character traits creative writing

350 Character Traits – A Fabulous Resource For Writers

Use these lists of 350 character traits to help you select the positive and negative traits you need for the characters in your stories.

What Is A Character Trait?

A trait is a distinguishing quality or characteristic , typically one belonging to a person. It can be a genetically determined characteristic.

Traits are formed by a person’s behaviour and attitude to others. We all have good and bad character traits and we should remember this when we describe people.

Some synonyms used for the word ‘trait’ are: attribute, characteristic, feature, particularity, peculiarity, quality.

Tips For Including Character Traits

Even if you adore your protagonist and loathe your antagonist , it is important to remember that nobody is perfectly good, or perfectly evil.

Every character will have positive and negative personality traits. Make sure you have created real people rather than caricatures by giving your cast a selection of both.

Include them when you complete the character questionnaires for your fictional creations.

[Use our Character Creation Kit to create great characters for your stories.]

How To Use Character Traits In Plotting

When you know what your characters’ traits are, you can use this to add to or to change your plot.

• An unreliable character might lose a job and the course of the story will change.
• A helpful or scrupulous character may inadvertently find out information when they are lending a hand. This information could create conflict and might force them to act or react.
• A romantic might start an affair and cause complications in their relationships. This could be the inciting moment for a story.
• A selfish person may want to be more dependable  and self-disciplined , but this trait could prevent them from achieving this. You can use this to create internal conflict in your characters.
• A hostile character may want to be included in society to improve their life, but their anger will ensure this does not happen.

We hope these lists help you choose the negative and positive character traits you will need in your books.

Enjoy developing character traits . Have fun, and happy writing.

If you want to receive a  free  daily writing prompt, click  here  to join our mailing list.

If you enjoyed this post,  you will love:

• The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices
• 15 Questions Authors Should Ask Characters ,
• 10 Things To Consider When Naming Characters ,
• Creating Characters – Five Mistakes Beginner Writers Make
• 5 Ways Setting Affects Your Characters
• The 7 Critical Elements Of A Great Book
• 9 Literary Terms You Need To Know

Top Tip : Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop .

• Creating Characters , Writing Tips from Amanda Patterson

7 thoughts on “350 Character Traits – A Fabulous Resource For Writers”

Tapping into this information is a lifeline when stuck in a mire. Thank you.

The information above is very useful, wish I had it when I wrote my first book

Thank you. We’re glad you liked it.

Thank you very much Amanda.

To write is to give breath to words….to love is to give words of life to others.

This will help me as I write and find my voice. Thank you.

Comments are closed.

© Writers Write 2022

Join our mailing list and receive your free eBook. You'll also receive great tips on story editing, our best blogs, and learn how to use Fictionary software to make your story unforgettable.

• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Blogs / Character / Character Traits List for Creative Writers (with Examples)

Write Your Dream Book

Character traits list for creative writers (with examples).

Ever found yourself stuck in a character development rut, staring at your manuscript and wondering why your protagonist feels more like a cardboard cutout than a three-dimensional human? 

Fear not, dear writer, because I’m about to unleash the ultimate guide to character traits that’ll breathe life into your fictional folks. In this article, we’ll explore the nitty-gritty of character traits, dissecting the good, the bad, and the just plain interesting. 

Whether you’re crafting a hero who radiates empathy or a villain who oozes deceit, these traits will help you create characters that leap off the page and into your readers’ hearts (or nightmares). 

So, grab your coffee, and let’s enter the wonderful world of character traits to spark your creativity and amp up your storytelling game.

What Are Character Traits?

Alright, let’s break it down. Character traits are the magical ingredients in the cauldron of your character creation. They’re the qualities, attitudes, and values that define who a character is at their very core. Think of them as the secret spice blend that transforms your characters from bland tofu into a five-star feast.

These traits can be positive, negative, or somewhere in the morally ambiguous middle. They shape how your characters think, feel, and act, making them as unpredictable and multifaceted as your last relationship. By understanding and wielding these traits like a seasoned chef, you can whip up characters that are relatable, dynamic, and memorable.

Positive traits are the shiny heroes of your story. We’re talking empathy, resilience, creativity—the kind of traits that make readers go, “Wow, I want to be friends with this person!” They help your characters navigate life’s roller coaster with a grace that would make a tightrope walker jealous.

But let’s not forget about the deliciously dark side. Negative traits like jealousy, impulsiveness, and dishonesty add the spice of conflict and tension. They challenge your characters, pushing them to grow or crash and burn spectacularly. 

Then, we have the neutral traits. These are the wild cards, traits that can be both a blessing and a curse, like sensitivity, ambition, skepticism. They add layers of complexity, making your characters as unpredictable as a cat on a caffeine binge.

By mixing and matching these traits, your characters will have strengths to admire, flaws to forgive, and quirks that make them unforgettable.

In the following sections, we’ll explore lists of specific character traits, complete with examples, to spark your creativity. Whether you’re designing a hero, a villain, or something enticingly in between, understanding character traits is key to making your characters come alive—and stay alive—in the wild world of your imagination.

Positive Characteristics List

These traits can help individuals navigate various aspects of life and foster positive relationships, both with themselves and others.

Emotional Traits

• Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another
• Compassion: Sympathy and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others
• Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties
• Patience: The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious
• Optimism: Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something
• Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness

Mental Traits

• Creativity: The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness
• Curiosity: A strong desire to know or learn something
• Critical Thinking : The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment
• Focus: The ability to concentrate on a task without getting distracted
• Adaptability: The quality of being able to adjust to new conditions
• Perseverance: Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success

Interpersonal Traits

• Communication: The ability to convey information to others effectively and efficiently
• Teamwork: The combined action of a group, especially when effective and efficient
• Respectfulness: Showing regard for the rights, feelings, and traditions of others
• Trustworthiness: The ability to be relied on as honest or truthful
• Humor: The quality of being amusing or comic
• Leadership: The action of leading a group of people or an organization

Moral Traits

• Integrity: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles
• Fairness: Impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination
• Courage: The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery
• Humility: A modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness
• Responsibility: The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone
• Honesty: The quality of being honest; truthfulness

Negative Character Traits

These traits can negatively impact an individual’s life and relationships, creating barriers to personal growth and social harmony.

• Jealousy: Feeling or showing envy of someone 
• Anxiety: A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, often about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome
• Resentfulness: Feeling bitter or indignant about being treated unfairly
• Impatience : The tendency to be quickly irritated or provoked
• Pessimism: A tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen
• Self-pity : Excessive, self-absorbed unhappiness over one’s own troubles
• Close-mindedness : Unwilling to consider new ideas; having a narrow perspective
• Indifference: Lack of interest, concern, or sympathy
• Impulsiveness: Acting without thought or consideration of the consequences
• Inconsistency: The quality of lacking a fixed pattern; unpredictability
• Rigidity: Inability to be changed or adapted
• Negativity: The tendency to be downbeat, disagreeable, and skeptical
• Dishonesty: The tendency to lie or deceive
• Selfishness: Lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure
• Manipulativeness: Controlling or influencing others in a skillful but often unfair or selfish way
• Arrogance: Having an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance
• Rudeness: Lack of manners or consideration for others
• Unreliability: Not able to be trusted or depended on
• Greed: Intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food
• Hypocrisy: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform
• Cowardice: Lack of bravery
• Pride: Excessive view of one’s self without regard for others
• Irresponsibility: Lack of proper sense of responsibility
• Deceitfulness: The quality of being deceitful; misleading others

Neutral Personality Traits

These traits are inherently neutral but can be perceived as positive or negative based on the situation and how they are expressed or interpreted by others.

• Sensitivity: The quality of being sensitive to emotions and situations, can lead to empathy but also to being easily hurt
• Cautiousness: Careful to avoid potential problems or dangers, can be prudent but also overly hesitant
• Stoicism: Endurance of pain or hardship without displaying feelings or complaint, can be seen as strength or emotional suppression
• Apathy: Lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern, can mean calm detachment or indifference
• Sentimentality: Excessive tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia, can be touching or overly emotional
• Curiosity: A strong desire to know or learn something, can lead to discovery or unnecessary interference
• Skepticism: Doubt as to the truth of something, can promote critical thinking or lead to cynicism
• Pragmatism: Dealing with things sensibly and realistically, can be practical or un-idealistic
• Objectivity: The quality of being objective can lead to fairness or detachment
• Daydreaming: The activity of thinking about pleasant things that you would like to happen, can inspire creativity or lead to inattention
• Assertiveness: Confident and forceful behavior, can be positive in self-advocacy or negative in aggressiveness
• Independence: Self-reliance and freedom from outside control, can be empowering or isolating
• Loyalty: A strong feeling of support or allegiance, can foster trust or lead to blind allegiance
• Flexibility: Willingness to change or compromise, can be adaptive or indecisive
• Conformity: Compliance with standards, rules, or laws, can ensure harmony or stifle individuality
• Ambition: A strong desire to do or achieve something, can lead to success or ruthless behavior
• Obedience: Compliance with an order, request, or law, or submission to another’s authority, can ensure order or suppress autonomy
• Frugality: The quality of being economical with money or food, can be seen as thriftiness or miserliness
• Perfectionism: The refusal to accept any standard short of perfection, can drive excellence or lead to stress
• Modesty: The quality of being modest, can be seen as humility or lack of self-confidence

Physical Character Traits List

General appearance.

• Height: Tall, short, average
• Build: Slim, athletic, stocky, muscular, overweight
• Skin Tone: Fair, olive, tan, dark
• Hair Type : Straight, wavy, curly, coiled
• Hair Color : Blonde, brunette, redhead, black, gray, dyed

Specific Features

• Freckles: Absent, light, heavy
• Scars: None, small, prominent
• Tattoos: None, few, many
• Piercings: None, ears, facial, body
• Birthmarks: None, small, large, distinctive

Movement and Mannerisms

• Gait: Confident, graceful, shuffling, brisk, lumbering
• Gestures: Expressive, restrained, fluid, jerky, deliberate
• Posture: Straight, relaxed, rigid, slouched, poised
• Facial Expressions : Animated, reserved, neutral, expressive, stoic
• Eye Contact: Direct, fleeting, intense, avoiding, steady
• Hand Movements : Still, fidgety, sweeping, precise, trembling
• Casual: Jeans and t-shirts, hoodies, sneakers
• Formal: Suits, dresses, blazers, polished shoes
• Trendy: Latest fashion, statement pieces, bold patterns
• Bohemian: Flowy fabrics, earthy tones, eclectic accessories
• Sporty: Athletic wear, tracksuits, sports shoes
• Classic: Timeless pieces, neutral colors, simple lines

How to Use Character Traits in Your Writing

So, you’ve got a bunch of character traits ready to go. But how do you integrate them into your story in a way that feels organic and compelling? It’s all about connecting those traits to the deeper elements of your character’s journey. Let’s break it down, piece by piece.

A Character’s Misbelief

Every character carries around a core misbelief—a fundamental, often misguided idea about themselves or the world. This misbelief shapes their actions and decisions. 

For example, a character might believe they’re unlovable, leading them to push people away. Your character traits should align with this misbelief, creating a believable and cohesive personality.

Their Core Wound

Dig deep, and you’ll find a core wound at the heart of your character’s misbelief. This is the emotional injury that haunts them, usually stemming from a traumatic or formative event. 

Character traits like resilience or fearfulness can spring from this wound, influencing how your character interacts with the world and others.

Their Fatal Flaw

A character’s core wound often ties into their fatal flaw, a significant character weakness they must overcome. At first it is an obstacle, but then it becomes a growing edge, and by the end of the novel, your protagonist has faced and started the path to fixing their fatal flaw. 

Their Worldview

Your character’s traits also form their worldview—the lens through which they see everything. This worldview colors their interactions and decisions. 

For instance, an optimistic character will approach challenges differently than a pessimistic one. Align their traits with their worldview to ensure consistency and depth.

Growth Arc 

Characters are like fine wine—they should evolve over time. At the beginning of your story, they’re stuck in their ways, defined by their core misbelief and wounds. Their internal goals , often related to their weaknesses, will hinder them and are something they must strive to overcome. 

By the end, they’ve (hopefully) learnt and grown. Maybe that pessimistic character learns to find hope or the selfish one discovers the joy of generosity.

What Do They Want?

Your character’s external POV goal creates the plot’s momentum, driving your character into action and keeping readers hooked as they navigate challenges and pursue their ambitions. It gives them something to strive for within the story and ties directly to the character’s traits. 

By addressing these goals throughout the story, you maintain a strong narrative thread that ties your character’s actions to their ultimate desires.

Relevant Stakes

Story stakes should define the ultimate risks involved if the character fails to achieve their POV goal. The stakes in your story tell us what happens if the POV character fails to achieve their goal . High stakes keep readers on the edge of their seats, but they must be relevant to your character. 

Putting It All Together

Let’s say you’re writing about a character named Alex. Alex’s core misbelief is that they’re unworthy of love (misbelief), stemming from a childhood of neglect (core wound). They view the world as a place where everyone must fend for themselves (worldview). At the start, Alex is closed off and distrustful (traits).

Alex wants to secure a promotion (external goal), but what they really need is to learn to trust others and accept love (internal goal). Throughout the story, Alex faces situations that challenge their distrust and isolation (stakes). By the end, Alex opens up, realizing their worth and finding genuine connections (growth arc).

To keep all these elements straight and ensure they develop cohesively, Fictionary’s powerful software is your best friend. It allows you to track characters seamlessly. This ensures your characters evolve naturally and your story remains engaging from start to finish.

So, armed with these insights and tools, you’re ready to craft characters that are not only memorable but also integral to the heartbeat of your story. Happy writing!

15 Strongest Character Traits That Will Transform Your Characters

What are the strongest character traits that writers can use to create more compelling and engaging protagonists, antagonists, and villains?

There are two different kinds of traits that your story's characters will have — personality traits and character traits. Both are vital to creating three-dimensional characters that stand out on the page.

Personality traits are those that refer to the range of distinctive personal qualities and attributes of the character. These are reflected in the outer actions of a character, defining who we think they are. They can refer to the outside personality of the character (quirky, charming, bossy, lazy, etc.) or their physicality (quiet, giggly, nervous).

These traits are subjective and represent only the outer appearance and behavior of the character.

In short, personality traits define who we think the character is — at least what their outer appearance tells us.

Character traits are those that refer to a set of morals and beliefs that defines how characters treat or behave with others and themselves — who the characters actually are.

