forum How do I make complex characters...

Started May 26, 2019 by Jilla

tune

Just looking for some help making characters that are interesting and enjoyable for the reader.

the most important question you need to ask yourself is Why? Why do they (not) want something? Why do they (not) like the thing? Why are they (not) trying to do the thing? etc.
However, not every answer has to be deep. "Why do they like ice cream?" can be answered as simply as "It cools them down during summer and it's sweet". Motivations you'll probably want to answer with more detail.
Furthermore, asking How they became the person they are today is fairly important as well as it shapes much of their personality. Actually, relations to other characters are always very useful when you think of it in terms of how different people view the character and vice versa.

Still, the two easiest and most important things are probably to pay close attention to the people around you and two simply write and keep trying.

Thank you so much I'll think about your response as I'm writing! I've seen you helping out a lot of other people, and I think that's awesome so good job!! :D

You're welcome. If you actually have a character you can ask for feedback, there are lots of people on this site who are helpful and like to take out time to reflect on the work of others including myself. It might also be helpful to look at how others build up their characters btw. They might use some things that can help you as well.