In a post for Writer’s Digest, the magazine’s Content Editor Michael Woodson offers his advice for fixing characters that lack substance. “I call this the characterless character—a character that exists without a personal past, present, or future, and does whatever the plot needs,” Woodson writes.
While some minor characters exist merely to further the plot–by giving your protagonist necessary information, for example–your major and supporting characters need to be fully realized. To ensure your characters have lives of their own and don’t merely shift from place to place with the needs of the plot, Woodson recommends that you:
- Know your character as well as you would if they were real
- Make a point of highlighting when they act out of character
- Start with that uncharacteristic moment and work backwards, so that you have a better understanding of where that moment comes from
