Instructions for creating a character with examples. How to come up with a character for a book? Test alternative versions

We have already thought of it, today I want to tell you how to create your own original and unique character and give some useful recommendations that you will use to describe the hero of your story.

I must say, I was collecting my thoughts for a VERY long time and when I “gave birth” to this article, I thought: “Damn! There would be such a guide when I first started drawing, damn, how cool would it be and not have to go through all these mistakes! ” I hope you will forgive me for such a proud impulse ...

However, do not only read, but also use this knowledge in practice, it is always nice to draw a little in between writing, because in the next article of the cycle we will talk about writing a plot that your readers will like ... and this is again writing ...

Block A: character description

Want or need?

The first question I want to ask is is there already a character in your head? Two situations are possible:

• 1) You “need” to come up with a character to introduce him into the story ( for example, the main villain, or a love interest);
• 2) You “want” to write into the story a person who has been spinning in your head for a long time and who, for you personally, is “super-mega-cool”.

If you are the number one case, then it will be a little more difficult to come up with a character for the story, and right away I would like to give a little non-standard advice - stop and cheer yourself up. I mean, watch a movie, play games, go for a walk, generally get your mood up, then get down to work and try to love the person you are creating at that moment.

From experience I can say that you can’t imagine a good character if you are tired and dissatisfied, all thoughts will be directed to “what the hell is he” ... nothing will come of it.

Another recommendation if you “need” to create a character, but you don’t know how to make it ( no image in mind), then there is nothing wrong with borrowing the basis from other authors. But remember - this should be an idea, a "skeleton", and not a total copy. Take a character, subtract a couple of events from life, add a couple of your own, so to speak "tweak here, twist there ...".

If your case is option number two, then feel free to read the next paragraph.

Personality and character type.

I will not list all types of characters that exist ( like hero, villain, helper, girl hero heads, etc.) because I want the personalities that you create to be unique and inimitable, alive and real.

So, now in both cases we have a certain basis, an image in our head that we will develop further. The first thing to start with is to describe the nature of the character. How to do it? Easier than simple - we ( you and me, yes we are = real people) we show our character in every life situation, whether it is a gray everyday life or an “out of the ordinary” case, just like the heroes we invent have their own line of behavior in certain situations.

Describe how your character will behave when he feels good, when he feels bad, because of what he can feel good or bad, sad or cheerful, place him in circumstances of complete uncertainty ( for example, alone in a strange city / parallel universe / outer space), how will he behave?

Describe his thoughts, feelings, emotions, come up with good and bad habits. If the character is positive, then come up with negative traits and habits that he will strive to correct; if the character is a villain, let him have a couple of positive traits, ( well, let's say he likes cats), to show that he, like all people, is contradictory. Describe the manner of speech, how he communicates with relatives, with strangers, with superiors, with inferiors, take into account his cultural environment ( farmer, worker, scientist, etc.).

Secondary characters usually have one distinguishing feature and almost always adhere to this line of behavior, you can not prescribe a detailed character for them, but do not force them to do things that are not characteristic of them ( be sad for the merry fellow, and be stupid for the wise guy).

I don’t know if there is a dependence of appearance and character as such, but at this stage it is not necessary to describe what your hero looks like, only how he behaves and what he thinks about at this time.

Come up with situations until you have a perfect image in your head and then collect all your handwriting in one file.

Biometrics and biography

Now, after we have decided on the behavior of our hero, it's time to tell why he behaves this way, what is the reason for such behavior.

I note that for the character of a short story, it is not necessary to do all of the following, it is more related specifically to large and developing works.

Now the points that are quite standard for character creation guides will go, note that each The paragraph has its own special meaning and is not done at random:

So, for starters, let's decide who we are "giving birth", a boy or a girl? You probably already decided in the previous paragraph what gender your character will be, but I urge you to think again, perhaps some behavioral traits are not characteristic of one of the sexes.

Keep in mind that there is such a thing as social education and ... how should I say sexual reaction to this education. For example, if a girl was born and raised in a cultural society, then she will behave in accordance with the rules of this society ( so as not to become famous "bad" and have every chance of a successful marriage ... natural selection, that's all), at the same time, the guy may start behaving asocially ( because of the desire to dominate among guys or for the sake of a girl), but if we swap them, then we can say that the girl is “not normal”, and the guy is “nurse”.

Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the behavior of the character and the environment in which he grew up before choosing a gender, and if you get a bias of all the characters in the same direction ( all girls or boys), then all the heroes of the story are of the same type, a good “bell” to introduce a contrasting personality and dilute the story.

Some people believe, some don't I am one of the first) that the date of our birth affects our character. From a purely practical point of view, you should also believe in this, because this way you can create an even more thoughtful hero.

Now you already have a complete description of the character's character, his gender and the cultural environment in which he grew up, now you open the Internet and look at all possible horoscopes and look for a similar description of the personality.

Once you've calculated your zodiac sign, you can go ahead and dig around and choose the day of the month to match the character, or just pick a random date.

Why is this all? So that you yourself would believe in your character, that he would become like a living person for you, that he would have a personality and patterns of behavior in accordance with real life, and if you believe, then your fans will believe, and then to the mass love is not far...

Now about age. Whatever year of birth you choose, you should understand that with age, a person’s character changes. Look at it this way, if a person at 42 leads the same free lifestyle as at 16, then something is clearly wrong with him. Age and cultural environment influence us every year, and we are constantly changing, for better or worse.

Indicating the age is also important to identify the social status of the character. For example, at the age of 16, a person is a schoolboy and he will act accordingly as a young and hot, and not as a wise old man, at 20 years old, usually people are already students and behave differently, responsibility for their lives appears, they want “adult” experiments, but also the punishment in which case is already higher, and at 25 a unit of society is already working and she has no time for “school” pranks, she would feed herself

If they are within the normal range, then they do not play a special role. However, if our comic has a caricature style, then these two factors should be given special attention.

If the character is caricaturely large or small in height and weight, then only then does this leave its mark on the character. For example, tall people are noticeable in the crowd, it is difficult for them to play locks =), short people can be nimble, thin (pretentiously) weak and sick, fat people are funny and slow, etc. ( come up with your own)

Well, this is a very delicate question, choose a color according to your personality or because you like a certain color ... and that's it.

I would make the hair color correspond to the character, and the eyes to match the hair, contrasting or vice versa similar. In general, it's all "taste" so choose for yourself.

This includes all dimensions and curves of the body. Which? Well, for girls, these are secret “90-60-90”, the size of cups and clothes like them ( if you are not an expert, then do what you like), for guys body shape and muscle size.

It should be borne in mind here that certain curves and sizes are not taken from nowhere and leave an imprint on the character's everyday behavior. For example, muscular guys have such muscles not just by nature, but because they go to the gym or play sports, this can influence their choice between fast food and healthy food. A girl with big breasts will attract the attention of guys and she will either be used by it or it will embarrass her.

So the shape of the body also makes your character "alive".

It is also worth including all the scars and features of the body. Each big or small scar has its own story and the character's reaction to this story, positively or negatively, with irony or nostalgia. The same with the features of the body, a large volume of lungs - runs longer, more convolutions of the brain - smarter, no finger on his right hand - maybe he is clumsy

Eh, a very important point in my opinion, but at the same time, logic recedes into the background if you want to call your hero some cool name and you don’t care that the name also affects a person’s life.

Let's expose ourselves to common sense and define it this way: if the actions take place in our world and in our time, then you climb into the directory and choose a name in accordance with the character; if in our world, but in the past, you give names in accordance with that era and place, it is possible without character, but with meaning; if the action takes place in a fantastic or fantasy world, then here you already have complete freedom of choice.

If you have problems with coming up with a name, then various kinds of geographical, astrological, biological and other reference books will be of great help - you open them, find an alphabetical index and convert the names of places, terms and phenomena into the names of your heroes.

And my favorite part of creating a character is combining all of the above and building a complete person out of it.

The story, well, or biography of the character, this is the “grease” that will allow you to link some character traits with others and make the hero of your story “revive”. In the biography, it is also worth mentioning the parents and how they influenced the character, their personal qualities, something our object could learn from them, refuse something, they could force him to do something, how they spoiled him, how they punished him. .d.

