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Charlie Jane Anders
How to Write Believable Characters in Unbelievable Situations
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Sorry I don’t have the spoons to write a brand new newsletter this week, because I’m traveling and visiting family. So I’m writing up my notes from a writing workshop that I taught a handful of times — I hope y’all enjoy!
Writing Believable Characters in Unbelievable Situations
A lot of the most interesting SF and literary fiction nowadays features ludicrous and unreal situations -- everyone from George Saunders to George R.R. Martin includes some wild storylines where ordinary reality goes out the window. So how do you keep your characters feeling like people the reader could meet on the subway, while placing them into surreal worlds?
So in this workshop newsletter, I'll go through some ideas about how to write characters with believable inner lives and worlds, even when everything around them is zarbfully wacky.
I just want to start off with a few caveats:
1) Obviously the notion of “believability” is all in the eye of the beholder, and as always with writing stuff, there are no rules.
2) The whole idea of a "believable" character is potentially a super loaded one, akin to the idea of a "relatable" character or a "likable" character. We've fought really hard to get rid of the idea that characters need to be relatable or likable, because this means putting a lot of constraints on how a character is allowed to be or act. And often, only a very specific, well-worn sort of character gets to be liked, related to, or believed in. So a "believable" character simply means someone whom the author believes in, who becomes a real person in the author’s mind — and whom the reader can be convinced to believe in as well. Even if we’re not going for psychological realism, and the character in question is deliberately fantastical or weird, the author has still thought through how that person thinks and how they process stuff that’s going on. To some extent, when I say “believable,” I mean “consistent” or “recognizable.”
3) The notion of "believable" characters is also kind of problematic because a straight cis white reader is going to more easily believe in characters who are also straight, cis and white. Readers from the dominant group(s) infamously have to get over a higher barrier when it comes to investing in characters and authors from other backgrounds and identities. And really, screw that. So none of this is advice about how to pander to people who can’t see past their own privilege.
4) Different stories have different expectations — a cartoony, satirical, weird story can definitely feature characters who are way more off the wall than in most other kinds of stories.
Even with all that, though, I still freak out all the time about how to make my characters feel like real human beings. And the more outrageous and otherworldly the story, the more I sweat over this.
To some extent this is a suspension-of-disbelief issue. If the characters feel unreal, then the world loses credibility and it starts to feel as though nothing matters. Conversely, characters who feel as if you really know them and could hang out with them in real life can make almost any outlandish plot feel plausible.
As I’ve written before, when I was writing All the Birds in the Sky, I consciously thought of myself as having a bargain with my readers: if they would accept all the outlandish stuff I was throwing into the book, I would reward them by staying mostly focused on the characters and their relationship, keeping the story grounded and personal. I had this idea in my head that for every weird idea I introduced, I had to spend a bit more time on character development and relatable emotions to compensate.
So I do tend to think of character stuff as being in tension with the plot and setting and other, more mechanistic, elements. And the harder to believe the plot or setting become, the more we need to believe in the character(s) — and we need to know that the characters believe in the plot and setting.
So at this point in the workshop version of this talk, I usually would ask the audience to do the first part of a two-part exercise: Write down a one-sentence description of a wild and woolly situation. For example, someone is being chased by giant cupcake robots through a city made of cake. Keep that sentence handy, because we’ll come back to it in a bit.
And now, one more caveat: believing in characters isn’t the same thing as identifying with them. You can believe in a character’s lived experience and worldview without having any sense that you’re like them, or that you would hit it off with them if you met. The characters you identify with are a subset, maybe a small subset, of the universe of characters you’re capable of accepting as real.
So let’s dive in to making your character feel like a real person in an unreal situation. I tend to break this down into four or five buckets.
1. Basic stuff
Grounded details. What’s your character’s favorite candy? Pet peeve? What are some basic character flaws? What’s the thing this person always gets annoyed about, and what makes them feel cheerful? When I wrote my story “Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue,” I spent a lot of time thinking about Rachel’s purse, and her hatred of art curators, and other stuff that had nothing to do with her role in the story.