These traits define the true essence of the character and therefore are the types of characteristics that can truly transform characters into more compelling and engaging protagonists, antagonists, and villains. And yes, there is a difference between antagonists and villains.

Read ScreenCraft's 15 Types of Villains Screenwriters Need to Know !

Here we will feature the strongest and most intriguing character traits that can make your characters even better.

When a character is loyal to the bone, that will drastically affect their actions and reactions when conflict comes their way. If a hero is loyal to their mentor, they'll go above and beyond to save them.

When an antagonist or villain is loyal to their brothers in arms, they'll go above and beyond to defend their honor.

2. Self-Control

When a character can control their emotions, their approach to conflicts will be altered as they handle things differently from someone that has no restraint.

But the interesting factor to this character trait is presented when they have no choice but to take action, which makes that moment even more powerful.

3. Persistence

When a character displays unwavering persistence, you can inject even more conflict into the story and let the audience enjoy the thrill of seeing this character never give up.

4. Spirituality

When a character follows a particular faith or has an overarching belief in spirituality, that can transform a character's approach to any conflict, challenge, or situation.

5. Impatience 

The clear opposite of self-control. When a character is impatient, that trait can conjure endless conflict that you, the writer, can write. A group may have a plan of approach to a conflict, but if just one character is too impatient, that can lead to utter chaos. An antihero is often one that lacks self-control — they act out and deal with the consequences later.

One of the strongest character traits a character can have is greed. Greed causes the worst kind of pain and suffering to oneself and others.

An antagonist can be powered by greed.

As can a protagonist that starts out with good intentions, but slowly suffers from the repercussions that greed can cause.

Usually found in antagonists and villains, cruelty is the closest character trait to evil. It denotes a character that either enjoys harming others or can't help it. Regardless, injecting this character trait into a character can transform an even already threatening antagonist or villain and turn them into something even worse.

8. Unforgiving

When a character, good or bad, is unforgiving, the audience knows that once another character crosses them, it's over. This trait can offer writers an excellent character arc and theme to explore with their protagonists — when will they learn to forgive? Which also makes for a terrific climax as the audience waits in anticipation to see if the protagonist will finally learn to forgive. It works for both protagonists, antagonists, and villains.

9. Ambitiousness

Don't mistake ambitiousness for greed. Ambition is a strong desire to do something or achieve it, whereas greed is often an intense and selfish desire for something. Thus, this character trait is often attributed to a protagonist.

10. Fearless

When a character is fearless, they never hesitate to put themselves in harm's way to accomplish whatever goal the writer has tasked them with.

A fearless protagonist can keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

A fearless villain can chill them to the bone.

11. Vengeful

A character that seeks revenge will embody fearlessness, persistence, and unforgiving nature. They can be a danger to themselves, but they are far more dangerous to the person they have in their sights.

12. Calculating 

This is a fascinating character trait because it offers more depth in the character's intelligence. If a character is calculating, audiences will be enthralled to see and know that the gears are always moving in that character's head. They always seem to be two or more steps ahead of the rest.

13. Desperate

When a character is in a dire situation that they are desperate to get out of, they are willing to do anything. And writers can play with that fact when dealing with a desperate protagonist. You can take an otherwise well-mannered and well-meaning character, kidnap his daughter, and demand that he assassinate a politician or watch his daughter die.

14. Persuasive

If you create a character that is unstoppably persuasive, it can be an intriguing character trait to explore — whether it's a hero or villain. What kind of conflict, drama, or hilarity can you conjure when that persuasive character doesn't get what they want? Or what happens when they always seem to get what they want?

15. Twisted

Words like crazy and insane are generally attributed to psychological disorders or are used as laymen's terms or slang for mental disorders. So they aren't really defined as a character trait.

However, twisted is defined as unpleasantly or unhealthily abnormal — warped. When a character is twisted, it adds certain chaos to the story.

If you're struggling with your characters and finding it difficult to breathe some life into them, injecting one of these fifteen character traits can make a substantial difference for the better.

A character that is loyal, self-controlled, persistent, spiritual, impatient, greedy, cruel, unforgiving, ambitious, fearless, vengeful, calculating, desperate, persuasive, or twisted is far better than one that just goes through the motions of the plot within your screenplay or novel.

What other strong character traits did we miss? Share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter.

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries  Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner. Follow Ken on Twitter  @KenMovies

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on  Twitter,   Facebook , and  Instagram .

Get Our Screenwriting Newsletter!

Get weekly writing inspiration delivered to your inbox - including industry news, popular articles, and more!

Facebook Comments

Free download.

Screenwriting Resources:

$ 15.00 Original price was: $15.00. $ 12.00 Current price is: $12.00. Add to cart

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Next Related Post

Get Our Newsletter!

Developing your own script.

We'll send you a list of our free eCourses when you subscribe to our newsletter. No strings attached.

You Might Also Like

• Hidden Name
• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Connect With Us

Writing competitions, success stories.

© 2024 ScreenCraft | An Industry Arts Company

Screenwriting Newsletter

Join our community of over 100,000 screenwriters and get weekly inspiration delivered to your inbox:

✓ Popular blog posts and industry news ✓ New ScreenCraft online events ✓ Screenplay competition announcements!

" * " indicates required fields

5 Types Of Character Traits To Help You Create Your Complex Characters

• What Are Character Traits?
• Kinds Of Character Traits
• Building Characters
• Take The Quiz

Characters are arguably the most important part of any fictional work. Whether in a book, television show, or movie, characters are the ones audiences identify with and the vehicles for telling the entire story. But how do you go about creating characters that people will love, fear, want to know more about, and find utterly unforgettable?

It all begins with a character’s traits. Character traits are the essential building blocks of every character in a story, and choosing the right traits can help establish unique identities that will engage your audience from start to finish. Here’s what you need to know about writing great characters, the unique words you need to describe those characters, and how to get started on creating your own complex characters from scratch.

What are character traits ?

When you meet a new person, you often learn about them by observing their traits. A trait is “a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one’s personal nature.” The characters in stories have traits as well.

A character trait is a literary term for adjectives and descriptions that writers use to add personality and depth to characters. In fictional stories, character traits serve a number of purposes, including:

• Helping readers connect and identify with a character.
• Providing insight into a character’s motivations.
• Making it easier to differentiate between two characters.
• Solidifying a character’s role, such as villain or hero, in the story.
• Adding complexity to each character.

Character traits may be internal or external. External traits are things another person might notice, like how someone looks, their particular accent when speaking, or how they carry themselves. Internal traits have more to do with what’s going on inside a character’s mind. They are the emotional elements, private thoughts, and actions that make up a character’s personality.

Make Your Writing Shine!

• By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy policies.
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The many different kinds of character traits

When it comes to deciding on traits for your own characters, there are no rules. Just like no two people on earth are exactly alike, no two characters in a story will ever be exactly alike. Let’s check out some words you might use when describing your own characters’ one-of-a-kind traits.

Personality

• approachable
• distrustful
• even-tempered

Physical attributes

Beliefs and morals.

• philosophical
• revolutionary

Classic hero traits

• adventurous

Classic villain traits

• unscrupulous
• mischievous
• resourceful

Building characters

Now that you’re armed with a great character vocabulary, let’s learn a little more about how to build characters.

Option one: Start with the character

One method of character building is to begin with an idea of your character’s role or defining trait and build from there. For example: a queen.

Ask yourself questions about your character’s motivations and the way others see them.

• What does the queen look like?
• How did the queen ascend to power?
• Do people like this character? Why or why not?
• What is someone’s first impression of this character?
• What is this character afraid of?
• What does this character want more than anything?

As you answer questions about your character, their physical appearance, beliefs, personality and motivations will begin to emerge. The next step is to write them into a scene and see how these qualities impact their actions and interactions.

Writing a new scene? Check out these tips on creating atmosphere and mood.

Option two: Start with traits

On the writing podcast Death of 1000 Cuts, author Tim Clare frequently uses timers and lists to flesh out ideas for everything from characters to story locations to plot points. The idea is to let the creative flow and avoid overthinking things.

Try setting a timer for 10 minutes and making a list of interesting traits a character might possess. These might include physical attributes, personality quirks, preferences, and strengths and weaknesses, like:

• wears a lot of purple
• loves video games
• hates chocolate
• lives in outer space
• holds grudges

Once time has lapsed, look at your list and start to dig into the traits you wrote down. Circle 8–10 character traits and begin to flesh them out. How do these traits work together? How did your character come to possess these traits?

As you begin to write your characters into scenes, their traits will solidify and you will get to know them better. Before you know it, they will feel real, and the traits you spent time cultivating will help drive the rest of your story.

Take the quiz

Is dedication to learning one of your traits? You can make it one by revisiting these traits as often as you need them with our dedicated word lists on personality traits , physical attributes , beliefs and morals traits , classic hero traits , and classic villain traits . We also have a short quiz to test your knowledge on character traits in general.

Learn about some rhetorical devices to use in your writing.

Ways To Say

Synonym of the day

Character Development: Create Characters That Readers Love

by Joe Bunting | 16 comments

Start Your Story TODAY! We’re teaching a new LIVE workshop this week to help you start your next book. Learn more and sign up here.

Readers love great characters.

Think back to your favorite stories of all time. You might remember the story arc or not. You might remember the best bits of dialogue, or you might not. You might remember the setting descriptions, but let’s be honest, you probably don’t .

But the characters? Original characters? Your favorite characters? You’ll remember them for the rest of your life.

How do you create great characters? The short answer is character development, but what is character development and how can you use it to create characters readers love?

That’s what we’re going to talk about in this article. We'll start by discussing the definition of character development and why writers need to do it. We'll talk about each phase of the character development process, from creating to developing to storytelling with them.

Throughout, we'll look at lots of character development examples. Finally, we'll get you started writing with a character development exercise.

Here's a quick table of contents so you can jump to your favorite tips for character development in the article.

Table of Contents

Character Development Video Guide What Is Character Development? 3 Steps Types of Characters How to Create a Character Sketch 6 Steps to Character Development Through a Story Character Development Test Character Development Writing Exercise

Character Development Video Guide

But first, would you prefer to watch this guide? Here's a video I made for it:

Make sure to like the video and subscribe to our channel for more videos about the writing craft.

Now, ready to get started with this characterization lesson? Let’s do it.

What Is Character Development? The 3 Steps to Well-Developed Characters

Character development is the process of creating and telling a story about a fictional character. It's far more than a personality trait list.

When it comes to compelling characters, there are only three steps:

• Create a character
• Develop the character (making them more sympathetic and/or villainous)
• Then, put them into a story

That's it. Easy right?

Actually no, it's not easy at all. You'll need to make hundreds of decisions to develop characters people can fall in love with. Each of these steps might take you days or months or even  years .

Or they might happen in just a few moments.

J.K. Rowling said Harry Potter began when she had a vision of a young boy with a scar on his forehead board her train.

You might already have an idea for a character or a whole crowd of characters.

Of course, for Rowling it took her another five years to develop Harry Potter and write her first book.

And that's what we're talking about in this article: the process of taking ideas and turning them into living, breathing characters that can drive whole stories.

Let's begin with the first step: creating characters, as well as the different types of characters you might need to create.

Step 1: How to Create Characters for Your Story

Of all the character development steps, this is the one I have the least advice about. That's because characters are  rarely  created, they are discovered .

Before I came up with the idea for my last novel, I had a vision of a curly haired boy on a beach. I didn't know what my story was about by that point, but I knew it had to have him in it.

Just as J.K. Rowling discovered Harry Potter when he boarded her train, so most great characters come from a source that their writers have little control over. 

You might come across inspiration in real life—real people who inspire you, but there are complex characters around you all the time in every movie, book, or story you read. Start noticing and you'll get a strong sense of what might inspire strong characters.

That being said, there are  types  of characters that you might need in your story, and if you know that you need that type, you can sometimes reverse engineer the characters.

Types of Characters

There are two broad categories of characters and many different subtypes:

1. Protagonists

2. Secondary Characters

Most stories only have one or two protagonists, or main characters, which means that most of your characters will be secondary characters. What is a protagonist?

Protagonist definition: The primary character of a story. The character at the center of the plot whose choices drive the story and whose fate determines the story’s outcome.

Protagonists tend to be dynamic characters who have a character arc that changes throughout the story. More on character arcs here .

Protagonists also tend to be point of view characters , meaning the narrator follows their point of view or they are a first-person narrator. (More on point of view here .) These characters carry the narrative, and in a story told in third person limited point of view , they will be the only character whose thoughts and emotions the reader can see.

Warning: Unless you're writing a love story, which frequently has two protagonists in the couple, be careful about having more than one protagonist. There's a reason George R. R. Martin is still  (still!) trying to finish  A Song of Ice and Fire . The more point-of-view characters you have, the more complicated your narrative, and the more problems you face.

There are three types of protagonists:

• The Classic Hero. Think Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, Atticus Finch, or Katniss Everdeen. Classic heros are brave, are selfless, and try to do the right thing.
• The Anti-Hero. Think Severus Snape, Huckleberry Finn, or Han Solo. Anti-heroes are not noble, rarely do the right thing, and might, in ordinary circumstances, be considered the villain.
• The Ordinary Hero. Think Neville Longbottom, Holden Caulfield, and Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse. These characters have an even mix of admirable and less noble qualities, just like most of us.

Which type is your protagonist? Let us know in the comments. Also, read more on the three types of protagonists in this guide .

Secondary characters are the next category, and they contain all the other types of characters, including:

• Villain or Antagonist . Not every story has a villain , but for the ones that do, the villain is the chief source of external conflict.
• Love interest and love rival . In stories with a love plot or subplot , the love interest is the chief love interest for the protagonist and may even be a protagonist themselves. They may be static, meaning they don't change over the course of the story, or dynamic, meaning they do change, but they add to the romantic tension. Similarly, most love stories involve rivals, another love interest who creates a love triangle and increases the romantic tension.
• Foil Character.  A secondary character who acts as a mirror to the protagonist and is often very similar but different in one major way that allows us to better understand the protagonist's personality and choices.
• Mentor . The mentor is a character who steers the protagonist, helps get them out of trouble, and provides chances for reflection. A mainstay of the hero’s journey plot structure , in many types of stories, without a good mentor, the character’s journey will end in tragedy (e.g. think about Hamlet, who had no mentor).
• Sidekick . A sidekick is a character who supports the protagonist. Besides the protagonist and villain, they have the most opportunity for characterization and provide dialogue opportunities and insight into the character’s mindset. Sidekicks appear in all genres, from romance (e.g. Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet ) to adventure (e.g. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings ) to mystery (e.g. Inspector Beauvoir from the Inspector Gamache series) and more.
• Side Characters . Side characters often have fully developed personalities, long interactions with the protagonist, and perhaps even deep backstories. However, they rarely make decisions or change throughout the story.
• The Chorus . A term from playwriting, these characters may have names and vague descriptions, but they do not have fully developed personalities and are chiefly there to serve as bystanders.
• Suspects . Specific to mysteries and thrillers, suspects have fully developed personalities and they serve as objects of exploration for the investigator. They should all have motives and appear at least somewhat guilty of the crime, if only to serve as red herrings .