If your character's behavior has any unique habit or feature, it's time to describe the story of its origin here, and make it as vivid and memorable as possible for the character.

In general, having the features described in detail from the previous paragraphs, you are already ready to create a “live” and unique personality, which has no analogues yet. You can do a little test, do all of the above for a character, then take one of your friends and do the same steps, and then let your friends compare and say that one of them was invented by you, and the other is a real person. So let them think who is who, and you will check how much of a real hero you created.

That's all for today, all creative mood friends!

Heroes and characters play a key role in the story - we look at the world through their eyes, we live with their feelings, we empathize with them throughout the story. However, in order for the image to turn out whole and “alive”, you will have to work hard on it, inventing and prescribing all its elements.

So, what is the image of any character? The two main parts are the outside and the inside. And each of these parts, in turn, consists of several interconnected elements.

Creating the appearance of the hero

1. Visual appearance.

Common elements of the visual image are the color of the eyes, hair and skin, height-weight, complexion, facial features, the presence or absence of any limbs, gait - stooped or with a straight back. Additional elements - an unusual shape of the ears or lips, hairstyle, scars, lameness, glasses, moles, mustaches, beards, freckles, etc.
Appearance is a sign. And our consciousness is filled with stereotypes that respond to signs. As with the symbolic word "apple" we imagine the image of the fruit and its taste, so when describing the hero we associate his appearance with his character.

For example, many will immediately consider a plump and undersized person to be a good-natured person, a red-haired and green-eyed woman - a passionate and freedom-loving nature, a limping black-eyed man with a scar - definitely a bandit, a blue-eyed blonde - a close-minded angel. And so on.

When choosing a character's eye and hair color, we not only focus on our own ideal, but also subconsciously attribute to him the features of a stereotype. And you can play on this, making the plump "good man" the main villain, and the blond angel - a demon, surprising readers with the unexpectedness of perception.

2. Clothing and footwear.

We ourselves dress based on character traits (in everyday life), out of necessity (season or work), out of fashion, out of national characteristics or subculture characteristics (emo or goths). We dress and shoe the characters according to the same principles. And we also choose the color and cut of clothes and shoes, accessories like neckerchiefs or hats.

For knowledgeable people, clothing and its color will tell a lot about us - about character, preferences and fears. When working on the image of the hero, knowledge of psychological characteristics - at least the color scheme - can be very useful. It is also useful to study local subcultures - they are symbolic, and you can create something of your own based on them.

3. Auditory and kinesthetic (tactile) perception.

To auditory perception primarily refers to the timbre of the voice. And you can play on the correspondence-inconsistency of voice and appearance, diversifying the image and surprising the reader.

The auditory perception of the image also includes all the sounds made by a person: coughing, grunting, sniffling, exclamation, chuckles. And a tirelessly sniffing or blowing your nose evokes a certain emotional reaction that will complement the image. As well as the vocal characteristics of the national characteristics of speech - the well-known dialect "okanye" or "yakany", "swallowing" the last syllable, etc.

The whole gamut of human emotions is reflected in the voice - in a surprised exclamation, in an increase in tone with anger, in a stutter with embarrassment, in a scream with discontent, etc. The Russian language is rich in descriptions of emotions, you just need to choose the right ones for your character.

kinesthetic perception are feelings from a person. Smells, intuitive perception, aura sensation. There are well-known common expressions - "an aura of danger emanated from him", "he has heavy energy, and he suppressed himself." And it’s not worth talking much about smells, and so it’s clear. And you should not neglect these feelings, they are an integral part of the character and

Literary course "Creating a hero"

Suitable for those who start writing a book, and for those who want to refine and "revive" an already finished character.

In 14 days you will receive all the necessary theory and step-by-step practical tasks. At the end of the course, you will have the full story of the hero in your hands. You will learn his motives and come up with bright plot twists that will show the development of the character of the hero in the best possible way.

4. Emotional and behavioral reactions.

Facial expressions, gestures, changes in movements or complexion - all this complements the appearance of the character. Without them, it seems cardboard, painted, fake, inanimate.