A lived-in life. In other words, a basic sense of how this person’s life experiences have shaped their approach to the world. What little aches and pains do they have, as a result of old injuries or muscle strain? Is there something that always runs through their head when they’re entering a new situation? How does the weight of everything they’ve already been through alter their perceptions in the present? If they have to carry a heavy thing, are they going to have an aching shoulder? This is also one of a few opportunities to make sure someone’s ethnic or cultural background, or other experiences of marginalization, come through consistently. If they’ve experienced discrimination or abuse in the past, they’ll be constantly bracing for more of it in the present.
A fleshed-out backstory. This kind of goes with the previous point — but it’s also a basic thing that makes a big difference. Any time I’m having trouble fully inhabiting a character, or buying into their reality, I spend more time thinking about who they used to be and how they’ve changed. And what experiences shaped them. I talk more about this in Never Say You Can’t Survive.
2) Internal monologue.
Obsessions and goals. I like a character who has a lot of obsessions and things that they keep thinking about in the midst of a complicated situation. Or someone who has a goal that they keep pushing toward even if the plot is trying to move them in some other direction. I believe in the reality of a situation more if it’s filtered through someone’s idiosyncratic, maybe somewhat unreasonable, perspective. A character who keeps up a running commentary on events that is heavily skewed by their obsessions will always help convince me of whatever is supposed to be going on.
An unwillingness to follow the plot. A ludicrous situation will often sweep your characters up, carrying them along on the weird tide. This makes it all the more important for those characters to be pushing in their own direction, lest they feel like human flotsam. Years ago, I wrote a story called “I’ve Got the Music in Me” — it was a weird satire set in a future where you could be accused of copyright infringement if you got a song stuck in your head. (Because the earworm in your head represents an illegal copy of a piece of music.) Anyway, the main character was just sort of hapless loser who’s drawn into a nightmare, and it was hard to care. So I decided the protagonist had a sick dog that needed to go to the vet — so the whole time he was being interrogated by the copyright authorities, he just wanted to get out of there and get some medical help for his poor dog. It sounds ridiculously simple, but it really helped a lot — suddenly, I cared, and was more convinced of the reality of this guy’s predicament. A character with desires that are orthogonal to the plot makes the plot feel more real.
Obnoxiousness. Just a general observation: your characters can be assholes. You can push this a lot further than you think you can. Their annoying jerk behavior makes them feel more plausible and helps them to push back against all the bizarro shit you’re giving them to deal with. Go ahead and make your protagonist a flaming dickbag, it’ll help.
3 Making THEM believe in the situation
Like I said earlier, the characters have to believe in the reality of their circumstances, especially if it’s weird AF. It’s a transitive thing: if we believe in the characters, and the characters believe that giant monkey ghosts are floating overhead, then we’ll believe in those ghost-monkeys too.
Here are some questions I figure it would be helpful to ask:
What real-life experiences are you drawing on? How is this situation similar to something that happens in the real world? Even if the similarity is somewhat tangential, it can help a lot. Important note: these real-life experiences don’t have to be yours — they can be the experiences of someone you know, or just something you’ve read about.
How does this situation seem normal to the character? Even if it’s kind of nonsensical, is it something they either expected or have gotten used to? Or is there some aspect of the situation that feels familiar, because humans are pattern-spotting creatures?
Does the situation have some internal logic that the characters can grasp — even if it’s not the logic of the “real” world? Again, we’re pattern-spotting creatures. If a character can find some rationale for what’s going on, they can believe in it a bit more.
How does the worldbuilding support this wackness? Basically, the same way your character needs to have aches and pains and preoccupations and quirks, your world needs to have complicated, fussy details that your character is familiar with and relates current events to.
