Have you ever created a fascinating character you genuinely love, but have no idea what to do with them? Perhaps you don’t even have a world built for them, and you have no idea what problems they must face.
If you have a lot of Pinterest inspiration but no plot, check out this blog post where I discuss how to turn a vague idea into a story. But if you have already developed a strong character, you’re in the right place. Now you have a protagonist you care about. You wouldn’t be curious about their story unless you cared, and you care because this is a compelling character.
But where do you start? Perhaps you have created a powerful elf king or a mermaid queen, a demon bounty hunter or a vampire mob boss, or simply a tired professional looking for love in the big city. Now it is time to start finding your story and building your world.
Some scholars argue that there are only 7 types of story plots in the world. Some argue there are 20. Others say 6, 36, or 1,462. However many there are, you might assume that the best way to choose a plot is to try them all and see which works best for your character.
But forcing your character to fit into a certain plot will change them from your original vision.
Instead, create the plot around your character. To do that, answer the next ten questions to get to the core of your idea.
[To illustrate my examples, I will use a character from a story I’ve been developing. My character is Roman, a young chief of police in a fantasy city filled with fairies, elves, and other fantastic creatures. I will use Roman’s development to show you how to brainstorm for your own characters.]
1. What does your character want?
This is possibly the most important question to answer. What is their driving motivation? Is their greatest desire to be loved, to be successful, or to be happy? To be unique, to be wise, or to be good? A useful tool for uncovering your characters’ desires is the enneagram test or MBTI test. Use the tests or brainstorm ideas to discover what your character wants. This underlying motivation will drive everything your character does. By the end of the book, you should satisfy this key desire.
[For example, Roman’s greatest desire is to succeed, and he is proud of his hard work to get to the top. By the end of the book, he must achieve success.]
2. What does your character fear the most?
This question is the reverse of the first one. If a character’s main desire is to be loved, their greatest fear will probably be rejection or dislike. They will spend a lot of time running away from their fear during the book, then be forced to face it at the climax. Use an enneagram or MBTI quiz or brainstorm ideas of what your character fears.
[Roman is afraid of failure. This is why he dislikes fairies and elves, because he was badly injured during the war with them. Subconsciously, he thinks of them as reminders of his failure. By the end of the book, he is actually in love with a fairy, having overcome his fear.]
3. What obstacles can prevent your character from succeeding?
Succeeding, in this case, means overcoming fear and achieving a desire. Make a list. Jot down a long list of every possible problem, however ridiculous, that could trip up your character’s journey to success. Make sure that these are not just random problems, but specifically problems that matter to your character. If your character is motivated by love, not getting a promotion will probably not be their biggest fear.
[Roman fails on a case as a police chief; Roman is forced to solve a case for a fairy business owner; a rival wants to take his job; a gang lord wants to discredit him; the king stops trusting him; a new war breaks out, and he must deal with the strains on the city justice system; a corrupt judge and chief prosecutor start causing problems for him, etc.]
4. How does your character need to change?
According to Elif Shafak, author of The Forty Rules of Love, “Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven’t loved enough.” Your characters must change during the story. Readers love to learn and change with your characters. Write a letter to your character explaining how and why they need to change. Characters often have a key misconception they must correct or a belief they must change. You, the all-knowing author, understand them deeply and want to help them.
[Roman must learn that success is more than just always winning. Success means being happy, being loved, and being a good friend. He must learn to ignore the opinions of aristocrats who consider him lesser.]
5. What is your character’s trauma?
This trauma can come in many forms, from neglectful parenting or financial uncertainty during childhood to a hurtful relationship or difficult illness as an adult. Trauma is a natural part of life that all of us either ignore or deal with, and so must your character. Think of trauma as the noise that distracts everyone from the main goal or the deeper issue. Your character must handle the trauma first before getting to their main goal. Brainstorm various traumas that could have inspired your character’s main fear and desires. Now brainstorm how they can overcome their trauma.
[Roman grew up an orphan in a bad part of the city and was drafted into the army. These experiences of being powerless and having decisions made for him by others drives him to succeed and surpass others in order to never be weak again.]
6. What world would best showcase your character’s fears and desires?
Experiment with different settings for your character. Sometimes a realistic modern setting would highlight their fears best, but sometimes a fantasy or futuristic world could add unique obstacles. Brainstorm multiple settings and find where your character fits best.
[Roman was originally in a modern setting as a police chief. However, a more fantastic setting suited his story line better because of the breadth of characters and conflicts that I could combine. I tried out a sci-fi setting where Roman would handle futuristic crimes and drive around in cool vehicles (still an awesome option). But I eventually settled on a fairytale setting because I wanted him to meet a fairy who runs a restaurant and gift shop (that idea just tickled my fancy).]
7. What other people will interact with your character?
Your character does not exist in a vacuum. Other characters, whether a love interest, an antagonist, a mentor, a best friend, a rival, a sidekick, or a role model, will fill the pages of your story. Make sure that you actually enjoy these characters and imagine fun and interesting relationships with the main character. For more details about creating side characters, check out this blog post.
8. What is your character bad at or uncomfortable doing?
Make a list of these things. Now make a lot of them happen to the main character. This sounds harsh, but we writers are notoriously mean to our characters. Uncomfortable situations force them to grow and change. In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, “No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them ― in order that the reader may see what they are made of.”
9. Why do you like your character?
This is a simple but deep question. Ponder it for a while. What key traits make you root for them? It is probably a similarity you share. Is it their perseverance, ambition, kindness, loyalty, reliability, passion for life, or something else entirely? Now ask yourself: How can I show readers this wonderful trait my character possesses?
10. What truth does your character show in the story?
The best stories can be boiled down to a fundamental truth: that love is powerful, that justice is inescapable, that forgiveness is hard, and so on. As C. S. Lewis put it, “Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” What truth will your character illustrate by the end of the story? This truth will probably be closely connected to the reason you like your character. Brainstorm what universal truth your character will illustrate by the end of the story.
And bonus tip: don’t give up on your character. They fascinated you and drew you in for a reason. Their story is already there, like buried treasure—you just need to dig it out and polish it.
Work through these ten questions, and you will soon discover a fantastic world and compelling plot for your unique character.
Sending love,
Anastasia xoxo