3 ways to create complex and permanent characters.

Characters are a vital part of your story, its what pushes the plot further and keeps the story moving on, like the engine of a train.

If you can create an intriguing plot, edgy suspense and permanently-etched characters, your story is beyond best.

Designing characters are the toughest part of writing a story, I'm not talking about naming them, I'm talking about creating them.

Here are 5 ways to create permanent characters that live on, even after the end of your story.

1. Create a Past or Background

If you want to create a permanent character you MUST create a past for him/her.

We all have a past, out background story that made us who we are, A lot of influential celebrities or publicists have gone through a series of obstacles to become what they are now, that is their past, their story of how they came to be.

Creating a past for your character instills a sense that he/she isn't just a random girl/boy you meet on the street, it is a person who has struggled to be who he/she is, like each of us do.

It helps the reader relate to what their going through and how they feel by the choices they make throughout the story.

2. Give him or her a flaw

Sometimes we hold back on flaws because we’re afraid of making our characters unlikeable.

In all honesty, the fear of making your characters unlikeable is probably making your character unlikeable.

Flaws make your character human. And when your character is more human, readers have an easier time emphasizing with her. It’s ultimately this deep empathy that draws us to characters — not a shallow likeability.

So don’t hold back on making your character a mess. In the end, it’ll make her character arc even more impactful.

THESE ARE THE TWO DIFFERENT FLAWS YOU NEED TO GIVE YOUR CHARACTER:

• A psychological weakness — There’s something holding your character back from reaching her fullest potential.

• A moral weakness — There’s something, usually a manifestation of her psychological weakness, that is causing her to hurt other people.

This means that your character should not only be hurting themselves, but they should be hurting others in some way, too.

“No way,” you might be saying. “I’m not making my character an antagonist.”

But it’s not about making your character a villain.

I mean, think about it. Look at yourself. What’s something you know you struggle with? Does it ever end up hurting other people? For example, maybe you struggle with believing you deserve love, which in turn causes you to push others away.

That doesn’t make you evil, that makes you a human being.

3.Make him/her realistic

Don't go for the richest girl on earth or the best scientist of the century, make your character realistic, the goal is to get the reader to understand the character, not like it (of course you should make the character likeable, but that isn't the number one priority when it comes to making long-lasting characters)

Make the character seem normal, don't go overboard by making him/her some mythical god/goddess, Make the character simple and believable

Lets use this example:

Amy was the prettiest princess in the world, yet no suitors had come to ask for her hand.

To start off, how can the prettiest princess in the world NOT have any suitors who want to win her hand in marriage, an exception is made if she did something horribly wrong, but still, I'm sure there'd be ATLEAST one.

Make characters that are logical and easily relatable, not everyone in this would be the prettiest, and this, unknowingly, creates competition with the reader, as in, is she as pretty as she seem? Am I that ugly as the writer makes me sound?

Of course this usually depends on your story, the setting and the time, but stick to a simple character not an overcomplicated one.

If you follow these 3 simple tips, you've mastered the art of creating characters that live on, even after the story ends.

Tell me in the comments which tip resonates with you the most, or what tip you use to create characters?