by Angela Ackerman

Some stories stick with us more than others, and why? The characters. They feel so real. How they view life, the way they interact with others, the beliefs that steer them and their reactions to setbacks…it somehow all rings true.

They might be nothing like us. We may not agree with their choices. But even when they mess up, their behavior makes sense. It’s because their motives and actions are consistent with who they are, making it easy for us to understand them. We feel like we’re spending time with a real person, not a character in a book. That’s the power of authenticity!

Authentic Characters Behave Like Real People

Our own life experiences can help us write these types of characters. In the real world, we feel what we feel and respond accordingly—but our behavior isn’t random, it stems from somewhere. What we do, say, and believe lines up with who we are and what shaped us.

And that’s the key…to feel real, characters need to think and act in ways that reflect their past experiences, core needs, and the defense systems they’ve built to feel safe. Their choices should follow a psychological and emotional logic that’s unique to them, just as ours is to us.

Writing characters with this sort of depth can feel intimidating—especially as most of us are still figuring ourselves out—but starting with personality can give you a big head start.

Personality Is the Filter for Everything Your Character Says and Does

To write characters whose behavior makes sense, we need to understand their personality. Traits—both positive and negative—determine the way they communicate, how they navigate relationships, and their approach to obstacles and goals. No two characters will handle a situation the same way because their individual personality steers their actions and choices.

Let’s say your character wants their brother-in-law to help them get accepted into a prestigious guild. If they’re friendly and confident, they might ask directly—no pressure, just a belief that their brother-in-law will see their potential and offer support. But if they’re insecure, likely they’d hesitate in being so bold. More likely they’d instead ask about the application process, standing out as a candidate, and whether it helps to have a sponsor, hoping that an offer to vouch for them will come without having to request it. And if your character is manipulative, they may demand an endorsement in exchange for continued silence regarding a closely guarded secret. Nothing like emotional blackmail to grease the wheel.

In each case, the goal is the same, but personality dictates how the character tries to secure it. Behaving in a way that is consistent with who your character is will make their handling of situations feel authentic.

Traits Are the Result of What Your Character Has Lived Through

With so many possible positive traits and negative traits to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down which ones fit a character. Are they observant and practical, or strategic and spontaneous? And what about flaws—are they controlling, impulsive, or have a tendency toward violence?

Just as behavior isn’t random, a person’s defining traits aren’t either. If your character is confident and independent, it’s likely because someone important believed in them—positive influences who encouraged their growth. If they’re dishonest and opportunistic, there’s a reason for that too. Perhaps their mentors had different values and lessons to pass on, or life dealt them an emotional wound that left them mistrustful and biased.

Your character’s personality reveals their identity, what they’ve been through, the lessons they’ve learned, and fears they carry. It’s also not fixed. They will develop new traits as they go, because attributes and flaws aren’t quirks…they’re survival tools.

If someone grew up in a chaotic environment, they may prioritize safety and stability needs. Traits that can help them might be ORGANIZED, RESOURCFUL, INDUSTRIOUS, and CAUTIOUS. These traits help them build a life that is consistent and safe. But then one day, a friend betrays them. The pain of this causes them to examine themselves and how their cautious nature wasn’t enough to protect them. Moving forward, they become SUSPICIOUS and MISTRUSTFUL, as these negative traits help them keep people at a distance, so a betrayal doesn’t happen again.

(Here’s more on how your character’s past pain determines which flaws show up in their personality.)   

How to Build a Personality that Makes Sense

To zero in on what traits are the best fit for a character, ask:

How did they grow up?

Think about what kind of environment they grew up in. Who were their role models—good or bad? Did they experience unconditional love, neglect, or something in between? Did they have enough, or go without? How did relationships and experiences shape their view of themselves? Consider how events in their past (including emotional wounds) affected their self-esteem, caused fears to form, and shaped their moral code.

What do they yearn for?

Life is never perfect, for us or our characters. Look to what might be missing from their life—acceptance, freedom, recognition, safety? Once you know their core need, you can plan traits that will help them pursue a goal that fills this exact need.

What are their blind spots?

Every character will have flaws that hurt their chances of achieving their goal. These are called blind spots—dysfunctional behavior and attitudes they don’t see as negative, but rather emotional shielding that keeps them safe.

• A character who once let their loved ones down may become IRRESPONSIBLE, avoiding anything that could lead to them failing others again.
• A character whose kindness was exploited may become UNFRIENDLY and ABRASIVE, pushing others away to avoid being used.
• A character who was mocked after opening up may become WITHDRAWN and UNCOMMUNICATIVE, fearing ridicule.

Will the character succeed or fail?

Knowing how things will shake out guides you on how to handle a character’s blind spots. If you intend a character to fail, then throughout the story they may become aware of their flaws and try to leave them behind, but fear keeps them from fully doing so. They’ll fall into old, dysfunctional habits, and ultimately that prevents them from achieving their goal.

But if you want the character to win, they must see how their primary flaw is the problem and the only route forward it to let go of what’s holding them back—not just the flaw, but the fear behind it. To change, your character leans into healthy traits and behaviors so they approach the goal from a position of strength, not weakness.

(For more great questions to ask, check out this article.)

When you know a character’s personality and why it’s there, you’ll have what you need to write their behavior authentically. Readers sense this consistency and relax into the story, trusting the character’s viewpoint, feelings, and experiences, even when different from their own. But when a character’s actions contradict their personality or past, or certain traits feel pasted on—it creates distance. Readers may not be able to put their finger on what’s wrong, but they’ll feel it.

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About Angela

Angela Ackerman is a story coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, and its many sequels. Available in nine languages, her guides are sourced by US universities, recommended by agents and editors, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, and psychologists around the world. To date, this book collection has sold over a million copies.

Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers®, as well as One Stop for Writers®, a portal to game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.