• Creating Multi-Dimensional Characters
  • Creating a Character
    • General Information
    • Appearance
    • Traits
    • Conclusion
  • Example Character Sheet
    • General Information
    • Appearance
    • Positive and Negative Traits

Creating a Character

As most of you know, a good character design is one that is more than just who they are in the story that you’re telling. Just like real people, characters should be multi-dimensional. Here, I’ve decided to give a little dive into how I create my characters, and maybe give a short look into one of the characters that I have created for my upcoming story: Love Bytes.

General Information

Whether your story is set in the present, past, or future, your character should have the basic information to start.

• Name
  • Every character needs a name! It’s best if they have a full name. If human, first, middle, and last names make for great! Even if it doesn’t come up in your story, it’s great to have these things available, even if only to make your character more “real.”
• Age
  • How old is your character? Be specific. Just saying “20’s” isn’t specific enough. For example, a character who is 21, has just become of legal drinking age, is probably still going to college, and a bit immature; while a character who is 25 is likely working some sort of corporate job, might stay in most weekends, and has matured.
• Gender
  • This one is a little obvious, but of course your character needs some sort of gender identity. Whether male, female, non-binary, etc.
• Relationship Status/Identity
  • Is your character single? In a relationship? Is it complicated?
  • Straight? Gay? Asexual?
• Occupation
  • What does your character do to make money? Whether this is a modern story or set in the past, your character needs to make money to live. How do they do so?
• Residence
  • Where does your character live? Make sure there is substance to this. Whether you think it’ll come up or not, trust me, it will. And it helps give your world depth.

Appearance

This is obvious, sure, your character needs to have a look, but, if you’re like me, you might forget to describe something until you start writing and you have to adjust a few things. Here are just a few that you need to remember to write down for your character:

• Hair Color/Type
• Skin Color
• Height
• Body Type
• Eye Color/Shape

Traits

Character traits are actually really important when creating a multi-dimensional character. You can always look up lists of character traits online to give you ideas. Like people, characters need to have good and bad traits. No one is perfect, so your character should have flaws.

Conclusion

These are just a few things to remember when you’re creating your next character. Having a multi-dimensional character is important to having a well-rounded story. Of course, this is just a very basic character design profile and you should add things to fit your story and style!

Example Character Sheet

Here’s a taste of one of the characters I have created for Love Bytes!

General Information

• Name:
  • Alison/Ali Knead
• Age:
  • 27
• Occupation:
  • Office Manager
• Gender:
  • Female
• Relationship Status/Identity:
  • Bi-sexual, Single
• Role in Story:
  • Supporting Character, FL’s best friend/support

Appearance

• Hair:
  • Black
• Hair Type:
  • Straight
• Skin:
  • Chestnut
• Body Type:
  • Curvy
• Height:
  • 5’4″ or 162cm
• Eyes:
  • Dark Brown

Positive and Negative Traits

• Positive:
  • Adventurous
  • Bold
  • Confident
  • Extroverted
  • Flirtatious
  • Loyal
  • Optimistic
  • Passionate
  • Playful
  • Spontaneous
  • Spunky
  • Supportive
• Negative
  • Argumentative
  • Disorganized
  • Frivolous
  • Gossipy
  • Impulsive
  • Rebellious
  • Scatterbrained
  • Stubborn
  • Uncouth