I’ve created dozens of characters. Some fall flat. Others... start arguing with me.
That’s when I know a character is alive—when they don’t follow the plan anymore. They interrupt scenes. They break rules I set. They feel like they’re making choices I didn’t.
It sounds dramatic, but if you’re a writer, you know the feeling. You stop writing them. You start listening to them.
Early drafts are filled with placeholder voices. They do what the plot needs. They smile on cue. They fight when I say fight.
But the moment I put a “...” in a line of dialogue, pause, and realize, “Wait—they wouldn’t say that,” that’s when they’re born.
Kerisa was supposed to be composed. Unshakable. She laughed in my face and spiraled into obsession instead.
It just doesn't feel right after knowing what they have gone through.
Real people contradict themselves. So do the best characters.
Kaiser is supposed to be the perfect Ascendant—but he breaks. Sapphire is regal—but she clings to comfort. Nevalyn is joyful—but carries a hidden nihilism. That tension is what makes them feel real. It’s not just complexity for the sake of drama—it’s the uncomfortable truth that no one is consistent, especially not under pressure.
Characters that feel real will fail in ways that feel personal. They’ll overcommit to a belief, only to question it later. They’ll chase a goal so hard they forget why they even wanted it in the first place. That’s not just good storytelling—it’s real life.
We all know what it’s like to pursue something and only realize, once we’ve bled for it, that it was the wrong thing. Or that we’ve changed. Real characters do that too.
They don’t just reach an end—they evolve into someone who questions it.
You can write the most intricate world or clever twist imaginable, but if no one cares about who it’s happening to, it won’t matter. Readers don’t follow stories. They follow people. They follow fears, obsessions, heartbreak, and rage—things only characters can give them. A plot without characters is a corpse. Characters without a plot? Still alive. They’ll find something to do.
Design them right, and they’ll write the story for you.