I'm trying to write a book but my protagonist lacks many personality how can I develop her character more?

L.E. Howel Hi Matthew, that’s an interesting question and I think there are a few possible answers. One approach you could try is thinking about people you know and incorporating some of their characteristics into your character. I think it’s a little like my experience of art. The only way I can draw anything is to see it. I find it much easier making something realistic if it is based on reality. Of course it’s always best to avoid directly lifting all you mother-in-law’s personality traits entirely into one single character. Life gets hard. It’s pretty common for writers to take some aspects of different people they know and mix them together to make their own unique person. It still has that basis in reality, but it won’t get you hurt!

Another idea I use is having a clear idea of the person’s back story. If I know what they have been through before this point in the story I usually have a good idea of how they will react later on. A person’s character is shaped by their experiences. I imagine what it would feel like to be that person, to have been in their life, and then let that shape how they act now. At times the characters can come to life so effectively that they wrestle the scene away from the writer, doing what they want rather than what we imagine. I love it when that happens. It becomes more like watching a movie in your mind than writing a story you have come up with. This is very much the basis of my MC in Planetfall. I know some people find Major Birch’s character a little strong (with all his anger issues) but he has his own motivations and that will gradually be explained as the series of books progresses. I certainly wouldn’t attempt a character like his without a clear understanding of his experiences and a real “feel” for what it is that makes him tick.

I hope this helps. It’s what works for me anyway.

Happy writing!

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