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?
Name your characters
Copyright © 2000 by Charlotte Dillon.
            All rights reserved.