Characters are tricky things to write. You may have given them a fantastic story; you may have mapped out every exciting part of their lives but, even when those characters feel like your best friend, even when you know all you think there is to know about them,  they still don’t read right, they still feel somewhat flat.

What do you do then? You could try the direct approach; try thinking about a really interesting character. The trouble with this is, it can put a huge strain on your imagination and your inspiration will be non-existent. The best way is to be a little bit clever so, to help you out, I’m providing you with 10 tricky techniques to giving your characters some real dimension, to lift them off the page and put them into the imaginations of your readers.

The techniques are designed to make things a bit easier for you, to help your brain and to use your intuition, natural curiosity and just a little bit of deviousness. What you are going to do is trick your character into giving his or her true self away.

A short warning here – you will likely be tempted into reading these techniques, all of which are designed to get you to write with abandon, very quickly, for a given time period and, rather than writing, just to think about the answers. DO NOT DO THIS. These techniques are for pen and paper and they work better – try it both ways and you will see. There is no right or wrong answer here so just go for it.

Spy on Your Character!

One way of getting to know your characters is to spy on them! Imagine you are watching your main character, either through a window or through a spy camera. “Watch” how they behave, how they act when they are going about daily life or when there is no-one else watching them. You will need a clear head for this. Set yourself a timer and, on each of the following questions, spend between three and five minutes answering it. Do not try to think about what might be interesting answers; just picture your character and answer the questions quickly, without really thinking:

What kind of rituals does your character have in the mornings and at bedtime?

Do they have any secret eating habits?

What is he or she doing when they think nobody else is watching?

What websites do he or she look at frequently during the day?

Zoom In On Them

Imagine that you have some fantastic new spy gear and you can now zoom in on whatever you want, even if it is hidden. Set your trusty timer for 6 minutes and follow that character! Wherever he or she goes, you go. Write down what grabs their attention. What scares them, amuses them, interests them. Are they playing about with anything in their bag? What is it? What is the ring or the necklace she wears? What sort of watch does he have on? Write down everything you see even if it doesn’t seem important. You never know what you may find in something that seems so mundane!