Is this weird situation in some way a metaphor? Not that everything needs to be an allegory or whatever, but if the situation is a metaphor for something real, then it helps for you to be consciously aware of what that metaphor is. And maybe your character notices some of that as well.
4) Trauma, fear and confusion: realistic reactions.
If the freaking walls are melting, this ought to freak your characters out a little — or maybe they’re completely level-headed in the moment, and then they have a meltdown when they’re safe and in a more stable situation. One way or another, we should see how these unlikely events affect your character, or else they’re just not going to seem as real. Like I write about here, you probably need to be able to write about trauma and other intense, embodied reactions in a grounded fashion.
Audiences are so used to bonkers events in their fiction that they get impatient with characters who take too long to accept it or roll with it. We’re a bit jaded, so we want our heroes to be jaded too. But I really appreciate a protagonist who does have a bit of a meltdown when the world is going topsy-turvy.
Most importantly: Allow your characters to have their own reactions to events, not the reactions you think they ought to have. (And here’s where all that stuff about baggage and internal monologue comes into play.)
5) Your character’s position in relation to events
This is partly a chance for me to whine about one of my biggest pet peeves. I get really annoyed when an author seems to be trying to have it both ways — their protagonist is at the center of events and is a pivotal figure in a crisis, but also their protagonist is an obscure nobody who’s treated as if they don’t matter. Sometimes I’ll see a story go back and forth between these two poles, from scene to scene. Or from chapter to chapter. (Sure, there are real-life situations where someone is both essential and marginalized, but in those situations it’s usually pretty clear that people resent depending on someone they look down on.)
Nothing throws me out of believing in a character’s situation faster than a lack of clarity about how much power the character has, and how important everyone else thinks the character is.
Yes, people can be more powerful in one context and less powerful in another. (See: married women in traditional families, who are often powerful within the home, but relatively powerless outside it.) But that still requires a certain amount of clarity about which situations are which, and what that transition feels like. It shouldn’t feel confusing, unless you’re trying to do something extra surreal.
When a character is in the midst of baffling chaos, we need to see them struggle. (Or at least, we need to buy into their perception of what’s happening.) And we can’t see them struggle, or grapple with their circumstances, if we don’t understand how much power they have and how much access they have to information.
This is partly a worldbuilding issue, but also partly about your specific character — the more clear our sense of their place in this society, the easier it’ll be to accept their situation as plausible.
So now let's go back to the ridiculous situation you cooked up before. (See above, with the cupcake robots.) I want you to spend one minute writing down five things about the character in that situation that make them seem more anchored and like a real person. Like: They're late for dinner, they have a toothache, or whatever.
Try to come up with one thing from each of the items on the list above: a grounded detail, a lived-in life, a decent backstory, some internal monologue and goals of their own, some real-life stuff, how they react to trauma/fear, and their relation to the main story.
Final thought: The stuff you worry people will flag is often the only thing they don’t criticize. That’s why you get beta readers!
Creating Believable Characters in Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Fiction
At a glance: This article offers some tips and strategies for creating believable characters in speculative fiction, namely sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
Investing time and energy into your characters is one of the best things you can do to improve your writing. By making your characters more believable, you’re helping readers suspend their disbelief and accept the fictional world you’ve created.
This is true for writers of any genre. But I would argue it’s even more important for those who write within the speculative genres, where the reader is taken way outside of “the known.”
This article offers many tips for creating believable characters in horror, fantasy and science fiction. But before we get to those tips, I want to reiterate the importance of character development with the speculative genres.
Believable Characters: A Key Ingredient in Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Fiction
Characters in sci-fi, fantasy and horror novels have a big job to do. (They have a lot of jobs, actually. But here, we’ll be focusing on just one.) They have to make your fictional world more believable for readers.