Emotional reactions - this is, in fact, an emotional response to one's own or other people's words, to behavior, to an unexpected meeting, to the feelings that one character has for another, to the attitude to what is happening.

So, the characters turn pale with anger, blush with rage, turn pink with embarrassment, turn green with longing. They smile gleefully or wickedly, wince in displeasure, squint in suspicion, and make faces in teasing.

Behavioral responses- this is visible behavior: in gestures or in movements, habitual or changing in different situations.

habitual reactions- these are mechanical movements, those that the person himself no longer notices, but does constantly.

Someone likes to wind a strand of hair around their finger, someone likes to pinch their earlobe, someone likes to scratch their nose or heel, someone during a conversation reinforces words with gestures and waves his hands. This also includes gait and landing - on the couch or at the table (often found: "habitually lounging on the couch" or "habitually climbing into a chair with your feet").

Changing reactions- these are changes in habitual actions or in actions that depend on situations.

So, a person stoops in a cold wind, shudders and looks around at a sharp shout, shakes his finger or shows his fist, stretches or rubs his tailbone after a long sitting, quickens his step, being late, etc.

Of course, in the initial description of the character, all these elements are not taken into account, but they can be gradually developed, weaving them into the plot on occasion. But first they need to be invented and assembled into a single image. This can help - for yourself, for others, for random passers-by.

Any person is already, consider, a ready-made character of the work, from which you can write off the appearance. Just like borrowing the inner world that will be discussed.

We invite you!

Daria Gushchina
writer, fantasy writer
(page VKontakte

Anyone can be the hero of a work of art - from a cockroach to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But we fully get used only to the image that resembles ourselves - that is, it has such human features as character, habits, virtues, shortcomings, memories, dreams, plans for the future, etc.

If your heroine differs only in velvety skin and elasticity of forms, then only prisoners who have already forgotten what a real woman looks like will be interested in reading about her.

Number of characters in a work of art

How many characters should be in a novel? As much as you can hold. In "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, there are more than two hundred characters named by name. In the tale of the heron and the crane, there are only two.

It is believed that three is the optimal number of main characters in a genre novel. One character - the lack of conflict situations: it will be difficult for the reader to empathize with him. Two is already better, but someone else is needed to bring chaos to the relationship between the two main characters. Three is just right.

But even the intellectual novel and the mainstream should not be overpopulated. If the reader begins to get confused in the characters and forget who is who, this is a bad sign.

Emotions of the reader

When the reader wholeheartedly accepts the hero, he experiences:

Sympathy - approval and sympathy;

Empathy - the reader easily imagines himself in the place of a literary character.

For this to happen, the character must be charming. Prince Bolkonsky, Carlson, Cat Behemoth - all these and other memorable heroes are united by the following:

Reliability - they are described in such a way that the reader seems to see them with his own eyes;

The ability to imitate - the habits, words and behavior of the characters want to be copied.

Heroes to admire

In a good novel, the characters deal with their problems in a way that is admirable. Getting used to a successful literary image, the reader feels smarter, stronger, more charismatic - his life is filled with new colors. And this illusion of another "I" no longer wants to let go.

Ordinary person character

Many people think that the ideal hero is a simple person. That's why the manuscripts that come to publishers are full of faceless girls looking for love and boring men with a midlife crisis. And even more - characters suffering from hard drinking and psychosis. The fact is that the authors of such works are not engaged in literature, but in self-treatment - they describe themselves and their problems.

Who do you want to spend time with?

One of America's leading literary agents, Donald Maass, invites authors to imagine that they are on a train. With whom do they want to be in a compartment for the next ten hours - with a bright witty person or with a dull neurotic?

That's it.

If we want people to spend ten hours with our characters (which is the average time a book is read), the characters need to be interesting.

It's not about characters like Superman or Batman. It's about charm. And the hero can be at least a fool like Forrest Gump, even a misanthrope like Dr. House.

How to show a hero who has qualities that are difficult to convey in words (beauty, authority, fame, etc.)?

If we describe a beautiful girl in the standard way - what color her lips and hair are - it all looks like a template. But if we show her through the eyes of another character, describe what he experiences when looking at the heroine, then the scene will play in a completely different way. The main thing is to focus on subjective perception.

