Building fictional characters
Building Fictional
Characters
"It's not whether you get knocked down.  It's
whether you get up again." ~ Vince Lombardi
Some Books to Help Out
If you click on the Character Chart link above, you'll find a free, really detailed chart you can use.  
It is copyrighted by me, but you may copy and paste it into Word or another writing program, or
print it out, for your own use only, in building your characters. That way you can type in needed
info, delete sections you don't want to fill in, or even add some more lines.  If you wish to share
the chart in a group meeting or newsletter, please make sure that my name and link are included.
 Thanks.  ~  Charlotte Dillon
Perfection Does Not Exist

No one is perfect, and that goes for the
characters in our stories.  The hero can have a
heart of gold, eyes as blue as the sky, hair as
black as sin, and a smile that can make the sun
look like it is low on voltage.  But come on now,
shouldn't he have some weakness, some part of
him that is less than perfect?  Maybe he doesn't
trust any woman further than he could toss her.  
Maybe he is scared of needles, and faints at the
sight of one.

The same holds true for your villain and villainess.
 Sure they are awful people, and no doubt their
souls are cold and dark?but isn't there even one
beam of good light in there?  Of course there is.  
The villain might hate everybody, but maybe he
has a dog he would give his life for.  The
villainess probably wishes death on those who
defy her, but the sight of a baby might melt her
cold heart, and maybe she would even sacrifice
something to protect a child.  I'll never forget the
barkeeper from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.  In
lots of ways, he was this awful person, but there
were times, when this softer, good side of him
broke free.  It made him memorable -- it made
him real.  He wasn't just a cardboard character,
but a person with both good and bad inside of
him.
Character tags

A tag word or action tag can make even a
character that has a small part in your story
stand out or be recognized when needed.
With a main character, it can show a little
personality, a hint of tension, or just make
them seem more human.

In one of my stories (set in the 1800's) I have
a heroine who always says "hell's bells" when
she is angry. It's her way of cursing. No one
else in the story says this, so if the reader
sees that tag in a sentence, they know who is
talking without a doubt. You could also have a
character that has a habit of calling everyone
honey. Or a character that talks with slang,
uses bad English, an accent, or whatever fits
that character and seems normal for him or
her.

Action tags work the same way. I for one,
have this habit of playing with my hair, twisting
strands of it around my finger. I notice I do this
a lot more if I am nervous, or even bored.  I
could have a character in a story who has a
slight limp, or the habit of jiggling loose
change in his pocket, sucking on a piece of
hard candy, or maybe drumming his fingers
on his desk.
Helpful Links
Even More Links to Help Build those Characters
The difference between Cody and Egbert

One of the first things we need for a character is a name.  It might not always hold true in real life,
but in fiction, it's necessary most times for the name to fit the character.  That's because -- right or
wrong -- we all have preconceived ideas as to who a person is with a given name.  If I'm speaking
to a female over the phone, that I've never met before, and she introduces herself as Ursula,
Scarlett, Desiree, or Hildegard, I get a picture of that person's appearance and character in my
mind?I might be way off, but it's there.  So when I read, I do the same thing.  I find that for me
personally, Egbert just doesn't work as a good name for a hero.  In my judgment, Egbert, Egor, or
Eugene just does not a sexy hero make -- although you might know one very sexy guy with one of
these names, it's not the norm.  So, what characters do names conjure up in your mind?  Make
sure there is at least a good chance that those name will conjure up the picture you want your
readers to see.

How to find names?

My favorite book or all for this is the Character Naming Sourcebook, put out by Writer's Digest.  
Names are listed in categories like French, Norse, Spanish, Celtic, and even Greek and Native
American.  They are also listed under male and female in each of these categories.  Other places
to look include any baby naming books, like Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana and
Baby Names: A New Generation, a telephone book can work too, and there are many sites on line
filled with lists of names from different time periods, like the ones I have listed below.

After all is said and done, and all of those great names are jotted down on a piece of paper in front
of you, I'm afraid no one else will be able to pick the name of each of your characters better than
you.  Who else knows them so well, and knows just which one should be a Lance and who should
be a Alfred?

Here's a link to my very favorite character naming book. If you are going to have only one, this one
covers it all. I've had my copy for years and years.
Name your characters
Copyright © 2000 by Charlotte Dillon.
 All rights reserved.