This applies to other genres of fiction as well — romance, mysteries, thrillers, you name it. But it’s particularly important for the speculative fiction genres of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
After all, when you write within these genres, you are delving into a world of unbelievable things:
- Science fiction often deals with future technologies, times or locations that don’t exist yet. It’s part science, part fiction. Hence the name. Readers of sci-fi want to believe in the future or alternate world you’ve created. They just need a little help to accomplish that. Realistic characters to the rescue! By creating believable characters within your science fiction story, you’re helping the reader accept the broader world in which those characters live.
- Fantasy, by definition, is unreal. This genre of fiction usually features elements of magic and supernaturalism, or creatures that don’t exist in the real world. And that’s exactly why readers enjoy reading fantasy fiction. It offers an escape from the real world. But if you want your readers to be truly immersed in your story, you need to include some believable elements. When readers “see” your fantasy world through the eyes of a realistic character, they’ll have an easier time suspending disbelief and entering that world. You’ve given them the gift of escapism and immersion.
- Horror is more of a mixed bag. Some horror stories involve things that are frighteningly real, like serial killers and madmen. Other horror stories include elements that are less believable, like ghosts and demons. All horror fiction can benefit from having believable and relatable characters. But it becomes even more important when your story includes fantasy or supernatural elements.
Okay, you’re convinced that creating believable characters can improve your fiction game. Now what? It’s one thing to talk about creating believable characters in sci-fi, horror and fantasy … quite another to actually do it. So where do you begin?
Here are some strategies to keep in mind, as you build your characters and let them inhabit your new world.
Show Us Your Characters’ Internal Struggles
One way to make your sci-fi, fantasy or horror characters more believable is by showing us their internal struggles. And by “internal,” I mean the ones that take place inside the character’s mind — those inner thoughts, fears and worries that bubble beneath the surface.
We all face challenging dilemmas in our lives, moments where we struggle to find the right path. Moments of indecision and internal conflict. So why should our fictional characters be any different?
Inexperienced and aspiring writers often focus on the external struggles, while neglecting the internal ones. They show their characters struggling against villains … or natural disasters … or zombies … or whatever. But they sometimes forget to reveal the struggle within. As a result, the characters end up being one-dimensional and less believable.
When writing a scene in your sci-fi, fantasy or horror novel, ask yourself: What does my character feel and think at this moment? Is she conflicted about something? Does she feel guilt or fear or remorse? Get to the bottom of it. Delve into the psychology of your characters. Figure out the mindset, and then share it with the reader.
Creating believable characters in horror, fantasy and science fiction is a two-sided affair. You have to show us how they react to external threats and complications, as well as internal conflicts and dilemmas.
Experiment With the Diary Method
Earlier this year, I wrote an article for Sci-Fi & Scary entitled “Dear Diary: Creating Believable Characters in Speculative Fiction.” In that piece, I shared one of my favorite strategies for creating believable characters in science fiction and horror. The diary entry.
The general concept here is simple. But don’t let that simplicity fool you. This technique can help you bring new layers of depth and complexity to your fictional characters. It can help you discover things you didn’t know before.
How it works: Start by writing a few diary / journal entries in your main character’s voice and POV. Imagine it’s your character writing in the diary — not you. These are her own private thoughts, her own fears and hopes. You don’t publish it or share it. You keep it private, just like a real diary. You let your character pour her emotions onto the page.
Here’s an excerpt from the article I shared with Sci-Fi & Scary:
“You have to remember it’s not your diary or journal. It’s your protagonist’s. It’s their own private space for channeling their hopes, dreams and fears. If you can think of it in those terms, you’ll release a flood of emotion and energy you didn’t even know existed. You’ll strike the mother lode. There’s a kind of freedom in this process. It lets you switch off your internal editor and let the thoughts just flow. Unrestrained. Unafraid. Uncensored. If you do this, I’m willing to bet you will make some interesting discoveries.
Journaling can help you get inside the mind of your characters, unlocking thoughts and motivations you didn’t even know they had. It’s a powerful technique for creating more believable characters in science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Grab a notebook and a pencil, or open a blank document on your computer. Channel your main character. Turn off your internal editor and let the words just flow. You’ll be surprised by what comes out.