The same technique can be used in scenes with kings and other significant persons: demonstrate not the imperious sparkle of the eyes, not the noble landing of the head, but the feelings of another hero who comes to awe at the sight of the ruler.

This applies to all heroes - main, secondary, episodic, any types and more. Of course, I would like to call this article "How to make a character interesting for sure", but there are no universal techniques in any work - you can only outline the edges of the road. These recommendations should help you avoid classic mistakes, but success, alas, comes in a completely random way.

It is necessary to inform in advance that frankly "wrong" characters often become popular - it is enough to recall any charismatic protagonist of a famous film, book or game. But most econiches are already well-established, and since human thinking is based on comparing the new with the old, it is better not to copy anyone too obviously - it is hardly possible to surpass the original.

1) Planning. The character does not live in a vacuum, he is part of the reality around him, so he is forced to interact with it somehow. In the process of creating it, one must imagine it in different situations - purely everyday, unusual, completely absurd, and carefully watch what will happen to it. This applies to everything that is written in the following paragraphs - every little thing should be checked this way.

2) Reliability. In short, pianos in the bushes rust and deteriorate, and nothing good can be played on them. Every event must be based on something that already exists and only on this. This also applies to the biography of the hero, and his future. Probability generators, clairvoyance, and other ways to circumvent this limitation should be used carefully or such methods of compensation should be sought in order to really think - isn't it better to leave the piano alone and manage by other means? In general, the owner of a black belt in two dozen martial arts can easily be a successful physicist in life - you don’t have to look far for examples, there are a lot of typical Mary Sues among real celebrities. The capabilities of the Alliance generally allow any employee to acquire any qualities and get rid of shortcomings, but all these achievements are the result of long and hard work, each stage of which is easy to track. Similarly, with individual heroes - any success must be based on something with at least a minimum of certainty. If there are no reasons, then it is better to refuse the whole situation, so it is more reliable. For example, a scientist who practiced shooting and fencing in his free time, in the event of a serious threat, will still be immediately evacuated and will not be able to show his fighting qualities - there are specially trained personnel for this, and a scientist who is ready to risk his own head unnecessarily is not smart enough to work for the Alliance. If he is obliged to hold out until help arrives, choosing for a long time whether to fight back or hide - then it's a completely different matter.

3) Practicality. This applies mainly to appearance and equipment, which, contrary to popular belief, can be anything. The only thing to consider is whether there is any sense in this or that detail. Batman's cape is not just a spectacular part of the costume, but also a simple hang glider and a fireproof "shield". But, as you know, such a thing can cause a lot of problems, because it can easily and naturally cling to something - and this already imposes certain restrictions on the character's actions. If the benefit is doubtful, the element should be abandoned altogether, and it does not matter whether it is harmful or neutral. The Batman suit is emphatically intimidating - and its owner uses it as effectively as he uses his fists. Will a black helmet with ears be useful to someone else? Probably more funny than scary. A gun hanging on the wall should shoot, and if it is made of pure gold and studded with rubies, shoot as often as possible and at different targets, and no worse than usual, otherwise it will come out sad. The Alliance does little to restrict their employees in terms of how they look, but uniforms, amulets, and other mandatory pieces of equipment are needed for specific, day-to-day tasks. With anomalous and other subjects, the situation is exactly the same - each feature of appearance either has a certain practical function, or works for perception, or spoils the picture. If there is no need, but you want to, you don’t need to draw attention to it.

4) Intelligence. Despite all the abundance of types of thinking, cultures and individual character traits, the actions of the character must correspond to his status. The village fool is free to do any stupid things, but to earn any serious reputation, even if he is at least three times talented, is incredibly difficult for him. A classic successful businessman even has fun "solidly", with taste, and bypasses taverns on the tenth road, and if circumstances still force him, he will try to maintain his status with all his might, sometimes even to his own detriment. But a representative of any biological species, if he is mentally healthy and aware of his actions, will never intentionally create serious problems for himself and others, if this can be easily dispensed with. An ordinary adult will not act like a teenager and rush headlong into the thick of things, but first think about whether it is possible to solve the problem with less losses and whether it is better not to interfere. In addition, the situation where "everything is not what it seems" in real life is only slightly less common than in the world of the Alliance, so you always need to measure seven times before cutting. Other is appropriate only in three cases: strong emotions, too little time to think, or demon possession. Mistakes are often costly, and anyone who has been seriously burned a few times will become much more careful - and the Alliance tools allow you to immediately adjust the behavior as needed, because the status of an employee of this organization requires logical actions in any situation. Yes, giving up logic to achieve a goal is also part of that.