These tend to be static characters with a flat character arc, at least within the confines of the story. However, great writers know that all characters have their own arc. Your job as a writer is to choose how much of that arc to show the reader in the story.

For more on each of these character types, check out our guide, 6 Character Types Your Protagonist Needs Around Them .

Step 2: Develop Your Characters by Making them More Sympathetic (and/or Villainous)

Once you have a few characters, your work is not done. Now you have to  develop  them.

To do that, I've created a framework called the Seven Characteristics of Sympathetic Characters.

I learned this from Brandon Sanderson's fantastic characterization lessons as well as Blake Snyder's  Save the Cat and my own research into story structure and characterization.

These characteristics are  reader candy . We  love  characters with these personality traits, and by adding them you can quickly create a bond with your readers.

Think of this list as a checklist. The key is to include at least two or three of these characteristics early in your story, ideally in your protagonist's first scene.

This list also works for your secondary characters, and it can be used to quickly add depth and connection.

For your villains and antagonists, you can use this list in the opposite way, making the audience dislike them or even combining negative traits with sympathetic ones to give us a truly round, dynamic villain.

Here are the characteristics:

7 Characteristics of Sympathetic Characters

Use these seven traits to create believable characters who connect with the audience:

• Takes action. Show your protagonist being proactive. Show them making a hard choice when faced with a dilemma and taking action to get what they want.
• Treated unjustly . Show your character being bullied, persecuted, treated unfairly, or as the victim of injustice. One easy way to do this is to make your character an orphan , a trait shared by Hamilton, Harry Potter, nearly all of Charles Dickens's protagonists, Anne of Green Gables, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, and many more iconic characters.
• Shows competence . Readers are interested in people who have competence, who show off their skill (even if those skills are unusual).
• Has friends . We’re attracted to people who show that they already have other people who like them. Just having a friend makes us more interested in someone. Show your protagonist is likable by surrounding them with other interesting characters.
• Does a good deed . “Save the cat,” as Blake Snyder says. By helping someone in need, your protagonist establishes themselves as “the good guy,” despite any other negative qualities.
• Has a humanizing quirk . Quirks are memorable things that create an instant visualization of someone, like Harry Potter’s scar on his forehead, Ron Weasley’s bright red hair, or Hermione’s frizzy hair. These can also include distinctive mannerisms, like a speech pattern, unique voice, or habits. Humanizing quirks are especially important for side characters, but a simple quirk can be a shortcut to help us quickly get to know a protagonist.
• Secret vulnerability . Everyone has a secret, whether it’s a phobia like Bruce Wayne’s fear of bats, Superman’s weakness toward kryptonite, or Inspector Gamache’s terror of heights. By letting the reader in on your protagonist’s secret vulnerability, you create a bond that can last the entire story.

Once you've picked two or three of these that fit your character, include them in your early scenes. You can also include these throughout your story to make us fall in love with your character even more.

How to Create a Character Sketch

Once you've picked the traits, you can create a character sketch or character profile. This is where you record details about a character to remember for the writing process or continue to develop them.

I’ll summarize the process below, but for a full guide, you can read about how to create a character sketch using Scrivener , one of our favorite writing tools, here .

You can mix and match elements to create your own character sketch template, but here’s what a character sketch might contain:

• Character name
• Photo (I just find something on Google image search to serve as a likeness)
• Character type (see 8 types below)
• One sentence summary
• One paragraph description (including a physical description , occupation, flaws, good attributes, and mannerisms)
• Goals (what do they want)
• Conflicts (what keeps them from getting what they want)
• Narrative (what do they do in the story)

Remember, the best way to do character development is to throw characters into a story. Don’t sketch characters for their own sake, but to find where they fit into the story.

Character Development Questions: 78 Questions to Ask Your Characters

Another development technique is to interview your characters, imagining them sitting before you, asking them a series of questions, and imagining their response.

You can invent your own questions, but there are also established lists of questions that have been used by writers for decades. Here are three helpful lists that, together, total seventy-eight questions:

The Proust Questionnaire . Used by novelist Marcel Proust when he was just fourteen years old, this questionnaire includes thirty-five questions that writers have used to find out who their characters are.

37 Questions to Ask Your Character . This list of unique and often surprising questions will help you discover many different sides of your character. Here's an example: “What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself? What time do you eat breakfast? Do you wash the pan after you cook the eggs or do you leave it for the maid to clean? Do you have a maid?” We first published this list by Pamela Hodges in 2016 and since then it's been shared over 6,000 times!

6 Revealing Questions to Get to Know Your Protagonist . This one is especially helpful to get to know your protagonist.

Try one or more of these lists and see if it helps you get to know a new side of your character's personality.

Step 3: Throw Your Character Into Your Story

This is the most important step, and one that many writers take far too long to get to.

Some writers believe they have to know every aspect of each of their characters personality  before  they start writing their book, from their earliest memories to their favorite afternoon snack.

However, this is often a waste of time. Why? Because your job as a writer is to put your character into stressful, high-conflict situations, and in those moments, their favorite afternoon snack is going to be the furthest thing from their mind!

That isn't to say you shouldn't spend some time getting to know your characters. Just recognize that's just the beginning. The real character development begins when you start telling your story.

6 Steps to Character Development Through a Story

Character arc and story arc are usually the same thing. By telling a great story, your character will change and transform.

This arc follows the six elements of plot, which we go into detail in this in our plot structure article , but which we'll summarize here:

1. Exposition. Begin with the character's “normal.”

What does “normal” look like for your protagonist? In about one-half to no more than three scenes, show what normal looks like for your character.

2. Inciting Incident. A problem or opportunity interrupts the character's status quo.

In the inciting incident , something interrupts the character's normal life and forces them to respond.

For example, Harry Potter receives an admissions letter from Hogwarts. A dead body is discovered in three pines, leading to a call to Inspector Gamache. William Wallace's wife is killed by the English. The devil appears to Dr. Faustus offering him a deal.

3. Rising Action/Progressive Complications. Problems and complications increase, causing conflict for the protagonist.

As the story continues, things must get more and more challenging for the protagonist. Maybe they're getting better, maybe they're getting worse, but they're definitely getting more complicated.

Here it's useful to remember the century-old writing advice:

In the first act, put your character up a tree. In the second act, throw rocks at them. In the final act, bring them down.

This is the rock throwing part.

But as you increase the internal conflict and external conflict, your character will develop right before your eyes. You may discover new aspects to their personality you had no idea about as you watch how they handle adversity.

4. Dilemma. Give your character an impossible choice.

The purpose of the rising action is to put your protagonist into an impossible choice, a dilemma where they have two equally difficult choices.

I find this moment in Frozen to be a useful example for this (spoiler alert if you somehow haven't seen Frozen !):

Princess Anna is moments away from freezing solid. The only thing that can save her, she thinks, is true love's kiss from Kristoff, who is racing toward her. However, at the same moment, she sees Prince Hans about to kill her sister. What does she do?

• Option A: Save herself, continuing toward Kristoff but allowing Elsa to die
• Option B: Save her sister, choosing to stop Hans but sacrificing herself in the process

An impossible choice. But it's dilemmas like this that are the engines of great stories and great characters.

5. Climax. The protagonist makes their choice and high conflict and action follows.

The protagonist chooses and the result of their choice leads to the moment of highest action and conflict in the story. Remember, conflict in fiction directly impacts your character development.

This choice is so essential because it truly tests and reveals their character. Don't skip it!

6. Denouement. The protagonist's new normal is established.

What does the character's new normal look like after going through the conflict and drama of the story?

This is a moment, usually just one scene, where we get to enjoy and bond with the character for a final time before the story ends.

Character Development Test: What Makes a Good Character?

On my podcast, Character Test , my cohost and I have found that there are four criteria that you can use to evaluate a character, to test and see whether a character is good or not.

Here, I’m not talking about whether they are morally good, but whether they are interesting, relatable, entertaining, and worth following. In other words, this is about figuring out will readers love them.

Also, this is what makes a good character. If you want to know how to make a good character, scroll down to the Character Development Steps section.

1. Good Characters Have Goals

Good stories are about characters who want something, and they experience challenges to get what they want.

Desire is central to good stories, good characters, and to the human condition itself. Good characters have deeply held desires and are willing to make sacrifices to achieve those desires.

That being said, those desires don’t have to start out as anything big .

As Kurt Vonnegut said, “Make your characters want something right away even if it's only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.”

2. Good Characters Face Challenges to Their Goals

As nice as it would be for your character to get everything they wanted without having to do any work, it would make for a very boring story! This is part of the conflict we discussed above.

I like what best-selling author Kristina McMorris told me : “I only give my characters a happy ending if they’ve worked really hard for it.” Kristina’s novel Sold on a Monday was on the New York Times Best Sellers list for twenty straight weeks, so she knows what she’s talking about!

3. Good Characters Make Decisions

Good characters take control of their own fate. They take action. They make choices, and they suffer the good or bad consequences of those choices.

Bad characters let life happen to them . Bad characters allow others to make choices for them. They never take action in their own lives, and it’s their lack of decision-making ability that makes them boring.

4. Good Characters Are Empathizable

I made this word up, but I think it’s going to stick!

Editorial note from Alice: Stop trying to make “empathizable” happen, Joe. It's not going to happen.

You can empathize with good characters. Even if they are villains (especially if they’re villains), you can understand where they’re coming from, and maybe even relate.

Good characters, in other words, are human.

Bad characters are so foreign or perfect or evil that you can’t relate to where they’re coming from.

Bonus: Good Characters Change . . . Sometimes

Many will argue with this, but not all good characters change. In fact, you can tell a great story where the protagonist doesn’t change.

Take James Bond. In a few novels and films he changes (e.g. Casino Royale ) but in most, James stays the same stoic, cocky person he started out as. And the novels are still great!

Or Inspector Gamache, my favorite detective from the series by Louise Penny. Inspector Gamache starts out as the perfect gentleman, thoughtful leader, and unerring investigator and ends each novel the same way. There are a few individual books where he goes through deep inner turmoil, but even then he re-emerges the same amazing person, just a little bit stronger and surer in his ways.

There are many great stories where the character changes . It’s especially a hallmark of the hero’s journey (which is itself a form of character development). But it’s not always a requirement of a good character.

Character Development Writing Exercise

Now that you know everything about developing characters, let's put your new knowledge to practice! Use the creative writing exercise below to practice bringing your characters to life!

And if you're to create a character sketch for your novel, check out our guide on how to create a character sketch with Scrivener .

Good luck and happy writing!

What is your favorite characterization tip above? Are there any I missed? Let me know in the comments .

Let’s put your character development to use with this creative writing prompt :

• Choose one of the character types above and spend five minutes sketching out their character using the character sketch template above (Character Name, type, one-sentence summary, goals, conflicts).
• After your five minutes are up, write about your new character as they go through a scene using the character development steps in a story: desire, conflict, dilemma, choice, and change. Write for ten minutes .

When your time is up, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop . And if you post, be sure to give feedback to at least three other writers.

I'm looking forward to meeting your characters!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Work with Joe Bunting?

WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

16 Comments

I write & file pieces about my characters (main & major secondary) & for the main ones, may return to them several times. There are lots of folks in my novels, good guys & bad, so at some point I also write a for-file piece on which other characters are their ‘shadows’…even antagonists have feared antagonists. The first files help me bring them to life in my head, so I can monitor their behavior. The shadow file is important to off-main-plot resolutions. In truth, I seldom go back to my original files…having written them is usually enough. I’m on the last 40-50ppg of a novel draft right now…so there are over a dozen people living (& interacting) in my head. It’s around this point in the process that I begin muttering to myself that my next book is going to be 500 very short personal essays!

Good one, Emily. I’m going to review my work-in-progress with these notes in mind. Thank you. I have one guiding principle, and that is — what will cause my protagonist to utterly fall apart. Because that’s where my stories have to go. Whatever will bring my character to a radical change of heart. All those things you mention are key to that happening. Cheers. ~ PJ

The four Questions: Diana Daughter of Darkness

My character Diana, is from the kingdom of Firefall and is it’s princess. All Diana wants is to find her father and get justice for her mother’s untimely death. But she finds herself haunted by her destiny more and more as she tries to achieve those goals. Diana’s relationship with her father is the most outstanding in the book but her relationship with her handmaiden and the two boys she grew up with are also very important to her. Diana’s biggest fear is failure. She doesn’t want to fail her father or her Kingdom. The power inside of her grows every day but she fears that it will soon take over her and leave nothing but destruction in it’s wake. This is perhaps what scares her the most…herself.

Some good tips. My character questionnaire is at least 100 questions long and I often take characters to lunch—or let them take me to lunch.

But I like your four tips for character development. They get to the heart of things quickly and provide an excellent framework for more complex development if that’s what a writer wants to do.

I’d like to add one suggestion.

A character’s worldview plays a major role in the way he or she responds to life in general and to individual incidents. A person who believes life is the result of time plus matter plus chance generally behaves differently than someone who believes they were created for a purpose.

All five factors–your four and my addition–contribute to the development of person’s personality and behavior.

Thanks again for the excellent tips. I’ve been away for several weeks polishing my own novel. This was a wonderful way to get back into the routine.

Great tips, Emily!

I’ve found that writing side stories about my characters helps me to explore who my characters are. I’ll make up a scenario, drop a character in the middle of it, and then give them free reign. This practice helps me flesh out how they make decisions and how they interact with the other characters in my story. Plus, it’s just fun to do!

Awesome article.

The article was extremely helpful it gave me ideas of how to strengthen my short story.

My character is about a teenage girl that has strong family values due to her upbringing in a strict home where her mother is the head of the household, suddenly her mother dies she fills empty and alone, as all of her siblings are grown they have there own children. She start’s to explore the world and gets caught up in it.