Make Them Sound Like Real People
Good dialogue is important in all genres and fiction, and that goes double for the speculative genres of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Remember, when you’re writing about things beyond our own reality, you have to work harder to make your characters believable. Natural dialogue brings you one step closer to that goal.
In his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King simplified the role of the fiction writer as such:
“The job boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you behave and then telling the truth about what you see.”
Words of wisdom right there. And we could say the same thing about writing character dialogue, just by tweaking the above quote:
Writing good dialogue boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you talk and bringing that truth into your fiction.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, I used to spend my mornings at a local coffee shop, caffeinating and getting my pages down for the day. People would come and go, grabbing cups for the morning commute. Some would stay a while, sitting at nearby tables.
Every now and then, I’d pick up bits of an interesting conversation at a nearby table. (Eavesdropping. Guilty as charged.) I would stare at my computer or notepad, pretending to work, but really I’d be listening … listening to the flow of the dialogue, the interruptions, the agreements and sometimes disagreements, the endless pursuit of understanding.
That’s one way to learn to write good dialogue, by listening to the world around you. Another way is to read good dialogue, especially from writers who are known to have that gift.
Margaret Atwood. Jeffrey Eugenides. Elmore Leonard. Toni Morrison. All of these writers are known for writing great dialogue. Their characters’ conversations sound like real people. They come alive on the page. You would do well by reading some of their work.
On the Masterclass.com website, Margaret Atwood created a curated list of works that offer examples of effective dialogue. Her list included:
- Any of Elmore Leonard’s thrillers
- Chicken (2018) by Lynn Crosbie
- Get in Trouble (2015) by Kelly Link
- Lives of Girls and Women (1971) by Alice Munro
Lastly, check out this article on the NY Book Editors blog. It offers a wealth of tips for writing effective dialogue.
So there you have it, a blueprint for creating believable characters in science fiction, fantasy and horror. I hope you’ve found this article useful, and I wish you well in your writing adventures!
Character Focused Fantasy Novels You’re Sure To Love!
By: Preston Simmons | Written: 8 June 2021
Characters Make Or Break A Book
Have you ever read a book with terribly written characters and then called it amazing? Probably not. There’s a reason for that. Characters are the backbone of every good book. Well-written characters should be memorable, flawed, and subvert the reader’s expectations in some way. If you want stories that make the most of character interactions, have incredible character development, and also have characters you will never forget, you may want to read character focused fantasy books.
Character focused fantasy novels put characters above all else. These are the books where you will remember the names of each and every character like they were your best friends.
The novels in this article contain some of the most memorable characters you can find in fantasy. These are characters that will stick with you. You may find yourself in the future comparing other characters in lesser series to the ones found in these stories.
Some of the novels mentioned in this article will be stand-alone stories, while others will be part of longer series that follows characters throughout a 10 book saga (or more). Some of the recommendations are epic fantasy, some are science fiction fantasy, and others are slice-of-life fantasy. Each book that appears is worth checking out for masterclass character writing.
#1 – Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
Robin Hobb is the queen of character writing. The characters in her epic fantasy series Realm of the Elderlings have some of the greatest arcs in fantasy. The Realm of the Elderlings comprises five different series: The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders trilogy, The Tawny Man trilogy, The Rain Wild Chronicles, and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. If you want to start this epic series, begin with The Farseer Trilogy. Here, you’ll meet Fitz, one of the greatest characters in all of fantasy.
What sets Fitz apart is his growth throughout the series. This is a story of a boy becoming a man. He encounters many people on his journey, each having a major impact on his life in one way or another. He deals with successes and hardship, tragedies and victories. Each event further shapes him into the person he becomes by the end of the series.
If you want to read a series with masterful character development and incredible character interactions, the Realm of the Elderlings is a series made for you.
