Think about your favorite characters from a book, movie, or TV series. What do you like about them? Do you relate to them in some way? Do you value how detailed and realistic they are? Both relatability and authenticity are common aspects that make characters strong. In this workshop, we will dive into ways to make your characters relatable and authentic, and in turn, make them jump off the page and into readers' hearts. 

Authenticity

Have you ever encountered a character who felt like they could exist in the real world? Maybe they reminded you of yourself or one of your friends? This is an indicator of an authentic character. These characters tend to be fan favorites because it is easy to see the world and events of the story through their eyes. Additionally, authentic characters often have a clear and consistent personality, which leads readers to understand the character's actions and choices. 

To compare, a non-authentic character may make choices or act in ways that the readers can't rationalize or that do not make sense for the world or plot of the story. If a character's, and especially a main character's, actions cannot be rationalized by the reader, it often pulls the reader out of the story. The same goes for characters whose personality shifts drastically throughout the story (without reason, such as a personal arc). Typically, people have personal morals that they follow when making decisions and it takes a major change (such as coming into new knowledge, being betrayed, etc.) to shift those morals. So, if a character is shifting their morals around regularly to justify their decisions or actions, that character becomes less authentic. Similarly, all characters have interests and personal goals that drive them to make decisions or act in certain ways; to build an authentic character, these interests and goals should also be kept as consistent as possible. 

Here are tips on writing authentic characters: 

1. Set a clear goal for your character from the start of the story. What does your character want most? Why do they want it? How are they going to get it? Having a clear goal throughout the story is a great way to ground a character, since their decisions and actions can typically be drawn back to this goal. While this is particularly important for protagonists, it is also important to know what each of your characters wants in a story, including side characters, even if it's not as specific. 
2. Use elements from your own life. A great way to give characters an extra spark of authenticity is to use elements from your own life. Do you or someone you know have a small habit or turn of phrase that they use a lot? Or have you experienced a specific activity or moment that would translate well on the page? Drawing from pieces of human nature is a way to make your characters more authentic. For example, in my novel, I have the main characters climb trees together since this was something I did a lot as a kid. It allows them to have private conversations in a unique space and it makes sense in their world.  
3. Study your favorite characters. One of the most effective writing tools is reading others' work! Choose a favorite character from a book, ideally in a similar genre to your own story, and notice how the author made the character authentic. What small pieces of human nature did the author use? Are the character's goals and morals consistent? How can you implement these pieces into your own work? Or, what would you do differently?

Relatability

Readers love characters they can relate to. It's natural to look for ways that a story relates to your own life. In fact, many people's favorite characters are very similar to themselves – it's refreshing to see a character going through the same things. A character's strength and resilience in a situation that mirrors the reader's own circumstances can often inspire the reader to find strength. So, an important piece of building strong characters, and especially strong protagonists, is your readers' relatability to them. 

Here are some tips for making your characters relatable: 

1. Consider your audience. Who are you writing for? What is their age group? What are the interests of the people who will read your story? Your protagonist should share these things with your audience. Also, consider: is there an audience that doesn't have a lot of characters like them to read about? Many marginalized groups, such as people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and others, struggle to find representation of themselves in media, including literature. Is there an aspect of your identity that you don't see represented in literature? Consider writing a character that embodies that aspect! 
2. Build from what you relate to. Looking back on your favorite characters, what makes them relatable to you? How does the author build the character's relatability? What pieces from their character building can you use in your own story? Or, how would you do things differently? 

Knowing the Iceberg, Writing the Peak

One of my favorite rules of thumb when it comes to writing characters is "know the iceberg, write the peak." This phrase refers to the concept that an iceberg is huge, expanding deep below the water's surface, but from on land we can only see its peak. One might know deep and obscure information about a specific topic, which would fall well below the water's surface, or only the information that the general public knows, which would be at the peak. For example, here is an iceberg diagram about The Hunger Games: 

[Source: showmaxter. “R/Hungergames on Reddit: Late but Great Iceberg of the Hunger Games Fandom.” Reddit; r/Hungergames, 2022.] 

Now, how does this relate to your writing? Well, when writing characters I always try to know the depths of the iceberg, such as where they were born, how they feel about all of the other characters, what their interests were as a kid, and more. But I only write the peak of the iceberg (i.e., what the audience needs to know in the story). This way, the story isn't bogged down with information about the character(s), but you, as the writer, know enough about each character to properly write their actions and decisions. For example, the readers may not need to know about the character's scary childhood experience, but that experience may inform the way the character acts or the decisions they make. Writing in this way also allows for big reveals later on when you finally share more of the iceberg, making readers think about how it has been present all along. 

Character Arcs

As mentioned in my previous workshop about story elements, a character should change in a significant way between the beginning and the end of a story. While this is important for an interesting and engaging plot, it is also important for building authentic and dynamic characters. In real life, people change a lot! Think about yourself in kindergarten; now think about yourself today. You're much different, aren't you? While most stories don't take place over such a long timeframe, it is still important to show growth and change in your characters, and especially your protagonist. Since real life people are always growing and changing, making sure your characters grow and change over the course of your story is an important part of making them authentic.

Submissions! 

For submissions, you have two options: 

1. Write a scene describing your protagonist. This can be the protagonist of a story you have already started, or it can be a completely new character! Suggested word count: 500-1,000 words. 
2. In paragraph form, write the iceberg of your character. Write every detail you can think of, from their birth to the modern day. What is their relationship with their family, friends, and the people in their community? What are their goals and interests and how have they changed over time? Suggested word count: 1,000-1,500 words. 

Questions to consider, if writing a scene: 

1. How does your protagonist relate to you? What pieces can you pull from your own life? 
2. What is in the peak of your protagonist's iceberg? What is the information that the reader needs to know to understand your character? 
3. What are your protagonist's common mannerisms? How do they physically inhabit the world? 
4. In which part of your story does this scene take place? What are your protagonist's goals and interests at this point? 
5. Who is in the scene? Is it just your protagonist, or is it your protagonist engaging with another character? 
6. What is the setting and how does that impact your protagonist? Does it make them feel safe, uncomfortable, or something else?

I hope you enjoy writing about your protagonist and I can't wait to read your submissions! Also, if you want to create a sketch or portrait of your character and post it on the site, go to the Character Art challenge here. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me: alexbregy_ywpintern

– Alex Bregy, YWP intern