Create a character the audience will love
Whether it’s through a television series, movie, or book, we’re all passionate about characters. Whether they're the protagonist at the center of the story, or an antagonist that challenges our hero and forces them to grow. Creating characters is one of the most important aspects of any story. You can have the best dialogue, the most detailed premise, and even build some amazing world-building—but if your audience doesn’t connect with your lead, they won’t care about anything else you give them. Don’t worry, creating compelling characters isn’t as difficult as it seems. In fact, once you understand how to identify character archetypes and employ techniques that show audiences why they should care about your lead… you'll be a master in no time!
What makes a character compelling?
If you’re not sure why your lead should be compelling, then you haven’t been able to connect with your audience yet. Connecting with your audience is the key to any successful story. And, while it’s a lot of work, it’s also incredibly rewarding. Why? Because you’ll be able to tell your story in a way that resonates with more people than you could ever imagine. The best way to know what makes your lead compelling is to watch your audience. In most cases, the best way to start engaging the people you’re writing for is to connect with them where they’re at. So, next time you’re writing, try to foresee how characters in your story will influence your audience. Try to get inside their heads and imagine what they’d be feeling, thinking, and doing. This will help you create a lead that has a greater chance of inspiring an emotional connection.
Understand your audience’s expectations of your lead
In almost every story, the protagonist is the character we’re supposed to care about. However, since we’re all different, some of us might care more about the antagonist than the protagonist. Think of Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight. This phenomenon is especially true in a genre such as fantasy or sci-fi. When we watch a story set in a fantastical world, we tend to connect with leads who are either our own age or slightly older. We want to relate to them on some level. So, if you’re creating a story in a genre like fantasy, you’ll want to ensure that your audience understands your protagonist’s age, race, or gender. It’s important for the audience to understand the lead’s background, because if the audience can relate to the character, they’re more likely to care about what happens to them.
Identify the three main types of characters in popular stories
There are many types of characters in popular stories, but they can be ranked into three basic categories—protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters or sidekicks. Protagonists are the main character in the story. They’re the ones who are trying to solve the problem and make things right. They’re usually the heroes—or heroes should they be—and the audience will typically root for them to succeed. Antagonists are the other “main” characters in the story. They’re opposing the protagonist and may be the villains or they may be a neutral character. The antagonist should be interesting enough that we want to see them seem like they will succeed and they should be flawed enough that they make the protagonist look better. Sidekicks are the supporting characters in the story. They’re not quite as central as the protagonist, but they’re essential characters in the story. They don’t have as much depth as the protagonist or antagonist, but they’re still important in the story and usually have a close relationship with the protagonist.
Use your understanding of your audience to create a more dynamic, rounded lead
Creating compelling characters is only half the battle. The other half is effectively showing your audience why these characters matter and why they should care about them. The best way to do this is to create a story that follows the life of your protagonist from a young age until the end. You can do this through a series, or through a complete single story. You can also use this technique to show the audience the events in their life that inspired your lead. These events can be small, like a particular person who influenced your lead, or they can be big, like when your lead fights an enemy who threatens their friends and family. The other way to get the audience to care is to give the character difficult choices to make. Creating choices gives the audience something to relate to. Would they have made the same choice?
Take stock of your protagonist’s traits and add depth to develop them further
As you’re writing your story and considering the character’s background, try to keep in mind the audience’s expectations of your lead. Try to identify what traits they were born with, and what they’ve learned and experienced since then. Keep in mind that every character is born with certain traits and experiences throughout their life, and that these things can change over time. Encourage your lead to take initiative, even if they don’t feel like doing it. Make your lead imperfect in some way—whether it’s through a flaw in their personality or a flaw in the world they live in.
Develop an antagonistic or supporting character who will push the protagonist to change
If your lead is the protagonist in your story, then you have the opportunity to develop an antagonistic character who will push your lead to change. An antagonistic character has one goal in mind: to defeat your protagonist. They’ll do whatever it takes to make your protagonist fail. You can create an antagonistic character by first identifying what traits your lead shares with others in the story—protagonists, antagonists, or sidekicks. After you’ve identified the traits your lead shares with others, find an event in their life that illustrates how their traits have been negatively affected. From there, find a character who shares those same traits but who shares a story in the same world as your lead. This character should have a goal that is slightly different from your lead’s goal.
Conclusion
Creating compelling characters is one of the most important aspects of any story. You can have the best dialogue, the most detailed premise, and even build some amazing world-building—but if your audience doesn’t connect with your lead? They won’t care about anything else you give them. The best way to know what makes your lead compelling is to watch your audience. In most cases, the best way to start engaging the people you’re writing for is to connect with them where they’re at.