5) Ambiguity. Nothing is completely bad and nothing is completely good. The coolest thing is what you can look at from both bell towers - this applies to the characters, and the events with their participation, and everything else. Even Watchmen's Rorschach, with his black-and-white, uncompromising mindset, can be seen as both a hero and a scoundrel in this regard. The alliance is also not at all white and fluffy, although there are very few dark lines in it - precisely because it acts reasonably. In general, the more versatile the character's character, the better, and even a textbook paladin can easily be turned from a "robot with one thought" into a full-fledged personality.

Actually, that's all you need to know. No, really - all the other "rules" are violated all the time without the slightest damage.

Agree - everyone can describe Sherlock Holmes, but not every reader knows all the vicissitudes of even such well-known works as "The Hound of the Baskervilles" or "The Sign of Four" as well. Jack Sparrow, Robinson Crusoe, Rodion Raskolnikov are examples from the same row. Strong, memorable characters make the book more lively and interesting. How to create such characters - read the article.

Get to know your character

Who would be easier for you to introduce into your story - a well-known friend or a new colleague from a neighboring department? Of course, the first option is more preferable, since a bright character is someone you know more about. Therefore, you must know more about your character than you tell your readers - that's the first rule. How to put it into practice?

Write a biography

This requirement applies to all more or less significant heroes of the work, and especially the main character. A biography can be written in free form or completed in the form of a questionnaire. Be that as it may, try to draw the life of each character in as much detail as possible.

Study the hero in different situations

To get to know the character's character better, use the screenwriter Alvin Sargent's method. While working on the next film, he put his characters in different situations, which, although not related to the main plot, nevertheless, helped to better understand the characteristics of the characters. Subsequently, he may or may not include these scenes in the script.

Think about how your hero would act in the face of an incurable disease or sudden luck, what he would do if he lost a good job or vice versa, having achieved unprecedented success. The more such situations you come up with, the more vivid the understanding of the image will be.

Prototypes

Many outstanding book characters had their prototypes. These include the already mentioned Sherlock Holmes and Robinson. This is very convenient, since you already have the lion's share of information about the character. You can, of course, use this literary device, but you should beware of two dangers.

The first is that the prototype (or its environment) can recognize itself in the description, and not everyone will like it, especially if you put it on the wrong side. There have been cases in history when offended readers filed lawsuits against authors.
Another problem that may arise with the prototype is the inability to give it the qualities that the plot requires. On the other hand, some writers do just that, playing on the contrast and endowing it with unexpected character traits. It makes the character more memorable.

Bad vs Good

Most authors make "good" heroes the central figure in the narrative. On the other hand, the forbidden fruit is sweet, and therefore authors such as Patrick Suskind in the novel "Perfumer" choose not the best representatives of humanity as heroes. But, no matter which side your hero is on, he must be interesting to the reader - only in this case he will be well remembered and attract attention.

Another useful technique can be to contrast positive and negative qualities in one hero, as we see in The Godfather.

Hero evolution

Everyone knows how difficult it is to change yourself and your life - that is why stories about development or degradation are so successful. The same should apply to your work. Throughout the story, your character must gradually change. Passing through trials and overcoming obstacles, he will acquire new qualities or become worse. This should not be too radical a transformation - it will not look too believable. In genres such as detective or spy action movies, the characters usually remain the same, but their evolution as a side effect of the plot only adds to the charm.

Summary

People remember vivid characters much better than well-developed and twisted plots. To create a catchy hero, you first need to get to know him well. To do this, write a biography and study his behavior in different situations. You can also use prototypes, but be careful not to substitute. It doesn't matter if your hero is good or not - the main thing is that he is interesting and evolves over time.