#2 – Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold is a massive 16 book science fiction series that follows many characters over hundreds of years. First and foremost, this is the story of the Vorkosigan family. More importantly, this is the story of Miles Vorkosigan, a character unlike many others in fiction. Over the span of novels, you see him develop into a character that stands far above the rest.
The reading order of the saga can be difficult for newcomers. Unlike many other series, the publication order is not the correct way to read the series. The two recommended ways to read the series are the internal chronological order or the bookriot reading order. The first way is how Bujold herself recommends reading. The second way is how many people enjoy reading the series to maximize character continuation.
Whichever way you choose to read the series, the first recommended book to read is Shards of Honor. Though this book doesn’t feature Miles, the main protagonist of the series, it features his parents and acts as a great beginning to the Vorkosiverse.
#3 – The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Who says characters need to be human for them to be likeable? Not Martha Wells, that’s for sure. In her series, the Murderbot Diaries, Wells creates one of the most relatable characters in fantasy in the form of Murderbot. Murderbot just wants to watch soap operas, but unfortunately, life isn’t that simple.
Throughout the six-book series, the Murderbot Diaries introduces the reader to many AI and human characters. The main character, Murderbot, is what I would call a mirror to the modern-day person. All his thoughts, desires, and worries will resonate with anyone who has ever felt different or alone in the world. It’s incredible how Wells creates such a human character with Murderbot.
This is a series you’re going to love and probably will have a hard time putting down once you start.
#4- The First Law by Joe Abercrombie
Grimdark is a genre of fantasy that some people hate and others love. The people that hate grimdark usually complain that the stories are unnecessarily gruesome, joyless, and dark just for the sake of being as dark as possible. The people who love grimdark enjoy it for the brutal realism of the world’s the author creates, the tragedies the characters suffer through, and the seriousness that usually accompanies such a story.
Just like all other genres, what puts some grimdark stories above others is the characters that appear in them. One grimdark series that emphasizes characters above all else is The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.
The First Law trilogy is a character-focused fantasy series at its heart. The first novel, The Blade Itself, follows four characters, Logen Ninefingers, Jezel dan Luthar, Inquisitor Glokta, and the wizard Bayaz. The four characters are very different from one another, each with their own clear motivations and goals.
These characters will be some of the most memorable you will read in the grimdark genre, and maybe even in fantasy itself. Each character that Abercrombie introduces throughout the series is creative, important, and captivating to read about.
The First Law trilogy is a great series to read for all the grimdark fans out there, and in actuality, for any reader in general.
#5 – A Song of Ice And Fire by George RR Martin
There is a reason why A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most well-known pieces of literature. One reason is because of the HBO series A Game of Thrones. Why was GOT so popular? The characters.
ASOIF, the series GOT is based on, is one of the best character-focused fantasy sagas around. Each book is made up of point-of-view chapters. In these POV chapters, the reader experiences different perspectives of events that occur in the books. How each character views the events that occur drastically differs.
What I love about these books is that each character feels like their own person. Not a single character fits into the typical archetype you would find in most fantasy novels. Each character has their own believable motivations. You read about a character backstabbing another character, but you root for them to succeed because you read why the backstabbing is necessary. Then the next chapter, you read from the POV of the character that’s being backstabbed. You feel the anguish of the betrayal because now you see how it affects the character you are reading about. It’s easy to find yourself rooting for a character in one chapter, then hating them in the next. And vice versa.
George RR Martin is a master at character writing, and his novels have spawned an entirely new generation of fantasy fans. His character focused fantasy novels are the reason why so many people love fantasy today.
#6 – The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A McKillip is simply a beautiful book. Beautiful prose, expressive imagery, and most importantly, incredibly written characters. This is classic fantasy at its best, suitable for readers of all ages.
What makes this novel so memorable is its characters. Sybel, the main protagonist, experiences so much growth throughout the novel going from a person who is cold and solitary, to someone who finds love in many unexpected places, and craves the connection to another that only a mother could feel.
