How to Come Up with a Good Character Quickly
Come up with basic statistics for your character., Decide on their personality., Create a back-story., When done using HIRSE (If you use it) put it all together in order of time., Determine Relationships., Determine Powers/Weapons., Add anything...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Come up with basic statistics for your character.
Name, Age, gender and appearance.
You'll need this basic information.
This should only take about 2-4 minutes. -
Step 2: Decide on their personality.
How does this person act? What are they like around friends? What about strangers? Also take note that where your character lives can affect how they act.
This should take up to 2-6 minutes, depends on how much you write and how shallow or well developed your character is.
Many people change as they age, if your character isn't going to age in your work of fiction keep the same personality throughout, if they get older, they may become wiser, more cautious, less flamboyant or change in other ways. , Most characters have a good back-story or a biography.
This is optional, but almost every character needs one.
This step may take up to 8 minutes, even longer.
You can also use a step-by-step guide, HIRSE, to help you. , H is for Happy moments.
What are good memories that your character has experienced/Did? I is inspiring memories.
What has the character seen/done that has inspired them, or moments that made the character inspire someone else? R is for Relationships made.
Has your character dated, gotten married or even divorced? You do not have to do this step if your character has never been in a relationship before.
S is sad, or upsetting moments.
Was there a moment where you could feel sorry for your character? No character will be perfect and have a perfectly happy life, so try to come up with at least one moment.
E is for Extra Moments.
Any other moments that are not listed up above go here. , Is your character single? Married? Crushing? This should only take one second.
Beware that during some works of fiction, particularly those popular with teenage girls, many character's relationship status is likely to be in a constant state of flux. , Does your character have any powers, or weapons? Maybe both? This should only take 2-3 minutes. , Usually you won't have anything else to add, but if you do that's alright as well. , You can find many character sheets online. -
Step 3: Create a back-story.
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Step 4: When done using HIRSE (If you use it) put it all together in order of time.
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Step 5: Determine Relationships.
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Step 6: Determine Powers/Weapons.
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Step 7: Add anything else not mentioned above.
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Step 8: Put it all together in a form!
Detailed Guide
Name, Age, gender and appearance.
You'll need this basic information.
This should only take about 2-4 minutes.
How does this person act? What are they like around friends? What about strangers? Also take note that where your character lives can affect how they act.
This should take up to 2-6 minutes, depends on how much you write and how shallow or well developed your character is.
Many people change as they age, if your character isn't going to age in your work of fiction keep the same personality throughout, if they get older, they may become wiser, more cautious, less flamboyant or change in other ways. , Most characters have a good back-story or a biography.
This is optional, but almost every character needs one.
This step may take up to 8 minutes, even longer.
You can also use a step-by-step guide, HIRSE, to help you. , H is for Happy moments.
What are good memories that your character has experienced/Did? I is inspiring memories.
What has the character seen/done that has inspired them, or moments that made the character inspire someone else? R is for Relationships made.
Has your character dated, gotten married or even divorced? You do not have to do this step if your character has never been in a relationship before.
S is sad, or upsetting moments.
Was there a moment where you could feel sorry for your character? No character will be perfect and have a perfectly happy life, so try to come up with at least one moment.
E is for Extra Moments.
Any other moments that are not listed up above go here. , Is your character single? Married? Crushing? This should only take one second.
Beware that during some works of fiction, particularly those popular with teenage girls, many character's relationship status is likely to be in a constant state of flux. , Does your character have any powers, or weapons? Maybe both? This should only take 2-3 minutes. , Usually you won't have anything else to add, but if you do that's alright as well. , You can find many character sheets online.
About the Author
Matthew Johnson
Writer and educator with a focus on practical practical skills knowledge.
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