One thing I tend to get praised for in my books is my characters. I seem to write characters that readers fall in love with and like spending time with. I have to admit that I like my own characters. I could spend time with most of them without them having to do anything (in fact, there are a lot of scenes that end up getting cut because they aren’t needed for the plot and are just the characters hanging out). I don’t have one particular process for creating characters, but there are a number of things I may do.

Sometimes a story idea starts with a character and I try to find a story to fit them into. Sophie in the Fairy Tale series was one of these. She’d been living in my head for a long time before I figured out where to put her. But most often, I come up with a story concept first and then figure out what characters I need to tell that story. Usually there’s a character who comes up first, who may or may not be the main character, and then the other characters build outward from there. In the book I’m currently developing, I knew something about who the main character would be, but they were pretty vague still. It was another character who came to life first, and then from there I was able to flesh out the main character, and as I developed the setting and the story more, other characters started coming into focus.

There are a few tools I use to find the characters. I’m fond of the Enneagram, which sorts people into personality types. Generally I can read through these and one will jump out as a good fit for a character, and then as I go through the descriptions, the character will start to come to life in my head. At that point, I start adding other details and usually don’t refer to the Enneagram again. I may also play with archetypes. At this point, I can do the usual character worksheets to get physical description, goals, needs, key things from the backstory, character traits and quirks, personality, likes and dislikes, etc. I try to throw in at least one thing that’s a bit unexpected so that the character isn’t a stereotype. Just one trait that’s the opposite of what you’d expect for that kind of person really brings a character to life and makes them feel more three-dimensional.

If a character hasn’t solidified during this process, I may “cast” the character, thinking of an actor who might be a good fit. Then I can usually start hearing their voice in my head, and once the character has come to life, I can ditch the casting.

A big thing about creating a character is what the character wants, and that comes in layers.

There’s the story goal, which is usually an external, concrete thing. You could write a movie scene (so no introspection) showing them getting this thing. It’s something that comes up during the story, mostly for the protagonist, but other characters may have their own goals for subplots, or they may support or oppose the protagonist’s goal.

Then there’s the personal goal. This is something the character already wants at the beginning of the story. In musicals and Disney movies, there’s often an “I Want” song at the beginning, and this tells you what the character’s personal goal is. Think “Part of Your World” in The Little Mermaid. She wants to be human at the beginning of the story, before she knows the prince even exists. It’s only later that she gets the story goal of getting the prince to kiss her so she can stay human. There may also/instead be a need, something the character needs in order to be their true self or be happy but that they don’t even know they need. They think the thing they want will make them happy or change their life, but the need is the thing that will really work. The personal goal may either conflict or dovetail with the story goal. The personal goal can be somewhat abstract, so you may not necessarily be able to write a movie scene of them getting it, but it will be clear that they have it.

Then there’s what I call the drive, the need deep down inside that causes the character to make the kinds of decisions they make. It’s a need that can never truly be met because they’ll always either need it or fear losing it. These drives are basic things like the need for love, security, power, control, etc. Yeah, everyone needs these things to some degree, but the drive is the one that powers the character, and it doesn’t change unless the character goes through a transformation so profound that they’re basically a different person.

Once I know these things about a character, I can develop a plot that forces them to change and grow and that will be driven by them making choices that are consistent with their character. But as I plot I may come up with ideas for the characters, so it tends to go back and forth. Characters drive the plot, which alters the characters.

I generally know a character is ready to write when I find myself imagining them in scenes that won’t be part of the plot, just them in normal life before the story begins, doing things like their job or hanging out with friends. I can see how they’d react to various events and what they do when there’s no crisis going on. Then I feel like I really know the character, so it’s time to throw them into the story.