level with character creation and want to go deeper, though, this book will probably not help you plumb your depths.
While I don't regret reading this book, I found very little of use to me. If you are completely wet behind the ears when it comes to writing, it's a good place to start learning how to think about characterization. If you have a certain comfort level with character creation and want to go deeper, though, this book will probably not help you plumb your depths.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews