Creating Three-Dimensional Characters: Ghosts from the Past

When creating the characters for a novel or short story, it’s pretty typical to start with the obvious–physical appearance. Tall, short, dark-haired, blonde, African-American, Asian, blue-eyed, olive skinned, etc.–the list can go on and on. Professions usually play an equally important role. Your protagonist may be an adventurer, archeologist, teacher, doctor, forensic scientist, detective, lawyer, priest, student, stay at-home mother, or any number of possibilities. All of this helps to create an emerging picture of who that character is, but it falls short of making them three-dimensional. In order to feel the character’s presence–to have them step off the page and emotionally connect with the reader, we need to mimic reality. By this I mean that each one of us has a complex past that has molded us and brought us to this day. It defines how we exist in the present and influences who we want to be tomorrow. Dissecting the human experience and then attaching it to our characters is the key to creating a believable, three-dimensional world that pulls readers in and sweeps them away!

We all have psychological ghosts that linger from our past. These are not paranormal entities, but rather the life scripts that we have adopted by living a particular life surrounded by a particular family during a specific period in time. Thinking of your characters in the same way will fill them up and lift them off the page. An excellent exercise for developing your chosen cast is to write a page or two about someone you know very well. What? Why? you ask. It seems like this would be a waste of valuable time, a futile exercise when you have no intention of including friends or family in your story. But hold on! There is a valid answer. We have a greater depth of knowledge about a real person than any of our characters who are just now materializing. Writing about a close friend, a family member, a lover, or even a well worn foe will illustrate the amount of background your characters require to come to life. In turn, this will help you translate that kind of detail into the empty shell of your fictional creations.

Start out by choosing a person close to you – for examples sake, I will say it is your father. Critically think about his family and life experiences. Was he the oldest, youngest, middle, or only child? Was he a twin? Was he adopted? Did he feel loved or disposable? Did he serve a particular purpose in his family? Did he grow up poor, middle-class, or wealthy? Did he live on a farm, in the suburbs, or in a city? Did he work when he was young? Did he finish high school, go to college, or go beyond? Was he a blue-collar worker and white? Did he have any major losses of a parent, sibling, or friend? What were the expectations laid upon him about work, family, religion, life? How did he handle conflict? Was there any history of mental illness, addictions, or violence in the family? Did he marry, get divorced, become widowed? Did he discover that he was gay? What was his chosen profession? Was he successful at it, passionate about it, or did he dread going to work every day? What were his hobbies? Did he like animals? What were his fears? What was he proud of and what did he regret? Was he stubborn, a push-over, or a skilled negotiator? What did he think about money? Was he practical and analytical or a creative, free-spirit? Was he emotional or distant? Etc. Knowing your father best (or whomever you chose), you can probably think of other areas to examine.

Once you have a well-rounded picture of the person’s past, write about the present. How does that person navigate the world today? What ghosts have lingered, directing how the person lives in the present? How are they influencing what steps will be taken in the future? Finish up the exercise by describing the future based on the picture you have created. With this complete, you are ready to tackle the creation of multi-layered, complex characters that feel like real people.

Think about the plot to your story and who will be living on those pages. Using the same exercise, create the details to each character’s life. It’s best to do this prior to beginning the work, but it’s not too late to go back and add depth and breadth once underway. What are their past circumstances–the ghosts that haunt them? How have you readied them to carry your story with authenticity? Once the reader starts to recognize the common human thread, he or she will be drawn farther into the tale to learn more and more about the “people” you have created.

Karen M Bence graduated with a bachelor of arts in Psychology from Dickinson College and a master's degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. A former social worker, psychotherapist and educator, Ms. Bence is also an avid equestrian and dog breeder.