Excellent tips, especially number 3. People often understand themselves through their relationships with others. How they’re greeted, how they’re treated, how others understand their humour, their moods, their needs and wants. To understand a person’s key relationships, and what they’re willing to do for the people they love (as you say), means understanding what makes them tick.

I also liked the point you made in Q4. Our fears sometimes reveal our true nature, in that they are a direct consequence of our values. In your example, Katniss fears being forced to kill others, because she values life and humanity. Our values sets us apart.

Great tips, thanks for sharing Emily. I think what a person wears says a lot about his/her personality. So that’s where I often like to start:

On the door stood a mid-aged woman in a black coat reaching down to her knees, a red scarf around her neck and a winter cap that covered most of her luscious brown hair. She had a book in her hand that she kept between her palms. Every now and then she would flip it open, read a few lines before closing it again and stare back at the meadow beyond her porch. It seemed as though she was deep in thought, and I afraid of interrupting stood still waiting for her to look back and notice my presence.

Nice post! Number 2 is the most important, but # 3 is the one I need to spend more time on. I never really even considered that with character development, and now I’m kicking myself because it’s such an important aspect of creating a “real” person in your character.

Thanks for the tips, Emily. I believe #2 is the most critical one since it will somewhat define who your character is. I’d like to share another article on character development that I hope could be of help to others. Here’s the link: https://www.chatebooks.com/blog-Character-Development-that-Entices-Readers

Awesome 🙂 Finally something that helps developing characters other than long ass questionnaires, interviews or worksheets that became too tedious to do.

Thanks for this article, Emily! I never thought with only 4 questions I’d be able to come up with a set of believable characters. I’ve always had a long line of questions just to have a concrete description of what and how my characters would look and sound like. I’d like to share an article I found on character development. Hope this could help as well: https://www.chatebooks.com/blog-Character-Development-that-Entices-Readers

My character is a teen-aged girl brought up by a young, single mother who has had to work very hard to take care of her child. The girl doesn’t want to make things harder on her mother and tends to smile a lot and pretend everything is just fine, even when it’s not. Her relationship with her mother and the lack of one with her father shapes many of her views from romantic relationships to political ideology. Her greatest fear is to not end up as someone her mother can be proud of raising. Another quirk is her fear of sharing her feelings with others.

For starters, Joe, I find you tremendously empathizable and vow to fully support you should you take action to replace your foil character, Alice, with someone equipped with a bit more imagination and a lot more humor.

Jokes aside. This article is a gem. I am not a writer, definitely not a great storyteller and do not come with an endless supply of creativity, however, I take great joy in writing, especially when inspired. I have found that when I share my “pieces,” that something tends to draw people into my creation (much to their and my surprise!).

So, as of, oh, about three hours ago, I made the decision to give it a more serious try and actually write something more substantial and less silly than Local Google Guide reviews. But to be any good at most anything, research is a must! I have about thirty tabs open, ready to be inhaled, masticated, repeated, digested and possibly incorporated in my book of writing “recipes.” Roughly ten of those tabs are direct links from your articles and I am starting to wonder if I’ll be able to find a good stopping point or if I’ll just lose myself in the world of creating worlds.

Not to worry! I do come equipped with a stubbornness factor and, if anything, your guidance has served to exponentially “peak” my interest. Many thanks! And please do something about that editor. 🙂

Warm regards, Joana (Jo)

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Best Resources for Writers Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

VIDEO COURSE

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Sign up now to watch a free lesson!

Learn How to Write a Novel

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Enroll now for daily lessons, weekly critique, and live events. Your first lesson is free!

Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Mar 08, 2024

Character Development: How to Create Fan-Favorite Characters in 5 Steps

About the author.

Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Dario Villirilli

Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.

In fiction, character development is the process of writing a character who feels as complex and real as a person. This means sketching the character’s inner world 一 their wants and needs, strengths and weaknesses 一 as well as their outer appearance and behavior. It also means showing how the character  changes throughout the story — their arc.

In this article, we will guide you through a step-by-step process to create multi-faceted characters that readers will care to read about. You can also download our free character development template to start crafting your own protagonist. 

How to develop a fictional character:

1. Give the characters wants and needs

2. identify their strengths and flaws, 3. sketch out their antagonists, 4. develop their look and behavior, 5. research their trade and culture.

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Development Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

First, it’s important to point out that your main character will be inextricably linked to your book's plot. As author Tom Bromley teaches in  his course on writing novels , “the protagonist should shape the plot, and the plot should shape the protagonist.”  

In this regard, the most important character building blocks are their Wants and Needs. As Bromley explains, a Want is what the character thinks will make them happy, a goal they are motivated to pursue, that propels them on an inner and outer journey. 

A character’s Need, on the other hand, is something deeper, more fundamental. It’s a truth they must learn about themselves or the world around them. Most of the time, a character’s internal story arc sees them realizing that their Want was fuelled by a lie they told themselves — and coming to understand a new truth (their Need) that is the secret to unlocking their success:

• A character might want to be famous, but what they need is to be heard. 
• They might want to get married, but what they need is love.

For an example, think of Joy in Pixar’s Inside Out : 

• Want : Joy wants to ensure that Riley is always happy and only experiences positive emotions. This is because she believes that emotions like sadness and anger are harmful and unnecessary.
• Need : Joy needs to realize that all emotions have their place and are important for Riley’s psychological development and a healthy emotional life. 

Or take Jay Gatsby (who actually doesn’t learn what he needs , and has a negative arc): 

• Want : Gatsby wants to be reunited with Daisy, his long-lost love. He believes that by attaining wealth and status, he can win her back.
• Need : Gatsby must learn that happiness cannot be bought and that living in the past or for another's affection is self-destructive.

Now it’s your turn..

📝 Exercise:

• What does your character think they want?
• What do they actually need in order to feel fulfilled?

Mapping your character’s wants and needs 一 two key components of their character arc 一 will help you figure out what psychological space they’re in at the beginning of the story and in what direction they should move as the plot progresses. But to figure out whether they’ll have a smooth ride or not and what type of obstacles they might encounter, we have to know their strengths and weaknesses.

FREE COURSE

How to Develop Characters

In 10 days, learn to develop complex characters readers will love.

Much of the intrigue in your story will stem from how your character responds to the external and internal conflicts they face in the pursuit of their Goal. Every type of character — from superheroes to lovelorn accountants — will need both strengths to draw upon and flaws that threaten to drag them down.

If in The Lord of The Rings Frodo walked up to Mount Doom unbothered, dropped the ring in the lava, and made it back in time for a second breakfast, he’d be a dull protagonist. It’s the obstacles he faces — Sauron’s army of orcs and the ring’s power over his spirit, to name a couple — that force him to make decisions and evolve as a character.

The iconic characters we know and love tend to have a nuanced mix of positive and negative traits. Consider Woody from Toy Story : he's a charismatic figure and a natural leader among the toys, known for his loyalty to Andy. However, he can be vain and petty, so the arrival of Buzz Lightyear causes him to feel jealous and insecure. 

While Woody’s charisma is admirable, it's his flaws that make him relatable. We may not all relate to being the leader of the pack, but we all know the fear of being overshadowed and replaced, as well as feeling jealous and insecure. 

So many of the challenges Woody faces are meant to test his strengths and flaws, from his face on the wall and bed cover being replaced with Buzz’s, to the other toys questioning his leadership and morals when he kicks him out of the window. Ultimately, he has to overcome his jealousy, cooperate with Buzz, and learn that they can both have a place in Andy's heart.

Some other common examples of character strengths are courage, intelligence, resilience, integrity, perseverance, and creativity, whereas character flaws are qualities like bitterness, arrogance, greed, selfishness, deceitfulness, and pessimism. You can find more examples of interesting flaws in this post .  

• What are your character’s best qualities?
• What are some of their negative traits?

Pick a mix of both to give your readers something to root for. Your character should be plausibly able to overcome the challenges the plot throws at them, whether that’s destroying the ring or saving the wizarding world. At the same time, there should be a real risk that your character will fail — whether they fall prey to the ring’s power at the very edge of Mt. Doom, or die in a burst of green light from the Dark Lord’s wand. 

This brings us to another key piece of character development, which is sketching out your hero’s main antagonist. 

What is your character's archetype?

Take our 1-minute quiz to find out.

An important point to make is that you can’t create a character in a vacuum. You need to define them in relation to other people and the world they inhabit. As John Truby writes in The Anatomy of Story , “[to] create great characters, think of all your characters as part of a web in which each helps define the others. To put it another way, a character is often defined by who he is not.” 

Of particular importance, according to Truby, is your primary antagonist. “The relationship between the hero and the opponent is the single most important relationship in the story. In working out the struggle between these two characters, the larger issues and themes of the story unfold.”

It bears noting that the main antagonist doesn’t have to be another character (or even have evil intent). As we explain in our post on types of conflict, your hero might be up against nature, technology, society at large, or other forces that keep them from achieving what they want. Regardless of the form your story’s opposing force will take, Truby reminds us that it’s crucial to develop their morals or logic in parallel to your hero’s. 

“The main opponent is the one person in the world best able to attack the great weakness of the hero. And he should attack it relentlessly. The necessary opponent either forces the hero to overcome his weakness or destroys him. Put another way, the necessary opponent makes it possible for the hero to grow.” 

Think of Voldemort: an orphan and a brilliant wizard, he deeply understands Harry. He also knows his main weakness 一 the death of his parents 一 because he’s responsible for it. And he keeps putting his finger in the wound: from (indirectly) killing Sirius Black and other people he loves, to pervading his mind with fear, to literally trying to kill him. Ultimately, it’s his evil competence that forces Harry to grow into the wise and selfless man he needs to become. 

• Who is your hero’s antagonist? 
• What is their background? What are their motivations?
• How do they relentlessly attack the hero?

GET ACCOUNTABILITY

Meet writing coaches on Reedsy

Industry insiders can help you hone your craft, finish your draft, and get published.

And other secondary characters

While the antagonist is the most important other character in the story, you can also craft your hero by sketching out secondary characters 一 other enemies or allies who contrasts with the hero in order to highlight some qualities of their personality. 

In Tarantino’s Django Unchained for example, both Django and Stephen display high intelligence and adaptability in dealing with enslavement. But their paths couldn’t be further from each other. Django uses his wit and skills to free himself and others, while Stephen embraces racism and even participates in its practices in order to gain protection and comfort for himself. The juxtaposition between Django's quest for freedom and justice and Stephen's acquiescence to the status quo of slavery sharpens Django's resolve and moral stance. 

For another quick example, think of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird : despite him remaining  relatively unchanged , his steadfast belief in justice allows Scout to evolve from an innocent child into a girl with a strong sense of right and wrong.

As Truby explains, each secondary character can make the hero confront the central moral problem of the story, either by providing support and new perspectives or throwing obstacles at them trying to tear him down. 

• Who are the allies your hero will need on their path to achieve their goal?
• Which other enemies (or false enemies) can force them to grow?

Alright, after mapping the inner life of our main characters, it’s now time to look outwards.. 

Yes, the internal goals and motivations are the "heart" of a character. But that doesn't mean that their external characteristics should just be an afterthought. Sure, the fact that your protagonist has blonde hair may not impact the plot — but it might color how other characters respond to them. So, early in your character development, put a bit of time into sketching out your protagonist's physical features.

• Appearance : What do they look like? Does their look play a role in the story?
• Voice: What do they sound like? Does their voice match their look?

Remember that people’s looks don’t always match who they are inside. Some of the most compelling characters are baby-faced killers and brutes with a heart of gold. So try and play around with interesting contradictions.

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

Physical traits don’t end with eye color and voice type. To make your brown-eyed alto stand out from similar characters in the literary canon, you’ll want to round out that physical profile with some distinctive behavior quirks . 

After all, a character’s physicality takes so much more than describing their static body in isolation. It’s about how they move through space — and about how they interact with everything around them, from objects to other characters. By focusing on their mannerisms, you take a step towards showing instead of telling: big, bold movements imply confidence so you don’t have to spell it out, whereas frantically moving or fidgeting suggests a nervous nature.

To achieve this, you’ll want to reflect on how your character consciously and subconsciously responds to the world around them.

• Communication style : How do they engage in dialogue? How does the way they communicate shape their relationships? Does their speech have any idiosyncrasies or quirks ?
• Gait : How do they make their way around their environment, and how does this impact how they’re treated?
• Tics and tells : What do they do when they’re nervous, uncertain of how to proceed, or telling lies?

Reedsy’s Character Questionnaire

40 questions to help you develop memorable characters.

Some character mannerisms will be situationally dependent and can serve as a shorthand for describing a character’s emotional state. For example, Nynaeve from the Wheel of Time series tugs on her braid when she's agitated, and Bond villain Le Chiffre bleeds from his eye when under intense pressure.

Other mannerisms, however, are part of a character’s default state — as essential to our view of them as their coloring. Just think of Draco Malfoy’s permanent sneer: it’s as much a part of him as his pale blond hair.

To make your character truly memorable, you’ll want to consider adding both these types of mannerisms to their behavioral repertoire. Anger shouldn’t look the same on everyone: someone might flare up like an inferno, going red in the face, while others turn icily polite, smiling insincerely. 

Tell us about your book, and we'll give you a writing playlist

It'll only take a minute!

When it comes to character development, imagination will only take you so far. Unless you’re intimately familiar with your protagonist’s world, you’ll need to work to get the details right. 

If your hero is a NASA astronaut or a veteran of the Vietnam war, there are readily available resources that will let you find out what their life might be like. You might uncover small details that are key to bringing them to life — perhaps some slang they used back in the seventies, or some unusual morning routine astronauts go through. 

The research doesn’t stop at your character’s main trade, but it can include everything else about their culture 一 their ethnicity, social class, political and spiritual views, education, interests, and language. 

Say you’re writing a British character when you’ve never set foot outside of Florida, you’ll want to do a bit of research when scripting his dialogue. Perhaps you could search “croydon slang” on YouTube or watch a British-made TV show set in the character’s hometown to collect some helpful examples of speech . 

NEW REEDSY COURSE

How to Write a Novel

Enroll in our course and become an author in three months.

By now, you will have chiseled away at the blank marble and uncovered enough about your character to have a good sense of them. You can now work on the fine details — those subtle psychological touches — by putting them through these eight character development exercises or by getting character feedback from groups such as CharacterHub . 

If you’re not sure how your characters might be received by people from different backgrounds consider engaging the services of a sensitivity reader. Think of them as research assistants, committed to making your character development as authentic and nuanced as possible. 

Be patient with yourself. Character development is hard. It will take a little time (and a lot of refining) before you’ll create a protagonist as complex and real as a person, but when you do — you’ll know it and your readers will thank you for it. With a fully developed character by your side, your story will almost start writing itself.

2 responses

Diane says:

07/06/2018 – 09:01

Indeed Indeed Indeed. Brilliant article. Everything is simple and difficult in the same time. But with this tips it is easier to create your full tutoriage character.

16/04/2020 – 19:50

clearly the writers of star wars episodes 7, 8, and 9 never read this article.

Comments are currently closed.

Continue reading

Recommended posts from the Reedsy Blog

100+ Character Ideas (and How to Come Up With Your Own)

Character creation can be challenging. To help spark your creativity, here’s a list of 100+ character ideas, along with tips on how to come up with your own.

How to Introduce a Character: 8 Tips To Hook Readers In

Introducing characters is an art, and these eight tips and examples will help you master it.

450+ Powerful Adjectives to Describe a Person (With Examples)

Want a handy list to help you bring your characters to life? Discover words that describe physical attributes, dispositions, and emotions.

How to Plot a Novel Like a NYT Bestselling Author

Need to plot your novel? Follow these 7 steps from New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt.

How to Write an Autobiography: The Story of Your Life

Want to write your autobiography but aren’t sure where to start? This step-by-step guide will take you from opening lines to publishing it for everyone to read.

What is the Climax of a Story? Examples & Tips

The climax is perhaps a story's most crucial moment, but many writers struggle to stick the landing. Let's see what makes for a great story climax.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Bring your stories to life

Our free writing app lets you set writing goals and track your progress, so you can finally write that book!

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

Fiction Writers’ Mentor

• List Of Character Traits

Here’s a list of character traits. Use it as an inspiration when you’re creating characters.

I was going to divide it into ‘good’ traits and ‘bad’ traits, but I decided not to, for the reason that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are subjective in many ways. One person’s lazy is another person’s relaxed. One person’s bossy is another person’s organised or assertive, after all.

Also, many of the words used here are deliberately vague so you can use the traits as jump-off platforms for your own ideas. For example, the word ‘obliging’ is given as a character trait. How you use that is up to you: it could be a nice and kind trait for a character, or it could be a burden to them as they put being obliging to others over their own needs. Maybe part of their  back story  is that they somehow learned they had to subjugate themself to others. How did that happen? Does it have much bearing on the  plot ? Is overcoming that tendency part of their  character arc?  Do you see how that one word, ‘obliging’ can be applied in different ways. As Shakespeare said, there’s nothing good nor bad but thinking makes it so.

I’ve also used word like ‘annoyed’ which strictly speaking isn’t a character trait at all, as it’s a temporary condition. But you might consider that as applying to a character who tends to be easily annoyed, for example.

There’s a suggestion on how to use this list of character traits on the page on  character sketches

• Absent-minded
• Adventurous
• Affectionate
• Communicative
• compassionate
• Conscientious
• Considerate
• Cooperative
• Effervescent
• Embarrassed
• Encouraging
• Enthusiastic
• Hard-working
• Light-hearted
• simple-minded
• Single-Minded
• Soft-hearted
• Appreciative
• Argumentative
• Deferential
• Hot-tempered
• Imaginative
• Loves challenge
• Mischievous
• Quarrelsome
• Quick-tempered
• Resourceful
• Spendthrift
• Superstitious
• Wishy-washy
• Disaffected
• Disagreeable
• discontented
• Discouraged
• Inconsiderate
• Inconsistent
• independent
• Indiscriminate
• Industrious
• Inefficient
• Not trustworthy
• Responsible
• Risk-taking
• Thoughtless
• Charismatic
• Cold-hearted
• Commitment-phobe
• Disillusioned
• Disorganized
• Disparaging
• Disrespectful
• Dissatisfied
• Domineering
• Gives up easily
• Intelligent
• Lackadaisical
• Perserverant
• Pessimistic
• Self-centered
• Self-confident
• Self-controlling
• Sentimental
• Sharp-witted
• Trustworthy
• Unconcerned
• Uncoordinated
• Undependable
• Understanding
• Unforgiving
• Character Creation
• Writing Character Sketches
• Character And Plot Development
• Character Arc
• Character Personality Chart
• Character’s Point Of View
• Creating Believable Characters
• Direct And Indirect Characterization
• Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs
• Return to ‘Character Creation’ page
• Return to ‘Home’ page

The Best Character Template Ever (100+ Character Traits!)

So you have an awesome story and want to bring it to life with some incredible characters, but organizing all those character ideas in your head can be tough!

I know, I’ve been there. We’ve all been there (trust me, I did a very legit survey of us all).

To help, here is a very thorough list of more than 100 different character traits you can use to understand more about your character than you do about your friends and family. Fill out this template with as many or as few details as you’d like. You can even grab your fillable PDF at the bottom of this article.

Readers will sniff out a half-baked character from a mile away, and you better pray they never find a poorly written character in your book. Luckily, this template will help you avoid both of those pitfalls.

How to Use This Template

Hopefully, this template is, for the most part, straightforward. But there are some options that might give you some pause. For the sake of clarity, I’m going to quickly go over the different sections of the template.

In general, the traits get deeper and deeper into the abyss of your character’s soul the further down the list you go.

Demographics are your basics. This is the sort of information someone could likely glean from a short conversation with your character or what the government might gather from a census.

Physical appearance is what someone would notice about your character if they looked at them. This goes beyond just hair, eye, and skin color, though. Things like your character’s gait or their fashion style can add a lot of depth for your reader.

History allows you to understand a character’s past. More importantly, it allows you to understand how that past affects their actions in your story. Some of this information might never see the light of day, but it allows you to craft dynamic, complex characters.

Psychological traits are those that aren’t readily apparent to an onlooker but are critical to how your character operates in any given situation. This is where you start getting deep with things like flaws , desires, and traits that make people (or non-people) who they are.

Communication is not only important for things like dialogue and writing, but they are easy ways for you to differentiate between your characters .

Strengths, weaknesses, and abilities are very vague terms but are quite important. This is especially true for genres like fantasy or sci-fi, and these traits can be helpful when crafting your main characters, including villains .

Relationships are important for characters, even if it means highlighting how alone they are. Relationships can go a lot further than immediate friends, family, or partners. Try and take some time to think about exactly who is involved in your character’s life.

Character growth is the most important category in this template. Here is where you include things like arcs, archetypes, conflicts, goals, and motivation. You need to pay attention to this section, because these ideas will be the ones that make memorable characters.

So check out the template below and think about how you can use it to build your characters. 

The Best Character Template Ever

Demographics.

• Sex/Gender:
• Occupation:
• Socioeconomic status:
• Other notes:

Physical Appearance

• Skin color:
• Hair color:
• Fitness level:
• Scars/Birthmarks:
• Other distinguishing features:
• Disabilities:
• Fashion style:
• Accessories:
• Cleanliness/Grooming:
• Posture/Gait:
• Coordination (or lack thereof):
• Weaknesses:
• Birth date:
• Place of birth:
• Key family members:
• Notable events/milestones:
• Criminal record:
• Affiliations:
• Skeletons in the closet:

Psychological Traits

• Personality type:
• Personality traits:
• Temperament:
• Introvert/Extrovert:
• Mannerisms:
• Educational background:
• Intelligence:
• Self-esteem:
• Skills/talents:
• Morals/Virtues:
• Phobias/Fears:
• Angered by:
• Pet peeves:
• Obsessed with:
• Bad habits:
• Favorite sayings:
• Accomplishments:

Communication

• Languages known:
• Preferred communication methods:
• Style and pacing of speech:
• Use of gestures:
• Facial expressions:
• Verbal expressions:

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Abilities

• Physical strengths:
• Physical weaknesses:
• Intellectual strengths:
• Intellectual weaknesses:
• Interpersonal strengths:
• Interpersonal weaknesses:
• Physical abilities:
• Magical abilities:
• Physical illnesses/conditions:
• Mental illnesses/conditions:

Relationships

• Partner(s)/Significant other(s):
• Parents/Guardians:
• Grandparents:
• Grandchildren:
• Best friends:
• Colleagues:
• Mentors/Teachers:
• Idols/Role models:
• Non-living things:
• Clubs/Memberships:
• Social media presence:
• Public perception of them:

Character Growth

• Character archetype:
• Character arc:
• Core values:
• Internal conflicts:
• External conflicts:
• Goals: 
• Motivations:
• Epiphanies:
• Significant events/plot points:

Craft Amazing Characters With Dabble

Creating characters your readers will love (or love to hate) has never been easier than with Dabble. By keeping all of your notes about characters and your plot just a click away from your manuscript, you’ll be able to write a story that is bound for the bestseller lists.

You can click here to grab a PDF copy of this template, or you can just copy and paste the categories you want from this article directly into your Character Notes in Dabble.

That’s not all! We also have a handful of other resources that can help you make some awesome characters. Be sure to check out:

• Our complete guide to creating characters
• 101 character goals
• A metric ton of character ideas you can use with this template
• 65 character development questions
• 20 original character interview questions
• A downloadable character profile

The best part? You can add all of these into your character’s folder in Dabble. Your character will be more real than you or I.

Enough dilly-dallying, time for Dabbling. Click here to get started with your totally free, no credit card required trial of Dabble and build your amazing characters today.

Happy writing!

Doug Landsborough can’t get enough of writing. Whether freelancing as an editor, blog writer, or ghostwriter, Doug is a big fan of the power of words. In his spare time, he writes about monsters, angels, and demons under the name D. William Landsborough. When not obsessing about sympathetic villains and wondrous magic, Doug enjoys board games, horror movies, and spending time with his wife, Sarah.

SHARE THIS:

TAKE A BREAK FROM WRITING...

Read. learn. create..

What's the defining line between sci-fi and fantasy? There's actually a lot more to it than magic versus technology.

Does science fiction alone feel too limiting for your vast imagination? Do you feel like your fantasy world could use a dash of futuristic technology?

Prose describes how you write your book, and it can be challenging to get right. So, in this article, we cover what makes good prose.

465 Character Traits List & Examples

Character traits are the individual characteristics and qualities that make characters from books, stories, movies, plays, and other art forms come to life for readers.

Use the following list of character traits as a guideline when writing book reports and essays about the different characters you've read about. Don't stop with this list, though; you can probably think of many more terms to describe your characters.

Search and explore the definitions of character traits with our sister company Infoplease's dictionary .

Values, Morals, and Beliefs Character Traits

• Accountable
• Adventurous
• Communicative
• Compassionate
• Conscientious
• Considerate
• Disciplined
• Encouraging
• Enthusiastic
• Hard-working
• Imaginative
• Independent
• Knowledgeable
• Open-minded
• Persevering
• Questioning
• Relf-confident
• Sympathetic
• Trustworthy
• Understanding

Looking for a printable list of character traits?

Our printable character traits list features more than 200 characteristics and qualities that your students can use for writing or a character study.

Physical Character Traits

• Broad-shouldered
• Clean-shaven
• Long-legged
• Rosy-cheeked
• Square-jawed
• Weather-beaten
• Well-groomed

Emotional Character Traits

• Affectionate
• Appreciative
• Disappointed
• Embarrassed
• Indifferent
• Insensitive
• Introverted
• Melancholic
• Mischievous
• Pessimistic

Personality Character Traits

• Accommodating
• Charismatic
• Cold-hearted
• Cooperative
• Disagreeable
• Enterprising
• Industrious
• Intelligent
• Inquisitive
• Kind-hearted
• Nonjudgmental
• Progressive
• Resourceful
• Self-assured
• Self-confident
• Self-critical
• Self-disciplined
• Self-reliant
• Simple-minded
• Spontaneous
• Unpretentious
• Warm-hearted

Just like real people, literary characters have behaviors, attitudes, traits, and beliefs that give them a unique personality. These can be surface characteristics, like personality or physical traits - or they can be deeply-held values and morals. Writers develop characters with myriad traits to help readers build empathy or antipathy, relate to the narrative, create realism, and develop various plot points and storylines.

Looking for activities, lessons, and printables on character traits to use in your classroom? View all of our character trait resources here .

Recommended Character Traits Classroom Resources

Featured Middle School Resources

Related Resources

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing Compelling Characters

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Characters and Goals

“Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Characters should almost always have clear goals, even if these goals are not immediately made obvious to the reader. Without goals, characters lack motivation—that is, they have little reason to do anything interesting. For this reason, many writers connect the main character's goals to the main conflict in the story. This generally means that the main obstacle to those goals plays a key role in the plot as well (for instance, in the form of a villain). Often, the main character is most interesting and when confronting his own shortcomings in pursuit of his goals.

There are a few ways to construct this character-plot connection:

The character-first approach constructs a story’s plot for a character that already exists. This approach asks a writer to build a character that they find interesting and then assemble the plot around her. For example, a character who is struggling to overcome a phobia might, as a plot element, come into contact with the thing she fears. Success in this instance would mean that she doesn’t let the fear overcome her.

The plot-first approach starts by defining the major conflicts the writer wants to include in a piece of fiction and then builds a character who will be motivated by those conflicts. For example, a writer could decide to explore the effect of a catastrophic storm on a city before writing a main character. A character that would feel motivated by this conflict would be one with a connection to the city or to someone living in the city. Therefore, the son of someone who went missing in the storm would likely be a good focal character for this story.

Small Goals and Big Goals

Though it’s important for characters to have at least one big goal, it can be boring for the reader if a character is totally preoccupied with a single motivation. Strong characters generally have two or more goals of varying sizes that they might confront separately or at the same time.

Take the movie Zombieland , for example. The character Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) pursues both a personal goal (small) and a story goal (big). Throughout the film, the audience watches as Tallahassee fights his way through zombie-riddled supermarkets and ransacks crashed delivery trucks in search of his favorite treat—Twinkies. While it is obvious from the get-go that his explicit personal goal is to track down his favorite snack cake during the apocalypse, the audience gradually learns enough about the character to realize that the Twinkie hunting is merely a pretext for Tallahassee to pursue a more serious story goal. Tallahassee's goofy exterior conceals an inner longing to rid the world of as many zombies as possible as payback for the death of his young son. Because the viewer naturally comes to expect that both goals will be resolved by the end of the movie, Talahassee's character gains dramatic tension as his goals are revealed. In other words, the audience excitedly anticipates his success or failure.

