Creating Characters: From Protagonists to Deuteragonists (Patron Special!)

Something to keep in mind before reading this.....every writer is different. Whether they plan or go with the flow, constantly change the story or refuse to, use detailed methods for plot creation or start with the climax of a story, every writer plans and writes and revises their own way. 

Certain methods work better for people than other methods, and some writers will use a variety of methods to put their stories together. The information you will read below (if you're reading every word or just skimming!) are for the most part my own interpretation of how I think about stories and the characters that define them, how I plan them, how I feel about them, and sometimes how ideas of their characters / importance evolve.

Some of my methods may prove useful or interesting, but other parts might ring as confusing. And that is okay! Every writer is different, and therefore has their own style of writing as well as planning. Whether for new or seasoned writers that are having trouble with characters, some of this info may be worth your while.

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So you've got a story. Or at least the start of one. Say you have a sentence, maybe a paragraph, or a general concept of what you want to do with your story, be it science fiction or romance or mystery. But in order to tell a story......you first need a character or characters to serve as the "storytellers". Apologies for the long post.....but there is a lot to cover! Plus, I give some more in-depth information on my story Awakening, and its major characters, so slight spoiler alert for the characters (less so the story)!

Quick Lesson on Types of Writing Styles

No matter the point of view, you need a protagonist to be the lens through which readers see the world that you've created, and the story that will unfold. But there's so much more than just creating someone for the purposes of telling a story: while it seems like a monumental task, you in a sense have to create an entirely new person. Luckily when it comes to fiction, there are plenty of methods and processes available for use, and for various types of writers.

Speaking the most generally, there are 3 types of writers when it comes to fiction writing: Plotters who outline their stories first (whether some detail or a lot of detail), Pantsers who plan nothing or very little and write through discovery (they might have a general idea at best but just come up with details and information as they are writing), and Plantsers who are a little bit of both. I personally am closer to a Plotter or Plantser than I am a Panster. I like to plan out the general story, and will sometimes plan out general plot elements and events......but characters are another story. I know some of what the characters are, and generally know the basics, but the rest of the time I'm actually just winging it!

Protagonists: The Heart of the Story

For this I'll be talking about methods more likely to be used by Plotters and some Plantsers. Let's start and use my current story Awakening for examples:

My protagonist Blake was always intended to be a character who could see spirits and ghosts unlike the rest of his community, but was still a very kind-hearted yet also quiet individual who kept to himself except for his mother and a few close friends.

And that's basically it! I knew that the story focused on him, I knew his parentage, and I knew some of what his character would do throughout the story. But that was just the beginning.....

Before I get too far into that, let's talk steps for creating a character in the first place. Every step is important and has a reason for being written here. Some of these steps can be done out of order a bit, or even ignored, but every writer is different, keep that in mind. 

Names are very important to any character, and should be the first or one of the first steps for creating a character. But sometimes coming up with a name can be a nerve-wracking task. You want it to be memorable, not forgettable, to be unique, but not so random or weird. The biggest factors to consider also include location (if using a real-world location that is), gender, and nationality. Are you gonna name a female character in India from the 10th century......Bill or Tammy? No you are not; that's just poor writing and planning. If you want to use it as a placeholder while you come up with a better name, then you can do that! I certainly have done so with a few characters. But don't use a name like that and just settle on it without another thought.

Modern or contemporary stories are sometimes the easiest to work with when it comes to naming characters since they can often be the easiest to research for. Many of my own stories take place in a modern or near-modern era, and I have come across plenty of sites where I can look for names based on nationality, gender, popularity, and even pick a first letter that perhaps just feels right.

Picking certain names that carry symbolic value rather than just being a random name are also not a bad way to go! This can sometimes be trickier especially for newer writers but it is not impossible. As long as you know what you're looking for, you've at least got a start. And choosing a name based more on symbolism was what I went for when it came to the Awakening protagonist:

As a kid who often had black in his appearance and could speak with the dead, Blake (a name derived from English meaning black or dark-haired) seemed like the perfect choice. His last name also has a lot of meaning. The surname Douglas is of Scottish origin meaning "black stream". So in a way, Blake has the name black twice in his name! Both Blake and Douglas are relatively modern names, and the story does take place in the 2010s, and both names separate or together are unique enough that I stuck with them for the entire story, and have no qualms with it.

That's only the first step of course! You've given the character a name, but what about their appearance? Something to keep in mind is that you don't often want to outright say what their appearance is; information like this is best revealed through actions or dialogue.

Blake's general appearance was implied throughout the first few chapters with him being an average height. His age was mentioned early on in Chapter 1: Chill, with the information actually focused on another character with his own age being implied. In Chapter 3: Blaze, it was hinted that he had athletic ability despite not having what might be considered the typical build for it. In Chapter 7: Sermon, Blake's hair color (black) and style (short and well-kempt) was revealed via his interaction with a mirror.

Typically the first chapter or two is when you should introduce the protagonist by name. You can sometimes wait a little longer to introduce their appearance, as I clearly did, but you don't always outright spill out all the information via exposition. When introducing a lot of the physical information about Blake I would avoid doing so through exposition as often as I could. Other appearance information, voices, and names can be revealed via dialogue or action; any writer can get creative with revelations such as these, like I did a little with the mirror reveal regarding some of his appearance!

So now your character has a name, and a face. What about their personality Their quirks? What are their strengths, their flaws, their goals? This is where information can get a little more complex, but a lot of this information can be revealed creatively and not outright said, similar to the point above. You can reveal more about a character through actions and dialogue, which I did multiple times with Blake's character in the first chapter alone:

Blake's caring nature is showcased almost immediately through his action of putting a note on the door of his mother's room related to medicine, and later when he converses with his friend June about the event. Near the end of the chapter this is shown deeper when interacting with the lost soul outside the school.

His friend June's dialogue in their first conversation implies that Blake is often more concerned with the well-being of others than his own, revealing a selfless and potentially empathetic nature, but also hinting that he doesn't think of himself when he should.

Blake's conversation with friends June, Amelia, and Cameron, indicate he is very familiar with each of their personalities and is comfortable around them, and that he is also very resourceful, organized, and has potential survival skills, directly stated in dialogue by Amelia.

It is hinted near the end of the conversation that all four of them might live in lower middle income households at best when talking about saving up money for a water park. It's also hinted in the same moment that they all work hard to earn some money for themselves via chores.

During the short summer plans conversations, Amelia and Cameron both spoke the most (128 and 69 words respectively), whereas Blake and June spoke the least amongst the group (38 and 25 words respectively), indicating the former pair was more extroverted while the latter pair was a bit more reserved.

Blake's actions regarding the ghost reveal the secrecy behind his abilities to see and communicate with spirits, and various sensations describe how he can connect with them.

And this is only the first chapter! Many of these bits of information are implications or speculations, a number of which recur and some of which are basically confirmed later on. Information most important to the character, especially if it relates to the story, will often get revealed early on, will be repeated in different instances, will pertain to major events, or some combination of those.

But anything up to everything can reveal more about a character than just their physical characteristics. Their worldview, their flaws, their capabilities, what they do or want to do, etc. Not all of this can or should be revealed at once; after all you cannot learn every little thing about a friend in the span of even a few days! But what you can reveal or hint at little bits of personality at a time.

The next step generally is figuring out the character's history. This is where things can get interesting, however. Some writers may think up a backstory in tandem with their personalities, because a lot of these pieces of information will directly relate or overlap. What's their parentage, their family, their childhood? What events lead up to what they are now? Is the background information relevant to the story?

One thing you want to try not to do is to reveal all the backstory or background information at once. Try again! Revealing potentially juicy details right away will often take the mystery right out of a protagonist, and could lead to uninterested readers. You want to reveal background information creatively, over time, and/or when the story needs it to be revealed.

Even within the span of 10 chapters, all that's really known about Blake's past is that he lives alone with his sickly mother that he cares for greatly, his father almost never comes to mind, and he's lived in Utah's Jordan Heights for basically his entire life with a secret ability to communicate with spirits (something he keeps even from his mother and best friend).

There are two main reasons why so little of his background is revealed even as I approach the middle of the story: (1) it's relevance to the story is not important at this time, and (2) it makes sense for Blake's character as he is rarely shown to be interested in his past, but instead focuses more on his present (taking care of his mother, trying to deal in the moment with inexplicable recent events, etc.).

It is also hinted and implied that Blake does not care about his future too much, instead focusing on everyone else's future, while he does not know or does not think about what he wants to do in adulthood.

The last major step for creating a protagonist in particular is figuring out the character development and the character's arc. There are two primary types of conflict that occur in stories: internal conflict and external conflict; the former is the focus for this step. The protagonist needs a problem to fix, an emotional challenge, a major turn of events, that drives the character forward.

Blake's primary internal conflict centers on his secret ability of being able to sense and communicate with lost souls since he was very young, and in his Christian hometown of Jordan Heights. There are implications that revealing such could label him as unnatural, and potentially lead to him being ostracized / shunned / ignored / etc.

The conflict of keeping his secret safe while dealing with the increasing number of spirits is amplified shortly after the story begins.....and soon he must deal with lost souls as well as dark and malicious "spirits" called Shadows. And he apparently must put to rest both spirits and Shadows using an unknown weapon he discovers in his mother's possession during the early stages of the story.

Blake doesn't think about his future much, nor his past. He cares more about others than he does himself. He wants to help others and be the best he can for both family and friends.

Blake's uncertainty of the weapon his mother possesses, his secret ability, his greater nature towards selflessness, love for his home, and the increasing number of spirits and Shadows are all interconnected and all relate to how he must use his secret ability to now protect his town from larger upcoming threats, discover more about his own family and friends, and in a sense awaken himself to a truth he never knew existed.

Granted, there is a lot I am leaving out. But this is a planned trilogy and the first book is barely halfway done; and most of the more relevant information comes in Books 2 and 3, some information which changes the whole game and introduces new and crazy plot threads.

Here is what is certain about Blake, given the topics I've covered thus far:

• His name and surname were picked specifically for their meanings and/or symbolic nature
• His age and general appearance is mentioned early on via dialogue or creative description
• A lot of his personality, primarily strengths with some flaws, are hinted at or implied in dialogue as early as Chapter 1
• Blake's past is largely unknown though he rarely focuses on that, leaving some mystery behind his character as well as the story
• He carries a secret ability to communicate with spirits, information he has not shared with anyone, with hints that he does not wish to be ostracized
• He will have no choice but to use and develop his ability....to do what he can to protect his secret while at the same time protecting his hometown from very dangerous forces, since he's the only one who can

And there is still a chance that there will be more to write about Blake's character! By no means is his character, his story, his arc, finished. It was planned out somewhat in advance, and more of his character came out the further along I was writing the story. There's still so much more to him.

That's what a protagonist is. You see their personality and history and capabilities chapter after chapter, but there should always be more to read, more to reveal, as the story goes on. It is important that if possible, you become the characters. Take what they are already, imagine yourself in their shoes, and imagine a random scenario. What would they do? What would you do? Knowing those answers can help further your character even more. You could come up with scenarios, personality traits, and quirks that may not even appear in the story!

Typically only the relevant information for a character should be involved in a story. But knowing more than what's on the paper can help make the character feel more real and grounded to both the reader as well as the writer. Readers can sometimes tell when a writer has put a lot of effort into creating a character. This is often true for the protagonist.....and of course for many other characters as well.

Deuteragonists: The Unsung Heroes

Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings. Hermoine and Ron in Harry Potter. Zelda from The Legend of Zelda games (because Link is the playable protagonist). Deuteragonists have just as much importance as protagonists. Whether an aid or an active companion, deuteragonists have important roles that rival that of protagonists even though the stories are rarely in their point of view. Keep in mind that while not all stories have deuteragonists, when they do there is a good reason for it.

In the case of Awakening, I do consider the story to actually have 2 deuteragonists: Alisha Douglas, Blake's mother, and June Cordon, his best friend. Alisha has a very strong role and importance in Blake's life, but June does also in a very different way while also appearing in the story more frequently.

The process of creating a deuteragonist is virtually the same as a protagonist! Since they are just as important as protagonists and are sometimes considered main characters themselves, they need just as much depth, complexity, and personality. This can be created via the steps listed for the protagonist:

• Creating a name (with meaning, symbolism, memorability, uniqueness, or a combination of those; settings / era / age / gender / nationality / family backgrounds are also important factors)
• Coming up with their appearances (which is often easier to reveal for characters besides protagonists; hair color / body type / eyes / distinguishing markings / etc.)
• Giving them a personality (including strengths, flaws, quirks, goals, etc.)
• Starting a backstory (some of this may be relevant to the story, some may not!)

You may have noticed I did not put the internal conflict step for the deuteragonist. Since fiction often focuses on a single character (the protagonist), their internal conflict will be most important and relevant to the story. But the same is not always said of deuteragonists. Stories are not often in the heads, and so readers don't know the ins and outs like they do with protagonists. Even so that does not mean an inner conflict can be thought of for deuteragonists, or perhaps is something revealed over time. There are still details about Alisha and June even I don't know at this time!

Alisha
-  Her name is derived from the Germanic Alice, which means noble. Believe it or not this name was chosen on accident, but there is a lot of symbolic interconnectedness to her name as well as her personality and history that made me stick with her name. She shares the surname of Douglas with Blake, which I already talked about earlier.
-  Her appearance is talked about in Chapter 2 when her character is actually introduced, and is described / implied to have a somewhat frail and sickly appearance, but still holds some fair qualities despite being a bit older.
-  Her personality comes out in small quantities over the course of the story, initially being depicted as being somewhat ill and tired, but in later chapters shows kindness, stubbornness, and love towards her son.
-  Her backstory is a complete mystery to the reader and even to Blake to an extent; similar to Blake she cares little about the past and instead focuses on the present, hence why neither of them talk or ask about it. But rest assured, her backstory has been mostly fleshed out and will be revealed in time......
-  As for her internal conflict......she does in a way have one, but revealing as such would be a bit of a spoiler!

June
-  Her name is derived from the Roman goddess Juno, a youthful protectress of women and marriage. However, the symbolism has little meaning for her actual character; her name was one of the first I ever came up with for Awakening, and simply liked it as a name. Her last name Cordon, which is derived from Old French meaning string or ribbon.....I honestly 'created' this surname at random, and didn't realize it was an actual name. That said, the idea of having her act as a metaphorical string or ribbon tied to the story or even Blake was an interesting enough idea that I kept the surname.
-  Her appearance is described a little in Chapter 1; more importantly, her voice is mentioned on numerous occasions by Blake that implies he finds her voice very comforting and pleasant.
-  Her personality is more often on display than Alisha's having more "screen time" as it were. Her personality is very similar to Blake's in many ways, namely with her empathy. Unlike Blake, however, she is much more vocal about it. She and Blake in general tend to be more reserved than their friends Cameron and Amelia (mentioned earlier), and is shown to be very kind, caring, and interested in other people. There are also implications that because she earns good grades in school, she has the ability to or perhaps wants a successful and respectable career (what that career is, the reader doesn't know as it's not yet specified).
-  Not much is known about her backstory, other than that she is an only child and has lived her whole life with both her parents in Jordan Heights. She is quite content however, and enjoys spending time with her friends that's she's grown up with for years. It has also been stated that she and Blake have been neighbors a long time, which likely explains how they became such close friends. Since most of anything else related to her past is not relevant to the story, it will likely not be explored.
-  June's internal conflict.....let's just say I haven't really come up with one! Or at least, not one that becomes relevant until much, much later in the story.

Deuteragonists carry just as much importance as protagonists, since often their actions and/or very existence directly impact the story. They all have relevance, and they all have their mark to make whether it's for plot purposes, or character ones.

Important Connections

And speaking of importance....there is one more topic I want to discuss related to creating characters. Creating a protagonist is a task in of itself. Same with a deuteragonist. But now what's important is connecting the 2 (in this case 3) characters together.

