In a post on Writers in the Storm, Ellen Buikema offers advice on strengthening oversimplified characters. She suggests four methods:
- Figure out what your character Wants and Needs. Wants and needs aren’t the same thing. A need is an internal gap the character needs to fill. The want is often – but not always – the external visualization of that need. Sometimes the want is contradictory to the need, and the character must choose which to fulfill. Buikema suggests asking questions about your character’s journey from the beginning of your story to the end. Where does your protagonist begin and where will he end? What does he lack at the beginning that he will need at the end and how will the journey help him find it?
- Give them inconsistencies. “Contradictions are a great way to keep your characters interesting,” Buikema says. “Make them a bit unpredictable.” Perhaps your singer has stage fright or your corrupt politician honestly cares about helping people.
- Gift them with flaws—keep them relatable. “The balance of positive and negative bestows the character a realness, while giving the reader someone with whom to sympathize,” Buikema writes. She suggests a trick as simple as listing their strengths and weaknesses in columns.
- Let them be vulnerable. Readers want to root for your protagonist, and a little bit of vulnerability can help them make that connection. Your characters’ fears are a strong way to show vulnerability, whether that’s fear of loss, rejection, or losing control of a situation.
