Have you ever wondered why some characters captivate the readers while others get forgotten? You might think that some characters are just better than others, but it goes much deeper than that. I’m about to tell you how to write compelling characters.
Compelling characters are the ones who move the story forward. They shape the story, instead of letting it shape them. That doesn’t mean every reactive character isn’t compelling, but most proactive characters are. There’s a reason for that.
In this guide, I’ll show you a framework for how to write compelling characters by mastering these three simple principles:
Agency: So they have a reason to act.
Problems: So they have something to act on.
Actions: Action moves the story forward.
Give Them a Strong Agency
At the beginning of a story, you have to force the protagonist to be proactive. This often happens in the call to adventure when they’re still hesitant to go on a journey.
For example, in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo didn’t want to go on an adventure. Like most hobbits, he preferred the comfort of his home. He had no desire to be a hero. However, after inheriting the One Ring, he realized staying home would put the people he loved in danger. To protect them, he chose to leave the Shire and take the Ring somewhere it could no longer threaten his home.
As you can see, Frodo did have strong agency. Likewise, to create compelling characters who are proactive, you need to give them a strong goal and even stronger motivation. They should want to bleed and, even scarier, change for what they desire.
Learn more about character motivation here.
That doesn’t mean the goal should be “Save the world” or anything like that. It should be something that matters to them. Something that makes living another day worth it.
Think about it: your protagonist is going to need agency to leave the comfort of their current life to pursue a goal they might not even achieve. The goal has to matter to them on a personal level for them to take action, make tough decisions, and challenge their beliefs.
Make Them Solve Problems
A compelling character doesn’t wait for the plot to happen; they make the plot happen. They are problem solvers.
That doesn’t mean they’re solving the central conflict by chapter three; it means they’re willing to take small, actionable steps to solve issues, such as turning on the lights in a dark room. The size of the problem or whether they succeed isn’t important. What’s important is that they’re actively trying to improve their current situation.
They’re asking themselves:
- What can I do?
- What’s my next move?
- Which risk am I willing to take?
Problem creates decision. Decisions create actions. Actions move the story forward. If your protagonist is sitting on their ass the whole time, the story will happen to them, and that’s boring.
The readers are looking to be entertained. That’s your compelling character’s job. Your job, whatsoever, is to create problems for your characters to act on. Learn about conflict here.
Make Them Act
An agency gives your protagonist a reason to move the story forward. Problems give them something to move against. The final step is making sure they actually do something.
Every problem should force your protagonist to make a decision, and every decision should lead to action.
For example, in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo doesn’t choose his circumstances, but he chooses how to respond to them. He volunteers to carry the Ring to Mordor, continues the journey after the Fellowship breaks apart, and refuses to give up when the odds are against him. His decisions lead to action, and his actions keep the story moving.
Therefore, when writing your protagonist, don’t let them stop at making a decision. They should act on them. Because those actions create consequences, and those consequences move the story.
How to Apply This in Your Story
You learned a few things about how to write compelling characters. However, most of it can seem abstract, which I totally get if you have never done this before.
So we learned that compelling characters are those who drive the story forward. Great, how do we apply this framework? The answer is not that complicated.
When you’re applying this framework in a scene or stretching it out over multiple scenes, you have to answer these three questions:
- What does my protagonist want right now?
- What’s stopping them from getting it?
- What are they going to do about it?
That’s it. If you can answer those three questions, you have a story.
Final Thoughts on How to Write Compelling Characters
There are three things you need to master in this framework on how to write compelling characters: it’s a reason to act, something to act on, and the action itself.
The psychology behind this framework is simple: compelling characters are the characters who create a story. They’re the one who entertains the audience because the audience wants the story to happen. In fact, they dislike any character who is in the way of the story and cheer for anyone who moves it.
So next time you’re writing a scene. Think of what your protagonist wants, what’s in their way, and what actions they need to take to reach their goal.