Deuteragonists are certainly not minor characters! They are the second most important characters in any story, and as I said earlier, often guide or aid or are a companion to the protagonist. The same is said when it comes to Blake, June, and Alisha. All 3 characters together do not offer much, but it's what June and Alisha each offer Blake that's most relevant to the story.

Say you've got a protagonist and a deuteragonist, in my example, Blake and June. You've got names, personalities, backstories, et cetera. But since the latter is a deuteragonist, she is important to the story as well as to Blake, therefore their relationship must be established so that June's importance becomes more relevant as the story carries on.

Blake and June are established very early on as neighbors, hence why they might spend so much time together and since they are the same age, and in the same classes; this also implies that they became best friends as a result of this close proximity

A greater factor of their strong relationship may relate to their empathetic natures, although executed differently. Blake is more reserved about his empathy and is more of a supernatural empath who literally feels unnatural sensations from spirits he communicates with, though he also does empathize with and care about living individuals. June however experiences compassionate empathy by feeling other people's emotions via instinct and taking action to help them (one could argue that Blake is the same way, although it's more complex than that). That said Blake and June are shown to be a bit more reserved in general adding to the similarities in their personalities

I mentioned earlier about how Blake has mentioned June's voice specifically on numerous occasions, being gentle and sweet and comforting. It is heavily implied that June's voice alone has a very soothing effect on Blake, indicating he holds her in high regard when it comes to keeping his mind at ease

June often asks Blake about [potential] personal issues, but does not always press him thereby establishing trust and respect between them

When Blake and June conversed in Chapter 9: Notes, Blake told June a half-truth in order to conceal his spirit secret further, but felt a little guilty afterwards, thereby showing the difficulty it is for Blake to lie to June. Similar points make brief appearances in previous chapters, but is most notable in this one.

Never have I outright stated that June is important to Blake. Instead I showed it, built on it. The respect, care, and closeness the two share with each other is introduced via creative descriptions, dialogue, or actions, and it happens over and over again. This is paramount, because June is and will become even more of an important character to both Blake and the story. The connection between them needs to be established and built upon, so that later on June can become the true deuteragonist she needs to be, not just some secondary character.

And the same is said for Alisha; the connection between her and Blake needs to be established, built on, and sometimes focused on. She is his mother, so it's a little easier there. One could easily have them be very distant towards one another, which would change the story completely. She could have been overprotective of him, and he could have reacted negatively....and still the story would have changed drastically. But I went the route where she is caring yet sickly, and he is overly concerned about her to the point that he doesn't take care of himself as much.

And that's the key. Secondary or minor characters can be changed or erased from a world and it might not change the story much. But the connection between a protagonist and a deuteragonist, whether it changes over time or not, could drastically change how a story moves and how either character could potentially change. Both June and Alisha impact the story to come in very different ways: Alisha through her past and backstory that's relevant to the plot as well as Blake himself, and June through her strong connection and loyalty towards Blake. The deuteragonists here, and in other stories, have their characters and purposes for a reason, and that importance should never be understated.

The creation of the protagonist and the deuteragonist(s) is a massive undertaking no doubt, and so is the creation of the connection and importance between them. But hopefully, I provided a good deal of information and examples so that if you ever want to write a story, or if you know someone who's having trouble, you can share this with them and the information will be of great use to them.

I am no expert by any means, but I do have a fair deal of experience and have had professional aid in the past to get through some of these hurdles, and while some writers may have other methods, these methods have worked for me best and allow me a solid start to putting together a story. And hopefully, some of this may be able to help you. Or at least you were mostly interested in the special in-depth information! Who knows!

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Thanks to some polls on both Patreon as well as YouTube, and it seemed unanimous that I talk about the process of creating characters for fiction stories! Thank you to all that voted in the Patreon polls as I will tend to value your thoughts and opinions a little more than the general public and want to make sure I give you what the majority of you would like!

Few of you may end up reading through this, but my writing and novels do mean a lot to me, and I would like to share as much as I can with patrons especially if I hope to one day publish this!

For any with an interest in reading Awakening, just follow the link provided, and I hope you might be able to enjoy the draft read as I work to finish it by year's end!