Tallahassee resolves his story goal by successfully  protecting two of his new companions from a zombie onslaught, realizing as he does so that he has found a new family (as imperfect as it might be). The resolution of Tallahassee’s personal goal connects to this story goal as well. As Tallahassee searches a restaurant for Twinkies during the final confrontation, he discovers that his bullets have ruined an entire box of his beloved snack cakes. He experiences a moment of sadness at realizing his failure before one of his companions offers him a Twinkie she found, resolving his personal goal while reinforcing his story goal. Though Tallahassee doesn't get nearly as many Twinkies as he would have liked, he comes to realize that the desserts are merely cheap substitutions for things that are far sweeter: the kindness and generosity one receives from family.

Character and Believability

Another factor that can contribute to a successful character is an element called “verisimilitude,” also called “believability.” When writers talk about believability, they talk about whether the constituent parts of a character make sense and feel cohesive. For example, we might expect a character who gets paid minimum wage to struggle to pay her bills, so if we see her driving an expensive car or spending several hundred dollars on a meal at a fancy restaurant, we would question these details. There are, of course, stories in which these situations could exist, but the reader would need to know what allowed them to happen (inheritance from a late relative, perhaps, or an irresponsible approach to personal debt).

Stories that take place outside of a realistic modern setting will generally require some extra work on the part of the writer to make them believable. This is becaus of an idea called “suspension of disbelief.” This refers to the tendency of readers to challenge details of a story that seem out-of-place, but not to question those details if they are presented with enough contextual justification. If a story contains people who can fly with human-size wings, for instance, the reader would need to learn early on that this is a normal event that occurs in the story world. A reader who unexpectedly encounters flying humans three-fourths of the way into a short story could easily be baffled by this development, and might also consider it a cheap cop-out if it's used to resolve a plot conflict.

Adding Physical Detail

In addition to planning your characters thoughtfully, you must also sketch them coherently on the page. Careful selection of physical and environmental details will make some of your character’s traits visible to your reader without you having to tell them outright what you mean. A character who is disorganized might have wrinkled clothing or might consistently arrive late to appointments. An introverted character might bring a book or notebook everywhere they go and might also stay out of crowded spaces (or feel uncomfortable in those spaces).

It’s important to be aware of the other meanings that a detail can bring into a piece. A physical detail, especially one that appears multiple times within a work, might also develop symbolic meanings in addition to its literal meaning. An example of this can be found in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Harry is well-known in the wizarding world because of a prominent scar on his forehead, which resulted from a violent magical encounter that also claimed the lives of his parents. The scar becomes a symbol of Harry’s past—not only of his parents’ sacrifice, but also of the evil that he encounters in each book in the series — and Rowling is able to draw the reader’s attention to these ideas without always referencing them directly by simply mentioning the scar in her descriptions of Harry’s feelings.

Exercise: In a short vignette, and using only physical details (e.g., characters' clothing, appearance, or body language), make it clear to a reader that a character is experiencing one of the following conditions: worry, hunger, grief, joy, confusion, lack of sleep, anxiety, homesickness. The word you chose should not appear in your vignette, nor should any synonyms.

Adding Personality

Broadly, “personality” refers to the collection of beliefs, thought patterns, and other mental qualities that dictate a character’s actions. A personality trait could be the character’s bubbly disposition, their self-deprecating humor, or the fact that they’re always nervous. When constructing a character, it’s important to think about how she would react in a number of situations. Here are some questions to help you discover your character’s personality traits:

• Is he fond of attention, or does he avoid it?
• Is she curious to learn more about a topic/location/person, or does she keep to herself?
• How big of a role does fear play in his day-to-day activities?
• How does this character react if things don’t go the way she wants them to?
• Does he think that he’s more intelligent/less intelligent than others around him?
• Does she think she’s average? How would she define “average?”
• How does he feel about making decisions?
• Does she make decisions quickly or slowly?
• Does he tend to regret decisions they’ve made?

See also our "Brief Introduction" to characters , which contains additional questions to spark your creativity as you write a character.

It’s helpful to connect these traits to elements from the character’s life or past. For example, a character who grew up with a controlling parent might have difficulty making decisions once they start living on their own. Personality traits might also overlap with physical traits: talking too loudly or too softly or interrupting others, for example.

It’s also important to make sure that your characters aren’t good at everything they come across. Doing so will reduce your story’s believability because — let’s face it—no one is good at everything. To this end, you should allow your characters to fail at something, whether that something is huge or inconsequential.

Exercise: In a short vignette, deliver some news to your character. The news can be good or bad. It can affect just the character, or the entire world population, or any number of people in between. How does this character react? Who do they tell, if anyone? How do they interact with the space they’re in (e.g. punch a wall, hug a stranger)? Try this exercise several times with the same character but different contexts (e.g., the character receiving the news alone versus receiving it in a public place) to see how they react under different circumstances.

A Word of Caution on Using Fictionalized Versions of Real People

It’s common for writers to borrow details from real life—the shape of a stranger’s chin, a classmate’s clicking of their pen during a quiet exam, or the restaurant server’s shrill laugh, to give just a few examples—but a writer should be wary of recreating an entire person on the page. There are legal reasons not to do this, of course, but there is also the danger that a story filled with too many real-life people and events will be flat and boring. Fiction should generally be a healthy mix of the ordinary and extraordinary. If the mix is skewed too far in one direction, the reader can find the piece too unbelievable or too boring.

Want to create an unforgettable character? Start your free trial and explore traits that will make them interesting, talented, admirable, and unique!

ADVENTUROUS

AFFECTIONATE

APPRECIATIVE

COOPERATIVE

DISCIPLINED

ENTHUSIASTIC

EXTROVERTED

FLIRTATIOUS

IMAGINATIVE

INDEPENDENT

INDUSTRIOUS

INSPIRATIONAL

INTELLIGENT

INTROVERTED

NATURE-FOCUSED

PHILOSOPHICAL

PROFESSIONAL

RESOURCEFUL

RESPONSIBLE

SENTIMENTAL

SOCIALLY AWARE

SOPHISTICATED

SPONTANEOUS

TRADITIONAL

UNINHIBITED

MINI LESSON

Characters who resonate with readers are ones who possess admirable strengths that will help them defeat their inner demons and overcome the obstacles in their paths. The positive trait thesaurus can help you delve deeper into who your characters are and shape them into people that readers will root for.

The shortcut for this page is t+p . For a complete list of shortcuts, see our Accessibility guide.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

100 Character-Driven Writing Prompts

March 19, 2024 by Richard 1 Comment

100 Character-Driven Writing Prompts: Character-driven stories are the heart and soul of great literature, captivating readers by delving deep into the minds, emotions, and motivations of the protagonists. These stories focus on the inner lives of characters, exploring their struggles, growth, and relationships as they navigate the challenges and triumphs of their journeys. By placing characters at the forefront, writers can create narratives that resonate with readers on a profound level, fostering empathy, understanding, and self-reflection.

Crafting compelling character-driven stories requires a keen understanding of human nature and the ability to create multi-dimensional, relatable characters. Writing prompts that focus on character development can be invaluable tools for writers seeking to hone their skills and explore new creative avenues. These prompts encourage writers to delve into the psyches of their characters, unearthing their fears, desires, and secrets, and bringing them to life on the page.

The following list of 100 character-driven writing prompts is designed to inspire writers of all levels, from novice to experienced. These prompts span a wide range of genres, from science fiction and fantasy to contemporary fiction and mystery, ensuring that there is something to spark the imagination of every writer. Each prompt presents a unique scenario or character archetype, inviting writers to explore the depths of human experience and craft stories that will resonate with readers long after the final page is turned.

By embracing the power of character-driven storytelling, writers can create works that not only entertain but also enlighten, challenge, and transform readers. These 100 writing prompts serve as a springboard for creativity, encouraging writers to push the boundaries of their imagination and craft stories that celebrate the complexities and beauty of the human experience. So, whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding writer, dive into these prompts and let your characters guide you on an unforgettable journey of self-discovery and storytelling magic.

• A retired spy is pulled back into the world of espionage for one last mission.
• A time traveler falls in love with someone from the past.
• A child discovers they have magical powers and must keep them hidden.
• A therapist begins to suspect their patient is a dangerous criminal.
• A robot learns to feel human emotions and questions its purpose.
• A ghost watches over their living family members, unable to communicate with them.
• A world-renowned surgeon loses the ability to operate and must find a new purpose.
• A politician leads a double life as a vigilante by night.
• A woman wakes up with no memory of her past and must piece together her identity.
• A chef inherits a mysterious cookbook with recipes that have strange effects on people.
• A homeless man discovers he has the ability to see the future.
• A successful businesswoman is forced to confront her humble beginnings.
• A soldier returns home from war and struggles to readjust to civilian life.
• An alien disguised as a human falls in love with an earthling.
• A parent’s worst fear comes true when their child goes missing.
• A writer’s characters come to life and demand a different ending to their story.
• A hitman falls in love with his target and must choose between love and duty.
• A scientist accidentally clones themselves and must deal with the consequences.
• A time traveler tries to change a historical event but makes things worse.
• A doctor discovers a cure for a deadly disease but realizes it has terrible side effects.
• A politician’s scandalous past catches up with them as they run for office.
• A famous actor is haunted by a ghost who claims to be their biggest fan.
• A detective falls in love with the main suspect in a murder investigation.
• A therapist becomes too emotionally invested in a patient’s problems.
• A con artist falls for their mark and must choose between love and money.
• A journalist uncovers a government conspiracy and becomes a target.
• A child befriends an AI and must keep it a secret from their parents.
• A time traveler meets their future self and learns a shocking truth.
• A spy falls in love with a fellow agent from a rival country.
• A doctor discovers they have a terminal illness and must come to terms with their mortality.
• A famous musician loses their hearing and must find a new way to create music.
• A chef opens a restaurant that only serves food from their childhood.
• A ghost helps a living person solve their own murder.
• A therapist is stalked by a former patient seeking revenge.
• A politician is blackmailed by a hacker who threatens to expose their secrets.
• A scientist creates a device that allows them to communicate with animals.
• A soldier is captured by the enemy and must rely on their training to survive.
• An alien falls in love with a human and must choose between their home planet and Earth.
• A parent’s child is switched at birth, and they must decide whether to keep the child they raised.
• A writer’s fictional world becomes real, and they must navigate it to find their way back.
• A hitman is hired to assassinate a public figure but begins to question the morality of their profession.
• A detective is framed for a crime they didn’t commit and must clear their name.
• A therapist is haunted by a patient who died by suicide.
• A con artist falls for a mark who is also a con artist, and they must outsmart each other.
• A journalist is embedded with a group of rebels fighting against a corrupt government.
• A child discovers a portal to another world in their backyard.
• A time traveler accidentally changes the course of history and must fix their mistake.
• A spy is betrayed by their own agency and must go on the run to survive.
• A doctor discovers a way to bring people back from the dead, but at a terrible cost.
• A famous actor is forced to confront their own mortality when diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• A musician’s songs start coming true, and they must find a way to stop it.
• A chef is kidnapped and forced to cook for a dangerous criminal organization.
• A ghost falls in love with a living person and must find a way to communicate with them.
• A therapist discovers their patient is a serial killer and must decide whether to turn them in.
• A politician is elected president and discovers a secret that could destroy the world.
• A scientist creates a machine that can read people’s thoughts and struggles with the ethical implications.
• A soldier is sent on a secret mission behind enemy lines and must rely on their wits to survive.
• An alien comes to Earth to study humans and falls in love with one of their subjects.
• A parent discovers their child has superpowers and must keep them safe from those who would exploit them.
• A writer’s characters come to life and take over their life, forcing them to live out their own story.
• A hitman is hired to kill a child and struggles with the moral implications of their job.
• A detective investigating a murder begins to suspect that the victim is still alive.
• A therapist becomes obsessed with a patient and begins to lose grip on reality.
• A con artist is conned by their own mentor and must find a way to get revenge.
• A journalist uncovers a secret society that controls the world from the shadows.
• A child befriends a monster living in their closet and must keep it a secret from their family.
• A time traveler falls in love with someone from the future and must choose between staying or going back.
• A spy must go undercover as their own twin to infiltrate a criminal organization.
• A doctor discovers a way to make people immortal but realizes the consequences too late.
• A famous actor is stalked by an obsessive fan who will stop at nothing to get close to them.
• A musician is cursed by a witch and must find a way to break the spell before it’s too late.
• A chef opens a restaurant that serves magical dishes, but the magic comes with a price.
• A ghost is tasked with helping a living person fulfill their destiny before they can move on to the afterlife.
• A therapist begins to suspect that their patient is possessed by a demon.
• A politician makes a deal with a powerful entity to win the election, but the entity has its own agenda.
• A scientist accidentally creates a black hole and must find a way to stop it from destroying the world.
• A soldier is sent to a war-torn country to rescue a group of civilians, but things don’t go as planned.
• An alien crash-lands on Earth and must blend in with humans to survive.
• A parent’s deepest fear comes true when their child is kidnapped by a supernatural entity.
• A writer’s fictional world begins to bleed into reality, and they must find a way to stop it.
• A hitman is hired to kill a wealthy businessman but discovers that the businessman is their long-lost father.
• A detective is brought in to investigate a series of bizarre murders that seem to defy explanation.
• A therapist’s patient claims to be from the future and warns of an impending apocalypse.
• A con artist falls for their mark and must choose between their love and their freedom.
• A journalist stumbles upon a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top of the government.
• A child discovers a magical amulet that grants wishes, but the wishes come with unintended consequences.
• A time traveler is tasked with preventing a major historical event from happening.
• A spy must go undercover as a member of the royal family to prevent an assassination attempt.
• A doctor discovers a way to communicate with the dead, but the dead have their own agenda.
• A famous actor is forced to confront their own ego when they are cast in a role that requires them to play a less attractive version of themselves.
• A musician is given a powerful instrument that can control people’s emotions, but it comes with a terrible price.
• A chef is tasked with creating a dish that can bring peace to warring nations, but the ingredients are nearly impossible to find.
• A ghost is given a second chance at life but must live in someone else’s body.
• A therapist begins to suspect that their patient is a werewolf and must find a way to help them control their transformations.
• A politician discovers that they are the chosen one destined to save the world from a great evil.
• A scientist creates a machine that can bring fictional characters to life, but the characters have minds of their own.
• A soldier is sent on a mission to infiltrate a group of rebels, but begins to sympathize with their cause.
• An alien falls in love with a human and must choose between their loyalty to their own species or their love for the human.
• A parent discovers that their child has been replaced by a changeling and must find a way to get their real child back.
• A writer is transported into the world of their own book and must find a way to change the ending to save the characters they love.

