Proactive Characters

     Creating a character that resonates with readers is deceptively difficult. It’s not just about quirks or backstory, though those things are fun. It’s about making someone whose choices, struggles, and growth feel real. The most important factors to making that happen are proactivity, relatability, and capability.

     That in itself is common to hear. But often in a character, those three things are not all at the same level. Most memorable characters shine in one area, show average strength in the other, and develop the third over the course of the plot - which is part of why characters can be so different from each other, yet equally loved by an audience.

Proactivity

     Characters who take action, even small, deliberate steps, make stories feel alive. They’re the ones readers root for, while passive characters risk stalling the story.

     Villains often present a challenge. That is that they’re frequently more proactive than the heroes themselves. Heroes often hesitate while villains pursue their goals relentlessly. Countering this imbalance is possible, though, and you can do it in various ways.

     Showing small, proactive moments in the protagonist’s every day life, demonstrating desire and initiative (even in seemingly trivial ways), and using minor actions to foreshadow larger decisions are all good options.

     This is pretty clear in a lot of places, one of them being Mulan. Her clever solutions for ordinary problems easily foreshadow her bold decision to take her father’s place in the army.

Relatability

     Relatability is often confused for likability, but they are not the same thing. A character can be flawed, morally ambiguous, or frustrating - but if readers understand their motivations, they become invested.

     Several strategies can help you do this with your own characters:

• The Save the Cat Principle (characters earn empathy by helping others)

• Self-Awareness (recognizing flaws and striving to improve deepens connection)

• Shared Experience (universal experiences, even mundane ones, create connection points)

• External Perspective (observing a character through another’s eyes can highlight relatable qualities otherwise hidden in first-person narration)

Capability

     Readers love characters who can do things, whether competently, intelligently, or heroically. Protagonists with clear capabilities anchor the narrative in competence, making victories feel earned. Too much capability, however, risks alienating readers.

     The sweet spot is usually having characters excel in one or two areas while maintaining weaknesses in others.

Character Arcs

     Dynamic characters evolve along one or more of these scales that we’ve talked about: increasing relatability through overcoming flaws, growing capability by mastering new skills or knowledge, or developing proactivity by taking charge of their destiny.

     Antiheroes provide an interesting twist. Classical literary antiheroes might reject proactivity entirely, creating tension through their inaction instead. Whatever way they draw interest, they should also be at least somewhat relatable.

Flaws, Restrictions, Limitations

     I wanted to mention the difference of these words, because they tend to be used interchangeably. They are, in fact, different.

• Flaws: internal issues the character needs to overcome

• Restrictions: limitations the character could overcome but chooses not to

• Limitations: external obstacles that the character must navigate

     Understanding the differences in these words can make it much easier to create multidimensional characters full of room for growth, struggle, and triumph in the end.

Motivation

     A character’s actions must align with their desires. Motivation is usually the culprit when a story feels flat  or characters seem off. Here are the minimal questions you should ask:

• What does the character truly want?

• Do their actions reflect this desire?

• Can readers understand their decisions?

     There are obviously pitfalls to avoid. Those include reducing a character to a single trait or goal, letting antagonists outshine protagonists in action, and allowing perfect competence to diminish relatability, among others. Luckily, these are fairly easy to spot, especially if you have early readers look it over with you.

Managing Viewpoints

     Having one perspective is enough work on its own. With multiple, you have to plan carefully. Single viewpoint is advised for first-time authors, while two viewpoints can enhance the story’s scope. 

     Viewpoint clusters are hugely helpful: interconnected characters whose arcs flow together. That way you’re not jumping all over the place, and your story is easier to follow - for yourself and your readers.

Distinctive Dialogue

     Dialogue is a primary tool for showing personality. To keep it brief, what matters is that it’s genuine and driving the story forward/showing relationships among the characters. Here are a few things to consider:

• Dialect and accent, sparingly

• Speech patterns like clipped sentences, rambling, and interruptions

• Word choice, like formal vs. casual, jargon, or humor

• Avoiding overrused stereotypes

In Practice

     Learn to ask the right questions. Where does your character excel? Where do they grow? Where do they consistently struggle?  Balancing these traits thoughtfully gives characters arcs that feel truly natural, as well as meaningful and satisfying.

     Stories are often like icebergs, as are characters. The reader only sees what’s above water, but as writers, we need to know the whole thing so that we can represent them accurately.

     Don’t forget to give your characters unique personalities. Personality expresses motivation, revealing core traits. Don’t worry too much about nuance early on, because of course characters will feel like stereotypes at first. What makes them different will come as the story progresses.

     Values are also extremely important. For example, in Lord of the Rings, Gollum’s desire for the Ring drives him. It’s internally consistent (even if a little morally corrupt).

     Lastly, have fun! Creating characters is one of my favorite things in the world, from what they look like to what they are internally. They’re the stars of the stories we read, watch, and tell. There’s plenty of experimenting to be had, and almost always they have pieces of us, too.