Character Creation: Protagonists & Deuteragonists

Everyone has their own methods of writing stories. Some will plan, others go with the flow. Some change their story with every revision, or start with the climax and work from there, or use lists and details to figure out their story. Some methods work better for people than others. What I will talk about is mostly my own interpretation of how I think about stories and characters, how I plan them, and how those ideas evolve. 

What you may see below may help you, or it may not! Perhaps some of it is useful or interesting, and other parts are 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".

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. You almost have to create an entirely new person (figuratively of course).

Will you tackle the problem of creating a character or characters before writing the story? Or will you just wing it? 

Typically people will be one of 3 types of fiction writers (if they have an interest in writing that is): Plotters outline their stories first (not always super detailed, but the point is that they plan some of what they want to write), Pantsers plan either nothing or very little and write through discovery, and Plantsers are a little bit of both. I am a bit more of a Plantser, but still lean towards Plotter. I like to plan out the general story, and will most often work out general plot elements and events......but characters are another story. I know some of what the characters are, but the rest of the time I just go with the flow!

Protagonists: The Heart of the Story

I'll mostly be talking about methods more for Plotters and Plantsers, since I'm not too much of a Pantser! To start with a quick example, coming up with my story Awakening I started with a protagonist that had I decided a name for, had a special ability, a couple of personality traits as well, and some of a backstory. But there's much more to work on.....

First, let's talk steps to creating a character. In this case I'll start with names, as basic as you can get. This is often one of the most important stepping stones, but can sometimes be difficult.

Typically you want to pick a name that is memorable and not forgettable or generic, unique but not out of left field. Other big factors to consider are the setting as well as the character's gender and ethnicity. Syther sounds like a very interesting name for a cybernetic warrior in the future.....but does Denice, or Robert? Nah, they don't stand out for the world or time period.

Modern or contemporary stories are sometimes the easiest to work with when it comes to naming characters. Many of my own stories take place in a modern or near-modern era, and there are plenty of sites where you can look up baby names based on origin, gender, and even pick a first letter that perhaps just feels right.

Sometimes choosing a name of symbolic value rather than just a random name you liked could be the way to go. This can sometimes be trickier especially for newer writers, particularly if you don't know what you're looking for.

Say you have a female lead that is very shy and reclusive but wants to find a friend. She lives in Africa, so name her Zola, a name literally meaning quietness. Maybe she's a Japo-American; Yuna is a Japanese name meaning gentle. A French girl from the 1800s could have the name Fayette, a little fairy that has more to her than meets the eye despite being timid.

Symbolic, memorable, even a bit unique. See? Thankfully the Internet exists, and searching up names for different nationalities, genders, and time periods is more than possible! Have a space story or a hi-fantasy world? Create your own names! Whatever works and makes the most sense for your world.

Typically, also, you'll want to namedrop your character within the first couple of chapters, mostly so the reader doesn't get too confused by who the character is and potential pronoun misconceptions. 

Onto the next step! So you're character has a name. Now it's time to give them an appearance. You might be able to imagine what they look like, or throw some random characteristics together just to have something to start with. Regardless, something to keep in mind is that you don't usually want to outright say what their appearance is through descriptions; information like this is best revealed through actions or dialogue (in other words, using the popular "show don't tell" method of writing; I can potentially talk about this a little more in a future writing post!). Have another character talk about the protagonist's appearance, talk about how graceful the protagonist feels while dancing, et cetera. 

Unlike names, you can sometimes wait a little longer to introduce their appearance, but like with names you don't always outright spill out all the information via unimaginative or random expositions. Action and dialogue are some of the best ways to introduce aspects of a character or a world. If possible, get creative with appearance revelations too!

So now your character has a name, and a face. What about their personality? What are some of their quirks, strengths, flaws, goals, etc.? Sometimes this can be a lot of information and it can get a little complex to think about and work around, but luckily it can be easier to creatively describe your character's personality as opposed to their appearance. Dialogue in particular and actions are a fantastic way to start building who your character is at their core, similar with both namedrops and appearance revelations.

When showing the reader personality traits or qualities of a protagonist, the ones most relevant to the story should be mentioned early on, or should be a recurring theme. Not that they have to be, but it's certainly a good idea. The traits you often find strongest in your character whether positive or negative should most often be on display earliest or most often. The reader will then associate that with the character for the rest of the story and become more attuned with the character and therefore the story.

The next step generally is figuring out the character's history. Some writers will create a backstory in tandem with a personality, 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 who they are now? Is the background information relevant to the story?

Keep in mind also that you should not reveal all the backstory or background information at once! Revealing everything, or 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 only when the story needs it to be revealed.

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 creating characters, generally. The protagonist needs a problem to fix, an emotional challenge, a major turn of events, that drives them forward. It could be tragic, it could be life-changing, it could be an unexpected surprise; anything is possible. But characters cannot experience change, growth, or arcs without having a conflict to focus on. Ask yourself any of these questions to help you figure out, come up with, or further develop a central internal conflict

• What's a physical or emotional hurdle they're trying to jump over?
• Is there a secret they are trying to hide?
• Does your character have any strong desires, specific goals, or are they blocked by a certain fear?
• Is something expected of your character?

Basically, the question you want to ask is: what primary thing or concept is motivating your protagonist for this story?? Once you figure that out, you're one step closer to writing a solid character and story.

And that ladies and gentlemen is a protagonist. 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. And if you can manage or find a way, try to become the character. Take what they are already, imagine yourself in their shoes, and pick or come up with 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 / mentioned / necessary to 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. Deuteragonists are not always present in stories. But when they are, it can be guaranteed that they will have almost as much importance as the main character.

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!)

Maybe you're thinking, "You missed a step": the internal conflict. Fiction often focuses on a single character (the protagonist), so 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 of anyone but the protagonist, and so readers won't know the ins and outs of the deuteragonist.

Deuteragonists carry just as much importance as protagonists, especially if their actions directly impact the story, but that doesn't mean their inner conflicts are or have to be revealed immediately. Despite that they still have their relevance, and they all have their mark to make whether 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, if you have one. But now what's important is connecting the 2 characters together.

Say you've got a protagonist and a deuteragonist that you've figured out some information for. As said earlier, deuteragonists are the second most important characters in any story, and will often serve as guides or aids or companions to the protagonist. But the importance between them, and the relationship they share is often necessary for the story and therefore should be established, or at least thought out a little before or during the writing process.

Secondary or minor characters can be changed or taken out of a story, and it could be easy to work around. 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. Deuteragonists across various stories exist and serve a purpose for a reason, and that importance should never be understated.

The creation of the protagonist and a deuteragonist is a massive undertaking no doubt, and so is the creation of the connection and importance between them. Writing a story, a good one, is not such an easy task to complete. And the characters are often the foundation of many stories. Creating them, knowing them, and understanding them is important to any writer.

Granted I am not an expert, but I do have a fair deal of experience and have had professional aid in the past to get through some hurdles when it comes to characters, plot, and more. While some writers may have other methods, these methods have worked for me best and give me the solid start I need to put together a story. And hopefully, some of this may be able to help you, maybe even a friend or family member you know!

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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 for your votes and suggestions to all those that provided one!

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!