In conclusion, character-driven stories have the power to illuminate the human condition, fostering a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. By placing characters at the heart of the narrative, writers can create stories that resonate on a profound level, touching readers’ lives and leaving a lasting impact. These 100 writing prompts serve as a catalyst for creativity, encouraging writers to explore the limitless possibilities of character-driven storytelling.

Crafting compelling characters is both an art and a skill, requiring writers to delve into the complexities of human nature and bring their creations to life on the page. Through the use of vivid description, authentic dialogue, and psychological depth, writers can create characters that feel as real as the people we encounter in our daily lives. By investing time and effort into character development, writers can elevate their stories from mere entertainment to works of art that inspire, challenge, and transform.

As you embark on your writing journey, remember that character-driven stories have the power to bridge the gap between writer and reader, creating a shared experience that transcends the boundaries of the page. By crafting characters that readers can relate to, empathize with, and root for, you have the opportunity to create stories that will be cherished for generations to come.

So, whether you’re a seasoned author or a novice writer, embrace the power of character-driven storytelling and let these writing prompts be your guide. Dive deep into the hearts and minds of your characters, and let their stories unfold with authenticity, vulnerability, and truth. Through your words, you have the ability to shape the world, one character at a time.

In the end, remember that writing is a journey of self-discovery and growth. As you explore the depths of your characters, you may just find yourself reflected in their struggles, triumphs, and transformations. Embrace the power of character-driven storytelling, and let your creativity flow freely. The world is waiting for the stories only you can tell.

If you enjoyed these writing prompts, we have many more on our site .

Related Posts:

About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

Reader Interactions

pocketoption robot says

March 24, 2024 at 4:32 am

To maximize your crypto investments on Globitex.com, leverage strategic approaches tailored to your goals. Utilize the PocketOption robot to automate tasks and optimize trading efficiency. Stay informed, analyze market trends, and execute trades confidently for optimal returns.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Privacy Overview

BRYN DONOVAN

tell your stories, love your life

• Writing Inspiration
• Semi-Charmed Life
• Reading & Research
• Works In Progress.

Master List of Physical Description for Writers

I created this list of ways to describe people

because physical description, when done well, helps the readers see characters in their minds. But sometimes when you’re in the middle of writing, it can be hard to think of physical adjectives and distinguishing features for characters. I find that describing facial features can be especially tricky!

This long list of physical characteristics is kind of like a character description generator, and it’ll help you when you’re trying to think of how to describe a character’s appearance.

Eyes – General

 For all the words about describing facial features, I’m focusing more on physical descriptions rather than emotional expressions, though there’s a little crossover! You can also check out my long list of facial expressions.

heavy-lidded

fringed with long lashes

with sweeping eyelashes

with thick eyelashes

By the way, this post on how to describe (and not describe) the eyes of an Asian character  is really great. Check it out.

Eyes – Color

Brown is the most common eye color by far. Green is quite rare.

chocolate brown

cocoa brown

coffee brown

sienna brown

Support My Site

If you like what I do, please support me on Ko-fi!

cornflower blue

Arctic blue

glacial blue

crystal blue

electric blue

slate blue / slate gray

storm blue / storm gray

silver / silver gray

concrete gray

gunmetal gray

Skin – Color

Josh Roby made a great chart of skin tones and descriptor words, and I got a lot of these words from him. You can get that here .

The quote from N.K. Jemisin interested me: “I get really tired of seeing African-descended characters described in terms of the goods that drove, and still drive, the slave trade—coffee, chocolate, brown sugar. There’s some weird psychosocial baggage attached to that.” 

cream / creamy

rose / rosy

Skin – General

Some of these are better for the face, and some are better for other parts of the body.

translucent

luminescent

with large pores

weather-beaten

Face – Structure

heart-shaped

high forehead

broad forehead

prominent brow ridge

protruding brow bone

sharp cheekbones

high cheekbones

angular cheekbones

hollow cheeks

jutting chin

pointed chin

receding chin

double chin

dimple in chin

visible Adam’s apple

People don’t write much about noses, but they can be distinguishing features for characters!

Cupid’s bow

straight teeth

gap between teeth

gleaming white teeth

Facial Hair (or lack thereof)

clean-shaven

smooth-shaven

mutton-chop sideburns

a few days’ growth of beard

five o’ clock shadow

Hair – General

I threw a few hairstyles in here, though not many.

shoulder-length

neatly combed

slicked down / slicked back

buzzed / buzz cut

widow’s peak

Hair – Color

There are some repeats here from the eye color section!

salt and pepper

charcoal gray

brown sugar

tawny brown

toffee brown

Titian-haired

strawberry blonde

butterscotch

sandy blond

fair-haired

Body Type – General

average height

barrel-chested

heavy / heavy-set

pot-bellied

full-figured

leggy / long-legged

broad-shouldered

sloping shoulders

stubby fingers

long fingers

ragged nails

grimy fingernails

ink-stained

This list and many more are in my book Master Lists for Writers: Thesauruses, Plot Ideas, Character Traits, Names, and More . Check it out if you’re interested!

And if you don’t want to miss future writing posts, follow the blog, if you aren’t already — there’s a place to sign up on the lefthand side of the blog. Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

Related Posts

Share this:

127 thoughts on “ master list of physical description for writers ”.

Thanks, Bryn! This list has sparked a spark in my brain. I haven’t seen one of those for a while. I was getting worried I’d lost my flint!

I’m so glad you like it!

I love this, do you mind if we share on our blog WritersLife.org ?

Thanks for the positive feedback! You can’t reproduce it on your blog, but you can share an excerpt of 200 words or less plus a link to my site.

As a new novel writer all I can say is thank very much for sharing with us this wonderful list.

Ah you’re welcome! Thanks for visiting!

This is amazing! Thank you very much!

Thanks for the kind words–glad it seems helpful!

Reblogged this on looselyjournalying.

Reblogged this on Of Fancy & Creativity .

• Pingback: Bryn Donovan | Shadows Publishing

Aw thank you for this it helped so much! I’m 15 and I’m trying to write a novel and this was sooooo helpful so thank you a billion 🙂 Best wishes.

Ah you’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Good for you for working on a novel, and good luck–I bet it will go great!

Hi, Bryn Thank you for doing these lists. They helped me a lot. Can you make a list on how to describe emotions like sadness or anger.

It’s funny you should ask 🙂 There’s a list like that in my book MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS coming out this fall! I haven’t officially announced it yet, but hey 🙂

You can get a free copy when it comes out if you agree to give it an honest review. SIgn up for my newsletter if you’re interested!

Reblogged this on Kalynn Bayron and commented: Yes! This is great!

Was just looking for this type of lists.Great work.

This is so helpful.

I love your blog, btw. Your posts are informative and/or inspirational.

Are you on any social medial where I can follow you?

Oh, thank you so much! I just checked out your blog — I love the dream casting post! http://sbhadleywilson.com/blog/pull-ideal-cast-2/

I’m @BrynDonovan on Twitter, just followed you!

VERY helpful. I need to get basic descriptions of people done and out of the way to move on with plot. This quickens any details that might have taken me a long time to think through, or strain a sentence. Yuck. I know my females characters would pay attention to lots of physical details. not so with the males. Thanks!

Oh, so glad it’s helpful! That’s always what I’m trying to do with my lists — speed things up. I hate getting stuck on a detail and losing my momentum 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

godsent list! Bryn, I wish you more brains.

Reblogged this on Jessica Louis and commented: This list is beyond helpful. Who knew there were so many eye colors!?

Thanks Bryn your list was amazing. I’m an aspiring writer and it really helped me a lot. When I can I’m going to get a copy of your book. I think it would help me become a better writer. My genre of choice is erotic, but it is so hard to get out there, but I’m hopeful one day I will. It’s what I love to do and I’m going to keep trying.

Hi Beth! Thank you so much for the kind words. If you do get the book, I hope you like it! And good luck on writing erotica — I’m doing a “WIP Wednesday” this Wednesday where you can share a bit of your work in progress, if you like 🙂

That would be great. I have some short stories publish on a site called Literotica. I have some editing issues that I’m trying to work out, nothing a few classes wouldn’t help. How do I share my work.

I am so sorry! I missed this comment before. The next WIP Wednesday on the blog is Dec. 2… if you’re following the blog you’ll see the post! (The follow button is on the righthand side of this page.) Hope your writing’s going well 🙂

• Pingback: A Great Resource for Writers | I Read Encyclopedias for Fun
• Pingback: MASTER LIST: Physical Descriptions |

Reblogged this on PRINCE CHARMING ISN'T HERE and commented: what an amazing list! I always have a hard time describing features! words sometimes fail me!

i loved this list! thank you so much for making it! 🙂

So glad it was helpful!

• Pingback: Describing People « Chestnut ESL/EFL

Thank you! This is so helpful to have for reference. Occasionally I’ll have a particular word in mind and can’t think of it, and I can usually pop over here and find it right away!

I absolutely love your master lists. They have helped me so much in diversifying the words I use when I’m writing. 🙂

Ohhh thank you! That is so great to hear. 🙂 Hope your writing projects are going great!

Thank you, and they are. I’m just about to publish a works I’ve been working on for the past couple of months, which is so exciting. XD Hope all your writing projects are going great as well. 🙂

What a wonderful and thorough list Bryn. Thanks for sharing it! I will at some point ‘link back’ to this fabulous article (I’ll let you know when I do.) I’m new to your site, but will certainly be back for more! I’m fascinated to learn that you’re also a home-grown KC girl. =0) Although, I remarried and moved to California 9 years ago, KC still tugs my heart-strings.

Hey, so glad you like it! Yeah, Kansas City is a special place. Come visit anytime 🙂 And thanks for visiting my blog! — I LOVE your username, by the way. Made me smile.

thanks for following my blog!

Reblogged this on A Bundle of Cute.

Reblogged this on A Blissful Garden and commented: I find this very important!

• Pingback: List of Physical Descriptions » Mary M Cushnie-Mansour
• Pingback: The Perfect Character | Simply frannie

Reblogged this on Insideamoronsbrain and commented: Wow!!

• Pingback: Writing Links Round Up 2/15-2/20 – B. Shaun Smith

Thanks for sharing this list! It is amazing and so helpful !

I’m going to save this as a favorite. You always provide great information Bryn. Continue with your success.

Oh, thank you so much, Christopher! I really appreciate the kind words. So glad you like this!

This list is so complete! I haven’t worked on fiction in a long while, but lately I’ve been wanting to get back into it. I know this is going to be a great help when i sit down to create my characters!

• Pingback: 25 Holy Grail Resources For Writers! - NATASHA SOLAE
• Pingback: How Do You Describe a Character’s Looks In His or Her Point of View? – Bryn Donovan

This is absolutely perfect for aspiring writers so that we don’t have to use Microsoft Word synonyms that tend to nit have what we’re searching for. Your introductory paragraph about readers falling in love with characters’ personalities and not theit physical attributes was spot on. Thank you thank you, thank you!

Chunny! Thank you so very much for the kind words. I’m so glad you found it helpful!!

• Pingback: Sick of the same old descriptive words? | myislandofbooks
• Pingback: Character Details: Face – BUCK OFF BLOG

This is amazing! Thank you! I hope it’s alright if I use this as a reference in a blog post for character development.

Hi Jacquelyn! So glad you like it. That’s fine, just please link to the post!

I read this over and over, thank you for creating this! Can I just ask, when thinking of clothing and how to describe it, what are some things you would put? (I’m making a book draft and have never needed clothing described to me as much as now)

Thank you! It’s so important that we don’t reuse the same words too often, so this will help a lot with that problem.

• Pingback: Writing The Best Characters – LJBNovels

Thanks for helping me. It really made a big difference of helping me come up with something.

Hi Joseph! Sorry for the delayed reply! I’m so glad you liked it. Thanks for the kind words!

• Pingback: Prepping for Camp NaNoWriMo [2 days left] – Cayleigh Stickler

Your book “Master Lists for Writers” has helped me incredibly. I’ve always wanted to be a romance writer but didn’t have the nerve until now. I am currently working on a short story about a college girl who is assaulted by a classmate. It was based on a dream I had a few nights ago. I haven’t developed how she gets her revenge on him. I know the story line seems dark but the dream stuck with me so much, I felt the urge to turn it into a story. Thank you again for your awesome book. What a great resource

Rhonda! Thank you so much for the kind words. I am so happy that the book is helpful, and even gladder that you’re going for it and writing! Sending you best wishes on your story!

• Pingback: MASTER LIST of Physical Descriptions! | Written By Gigi

Great advice in this post, Bryn! Thank you.

Used this for school! It was really helpful!

Oh yay! So glad it was helpful!

• Pingback: Best Writing Websites of 2017 – lmnelsonscorner

This is a great list! So comprehensive, and just what I was looking for. I struggle with physical descriptions of people and have a tendency to write the same kins of attributes. So this list is fab!

This is great!

• Pingback: Character Descriptions – Queer Sci Fi

keep up the good work

Hey thanks 🙂

This is so helpful!!!!!

• Pingback: Thursday Thoughts: On Writing – Bookish Book Nerd

Tiptoeing out there to publish my first book (I’ve been writing a long time). This post helped so much. Thanks!

oh my gosh, thank you! You have put a lot of effort in this list. I def appreciate it 🙂

Thank you I´m always using this when I´m creating new characters.

• Pingback: Listing Characteristics for Character – Newcomers
• Pingback: Characteristics of Character – ESOL II

Incredibly helpful! Thanks a lot :3

Thank you for sharing this!

• Pingback: How do you introduce your character's appearance?
• Pingback: ? Writing Links Round Up 11/5-11/9 – B. Shaun Smith

More extensive than my general list. My wizened goatee and elder Fu Manchu thank you for sharing your time and devotion to the craft.

• Pingback: NaNoWriMo Prep Resources – Quinn M. Nichols

Very useful for ready reference. Thank you very much.

Thanks, Mohan! So glad you liked it!

• Pingback: Clear-Cut Advice For Latinbridesworld – Where To Go | Bart De Clercq
• Pingback: Vital Aspects Of Latinbrides World – The Options – Construtora Colombo
• Pingback: Clarifying Programs Of Latinbrides world — SunHouseDOO
• Pingback: Selecting Painless Products In Latin brides world site – Bie-Usha (WA) Limited

I’ve been writing for a while, mostly for fun, but this was the one thing I could never get down, but this list is great! all around solid, and incredibly useful, I see myself using it every time I need to make a new character, good job!

