Characterisation

Characterisation is the art of creating characters for a narrative. Obviously this is very important to any writer, but perhaps more so for anyone wanting to write in the fantasy genre; after all, we need to create characters that belong to another world. Our characters can be fierce tribal warriors, meek and persecuted servants, imbued with magic, noble knights, and of any one of a multitude of races. Despite this, it is doubly important to ensure that our characters feel real. So, how do we go about this?

My own approach is to use traits of people I know, mixed with aspects of my own personality (honest self awareness is a very powerful tool for any writer). My characters, therefore, sit nicely into the familiar "write what you know" adage. It sounds easy (and to be honest, I do find it fairly easy), but I know that a lot of aspiring writers struggle with this. In order to attempt to help out a bit, below are some tips for what makes for good characters:

• They have depth, perhaps hidden depth, of character. They are complex, many faceted, not just two-dimensional, not simply good or bad. They have a history and some mystery (you don't need to reveal all of the history, but it speaks to the motivation of the character).
• They are defined by what they say as much as what they do. Their use of language is consistent with their background and personality (though this doesn't mean that they can't sometimes act in discord with what they say!)
• Readers can identify with some aspects of their personalities, even if they are not likeable characters. This is how characters evoke a response from the reader; even the most "other-worldly" characters need to display some aspect of humanity!
• They must grow – no matter how engaging a character is, they will become dull if they do not undergo some development during the course of your story (or stories).
• They are entwined with the plot – characters move the plot, contributing to its development and revealing aspect of their character in response to it (it might be helpful to think of the plot as the silent character!).
• They respond to plot developments in ways consistent with their character.

Well, those are my tips, hope they help. What do you think is important in characterisation?