You’re a legend! This is fantastic, thank you!

Hahaha, thanks for the kind words! 🙂 Glad it’s helpful!

I am following your prompts and valuable advice for writing a fantasy teen fiction novel. I think you are amazing. You might not know it but I was able to clear hundreds of my doubts through your help. Please keep up the good work and providing your valuable support to all of us upcoming writers.

Hey, thank you so much for the kind words—you made my day! It’s wonderful to hear that you’re working on YA fantasy. I’m so glad I could help, and I wish you every success!

I honestly would not recommend this as good writing advice. The focus is too much on describing someone’s physical features using analogies for food. That is not a good thing, it becomes trite and overdone. If used sparsely it’s okay but almost every word in this list is food related.

Hi, Larissa! Thanks for taking your valuable time to share your opinion.

You have done a great job preparing this Master List. Those who think such precise words for describing someone hurt their sensibilities, move on to another URL. I appreciate every bit of your effort.

Hi, Pradeep! I am so glad you like the list. Thanks so much for commenting!

Bryn, I love your master list book and use it all the time!

Ohh, thank you so much! I’m so glad it’s helpful!

• Pingback: The Latest On No-Hassle Methods For latin brides world - Delta Hijau Abadi
• Pingback: Deciding Upon Quick Systems In latin brides world – Rasa estampación
• Pingback: Word Lists – Skymark Streets

This is a godsend. I owe you my soul.

I work 20 hours per day, (regular business and writing the memoir). Just ordered the Master List–seems like having my own research assistant. I may be able to get 5 hours sleep now. Thanks

• Pingback: Character Bio Template: 200+ Character Development Questions - SEO News Media
• Pingback: Character creator | Doug Weller Writer

No jaw descriptions? ;(

You saved my day with your wonderful, descriptive words! Now I’ve found the perfect features for my handsome male character. Thank you!

That is a lot of hours for books but I guess if you keep pushing it will happen.

Survêtement OM 2020, Survêtement PSG 2020 ou Survêtement France 2020, fais ton choix parmi la plus grande gamme de survêtement de football disponible sur internet et c’est seulement chez Foot Dealer, ta boutique 100% football !

writing cause and effect essays english language essay writing college essay requirements

• Pingback: 5 Mistakes Men Make Writing Women Characters - Richie Billing

Hi Bryn, thanks so much for this information! I always appreciate your lists because I like comprehensive material all in one location as a reference (then if I decide to break the rules, at least I know what the rules are “supposed to be” first!). Have you considered making comprehensive lists of creative writing genre conventions (tropes, archetypes, settings, devices, etc.)?

Hello, and thank you for the valuable and useful information. I agree with Eleanore regarding the list of genre conventions. I’m more than pleased I found you website.

Thank u so much ❤️ that was so helpful

• Pingback: Appearance in English – wygląd zewnętrzny po angielsku - kapitanenglish.com
• Pingback: Ukraina a nie Rosja powinna gościć Euro 2028 - kapitanenglish.com
• Pingback: How to create a memorable non-player character - Skull RPG
• Pingback: Master Lists of Character’s Physical Description – Verbum Amoris

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Discover more from BRYN DONOVAN

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Get 25% OFF new yearly plans in our Storyteller's Sale

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Critique Report
• Writing Reports
• Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
• Grammar Guide

100+ Character Traits of Kind People: Kindness Personality Traits

By The ProWritingAid Team

Table of Contents

Possible causes of being kind, attitudes related to being kind, thoughts and struggles related to being kind, emotions associated with kindness, facial expressions linked with being kind, body language related to kindness, behaviors associated with being kind, growth and evolution of kind characters, kind character stereotypes to avoid, negatives of being kind, positives of being kind, common actions of kind characters, relationships of kind characters, examples from books of characters who are kind, writing exercises for writing kind characters.

To engage your reader, it's important to always show, not tell, the traits of your characters.

The character trait of kindness refers to the quality of being considerate, compassionate, and benevolent toward others. Kind individuals are empathetic and understanding, and they tend to treat others with respect, regardless of their differences. They are often generous with their time and resources, and they go out of their way to help those in need. In essence, kindness is the act of showing goodwill toward others, and it is a valuable trait for anyone looking to build strong, positive relationships in their personal and professional lives.

You might want to weave these into your character's backstory to build a more believable character:

Cultivating mindfulness and self-awareness, leading to a deeper understanding of how actions impact others

Having a strong sense of empathy and a natural inclination to understand and help others

Believing that kindness is an important value and actively practicing it in daily life

Being raised in a nurturing and supportive environment

Having positive role models who value kindness and empathy

Experiencing acts of kindness from others and wanting to pay it forward

Having a strong moral compass and a desire to do what is right and good for others

You may be able to show kindness through your character's attitudes.

Open-mindedness

Selflessness

Forgiveness

Respectfulness

Understanding

Consideration

Here are some ideas for things your kind character may think or struggle with:

Kind characters may struggle with setting boundaries and saying "no" to requests or demands from others.

Kind characters may also struggle with self-care and prioritizing their own well-being over the needs of others.

They may have a strong desire to please others and be seen as helpful, but may also feel overwhelmed or taken advantage of.

Kind characters often struggle with balancing their own needs with the needs of others.

They may feel a sense of responsibility to make the world a better place, but may also feel discouraged by the many problems and injustices they see around them.

They may feel guilty or anxious when they are unable to help someone or when they make a mistake that hurts someone else.

At times, kind characters may feel frustrated or resentful when their kindness is not appreciated or reciprocated by others.

Here are some ideas for emotions your kind character may experience:

Thoughtfulness

Appreciation

Here are some facial expressions your kind character may exhibit:

A friendly wave or greeting gesture

Soft, relaxed eyes

A compassionate, understanding look

A genuine smile

A gentle nod

An open, relaxed mouth

A slightly tilted head

Raised eyebrows in a friendly, curious expression

A warm, welcoming expression

Here is some body language your kind character may exhibit:

Speaking in a calm and gentle tone of voice

A soft smile with relaxed facial muscles

Touching the person in a gentle and comforting way, such as patting their hand or giving a reassuring hug

Taking time to listen actively and giving the person your full attention

Nodding your head in agreement or understanding

Leaning in slightly toward the person you are speaking with

Making eye contact and holding it for a few seconds

Using open and welcoming gestures, such as extended arms or an open palm

Here are some behaviors your kind character may exhibit:

Being generous with time, resources, and attention

Being patient and understanding

Showing empathy toward others

Using positive language and avoiding hurtful comments

Forgiving mistakes and being nonjudgmental

Being considerate of other people's feelings

Offering help or support when needed

Showing gratitude and appreciation

Being respectful and courteous to others

Here are some ways that your kind character may grow and evolve over time:

Become more proactive in seeking out opportunities to help others

Learn to stand up for themselves and others without being aggressive or confrontational

Become more patient and forgiving toward others who may have wronged them

Gain a deeper sense of self-awareness and learn to recognize their own biases and prejudices

Develop a greater appreciation for the small acts of kindness and how they can make a big impact

Develop empathy and understanding toward those who they previously may have judged or dismissed

Overcome their fear of vulnerability and express their emotions more openly

Learn to set healthy boundaries and say "no" without feeling guilty or selfish

Learn to forgive themselves for their own mistakes and shortcomings

Try to avoid writing stereotypical kind characters like these examples:

Avoid making the character's kindness a means to an end, such as using it to manipulate or control others.

Avoid making the character a one-dimensional stereotype of kindness, such as the "sweet and innocent" or "motherly" type.

Avoid making the character naïve or ignorant to the point of being gullible or easily taken advantage of.

Avoid making the character overly perfect or flawless in every way.

Avoid making the character a pushover or someone who always puts others before themselves to the point of self-sacrifice.

Avoid making the character's kindness the only defining characteristic, as this can make them boring or predictable.

Here are some potential negatives of being kind. Note: These are subjective, and some might also be seen as positives depending on the context.

Being taken advantage of by others who may not reciprocate kindness

Feeling responsible for others' happiness and well-being, leading to burnout or stress

Being seen as weak or overly emotional by some individuals

Difficulty setting boundaries and saying "no" to others

Difficulty standing up for oneself or asserting one's opinions or needs

Here are some potential positives of being kind. Note: These are subjective, and some might also be seen as negatives depending on the context.

It can improve our own mental health and well-being.

It can strengthen trust and build a sense of community.

It promotes respect and dignity for all individuals.

It fosters positive relationships and connections with people.

Kindness can defuse conflicts and prevent misunderstandings.

It helps create a more peaceful and harmonious world.

It can inspire creativity and innovation.

Kindness often encourages others to pay it forward and be kind themselves.

Kindness promotes empathy and understanding toward others.

Here are some common actions taken by kind characters:

Praising others for their accomplishments

Using polite language and tone

Offering compliments and encouragement

Offering help and support

Expressing empathy and understanding

Avoiding negative or hurtful language

Saying "please" and "thank you"

Apologizing when necessary

Here are some ways that being kind could affect your character's relationships:

They often exhibit empathy and compassion toward others, which can lead to deeper connections with people.

Kind people tend to have positive and supportive relationships with others.

They may also be more forgiving and understanding of others' faults and mistakes, allowing for more forgiving and harmonious relationships.

Kind people may act as peacemakers in conflicts, seeking to find common ground and solutions that benefit everyone.

Kind people may inspire others to be more kind and compassionate themselves, leading to a ripple effect of positivity and kindness in their relationships and communities.

Mr. Rogers from The World According to Mr. Rogers by Fred Rogers

Beth March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hazel Grace Lancaster from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Charlotte from Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Jean Valjean from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Here are some writing exercises you might try for learning to write kind characters:

Write a conversation between your character and a friend, where your character offers encouragement and support.

Imagine a scenario where your character is wronged by someone else but chooses to forgive them instead of seeking revenge.

Write a scene where your character comforts someone who is upset or in distress.

Imagine a scenario where your character has the opportunity to take advantage of someone else but chooses not to.

Write a scene where your character performs a small act of kindness for a stranger.

Describe a moment where your character goes out of their way to help someone, even if it's inconvenient for them.

Write a conversation between your character and someone they disagree with, where your character shows empathy and understanding toward the other person's perspective.

Describe a moment where your character stands up for someone who is being mistreated or bullied.

Describe a moment where your character puts the needs of someone else before their own.

Write like a bestselling author

Love writing? ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of your stories.

The ProWritingAid Team

The most successful people in the world have coaches. Whatever your level of writing, ProWritingAid will help you achieve new heights. Exceptional writing depends on much more than just correct grammar. You need an editing tool that also highlights style issues and compares your writing to the best writers in your genre. ProWritingAid helps you find the best way to express your ideas.

Get started with ProWritingAid

It's A Steal

Bring your story to life for less. Get 25% off yearly plans in our Storyteller's Sale. Grab the discount while it lasts.

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via:

• Teacher Must-Haves
• Writing Ideas
• Get to Know You Ideas
• Procedures Checklist
• Review Procedures
• Morning Work Ideas
• Classroom Management
• Character Traits
• Compare and Contrast
• Read Alouds
• Point of View
• Reading Response Ideas
• Summarizing
• Text Features
• Text Structures
• Find the Fib
• Reusable Ideas
• Disclosure Policy
• Dollar Deals
• Lifetime Access

No Prep Character Trait Activity Ideas

When teaching upper elementary students about character traits, we often focus on the reading aspect - how to identify character traits, how to find evidence from the text, filling out character trait graphic organizers, how to build character trait vocabulary, how characters are described within a text, etc. However, integrating writing into your lessons on character traits can be a valuable, low prep tool that requires students to use higher level thinking skills.

Below, find 3 lesson ideas that have students review character traits through writing. All students will need is a pencil, paper, and a little imagination!

Rewrite a Story, Giving A Character a New Trait

Teachers often ask students to rewrite stories from a different point of view (find my favorite books and fairy tales written from a different point of view here) - why not have them rewrite a story, giving one of the characters a different character trait? It takes some higher level thinking for students to think about how a story would change if one character's main trait changed.

You could have your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students do this activity with any narrative you have read in class where a character exhibits a strong trait. Or, you could have your students rewrite some common fairy tales.

Some possible stories for students to rewrite:

• Rewrite Cinderella , making the stepsisters compassionate
• Rewrite Cinderella, making Cinderella bossy
• Rewrite Goldilocks, making Goldilocks responsible
• Rewrite Jack and the Beanstalk, making the giant generous
• Rewrite Little Red Riding Hood, making the wolf honest
• Rewrite The Gingerbread Man, making the Gingerbread Man clumsy

You'll be surprised at how creative some of your students will be when given the chance!

Save yourself some time, stress, and over 40% those first weeks of school with this back to school bundle. It includes:

• No Prep Emergency Sub Plans
• No Prep Beginning of the Year Fun Packet
• A Classroom Procedure Review Activity
• An Interview a Friend Activity
• What I Wish My Teacher Knew About Me
• Back to School Ice Breakers & Writing Prompts
• Classroom Procedures Checklist

Writing About What Characters Would Say or Do

Another fun writing lesson idea is to have upper elementary students write a short paragraph about a character with a specific character trait. Students should include plenty of details that make the character's trait very clear, but they should NOT include the actual character trait in their paragraph. A sample paragraph for the character trait "patient" is below.

Alexandra's teacher was passing out cupcakes, starting with the students in the front row. Alexandra was all the way at the back. A boy next to her was complaining about the wait, but Alexandra said, "We're not in hurry. We'll get a cupcake eventually."

After students finish writing, have them share their paragraphs with the class, allowing other students to guess what character trait was being written about.

This activity can be repeated over and over with different character traits. It can be used in a variety of ways - as a quick assessment, as a writing center, as a whole class activity, as an exit slip, etc.

If you are working on building students' character trait vocabulary,  you could assign a specific character trait that you would like students to work on, have all students write a paragraph on the same trait, and then compare paragraphs to see who included the best details.

Writing About a Character Whose Traits Change Over Time

Many fiction stories contain plots with a character whose traits change over time. Have your students practice including this in their own writing by asking them to write about a character who started out acting one way, and then changed throughout the story.

Most stories with this plot will have a character start with a negative trait like selfishness, and end up with a more positive character trait like generosity. Encourage your students to do the same. You can assign them character traits to include in their story or let them choose their own.

You could use these free character trait lists to help choose traits for students to write about.

You might also like: Low Prep Resources and Tips for Teaching Character Traits Fun Writing Ideas

Teaching Character Traits? You Need This Freebie.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.