There are many other characters that are equally as enthralling to read about, like Tam and Coren. The many different beasts are also characters in their own right that are as memorable as the main cast.
This is a breathtaking book that can be finished in a single day. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
#7 – Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay is a stand alone character focused fantasy novel that is slow, intelligent, and masterfully written. This is a tale of rebellion and love, magic and politics. A story where the heroes are flawed and the villains are sympathetic. This is character writing at its best.
These characters are morally ambiguous at best, and that makes them all the more intriguing to read. This is a story of men and women, human characters that are powerful, but just that; men and women. They are people capable of love and passion, violence and murder. Each passionately believe in their goals and what they think is right. They have real reasons for what they believe in, even if it comes at a great cost to others.
Tigana is not an easy read. It can even be a painful read for some. It is, however, a story that will resonate with you. You may laugh, and you even may cry. But without a doubt, Tigana, will be a novel you will love.
#8 – The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is probably the most unique novel on the list. This is a slice of life fantasy book. What that means is it’s not action packed or gruesome, and it’s not a difficult read. In fact, this might be the most comfortable read you have in a long time.
First and foremost, this is a slow character focused fantasy book. It follows Maia, the half goblin fourth son of an emperor who must learn what it means to be a leader in a world that doesn’t want to accept him. Maia is the star of this novel. He’s kind, warm, and such a treat to read about that will instantly put a smile on your face.
If you are looking for a story about someone who brings light to a world of darkness, this might be the one for you.
#9 – The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
It is hard to express how much I owe to the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. It’s the series that got me back into reading so many years ago. It’s also the series that jump started my love for fantasy. Part of the reason why I loved WoT so much could be because of the characters.
By the time I finished the series, the characters all felt like my good friends. Rand, Mat, and Perrin felt like my best friends that I had shared many memories. Nyneve, Egwene, Min, and Avienda felt like older sisters to me, always imparting some wisdom (whether I wanted to hear it or not). In short, these fictional characters felt so real to me that it pained me to put the books down.
The Wheel of Time is such a great series with amazing characters. Each character could easily have many essays written about them discussing their growth throughout the books. Just know that when you finish the series, you can expect to become intimately connected with each character. You’ll know their thoughts, their wishes, their worries, and their fears. You’ll know who they love and hate and why they do so. You may even know these characters so well that, maybe, you too will think of them as friends.
The Wheel of Time is one of my favorite series of all time, and its all thanks to the characters.
RELATED: Best Wheel of Time Reading Order
#10 – The Masquerade Series by Seth Dickinson
The Masquerade Series by Seth Dickinson is a very dark, very adult character focused fantasy saga that can only be described as a masterpiece. This is a complex, multifaceted series where characters are at the forefront. This book is painful to read because of how brutally honest and unforgiving it is in its depiction of the world Dickinson created. You’ll read about betrayal, death, racism, torture, mutilation, and war in its most raw forms.
This book and its characters will leave you speechless. At the beginning of the article I said that to make well-written characters, they must be memorable, flawed, and defy expectations. This series takes that concept and takes it to the next level. Once you read this series, you won’t forget any bit of it. It will haunt you, it may hurt you, but without a doubt, it will be an experience unlike any you have ever had in your literary life.
9 Common Types of Fantasy Characters (With Examples)
When you think of fantasy, your mind might drift to enchanted settings and the magical systems that govern them. And while it’s hard not to marvel at the brand-new worlds that authors are able to conjure, it’s the people and creatures that inhabit those worlds who claim readers’ emotional investment.
This list covers nine of the most common types of fantasy characters. Don’t forget to scope out the 80+ examples of our favorite fantasy characters from popular books and movies.
1. The Hero
There is no fantasy story without a Hero and a quest that needs undertaking. This is their fantasy world, and we’re just living in it (for a time). While people often think of Joseph Campbell’s template of the Hero’s Journey when it comes to fantasy story structures, the Hero can take many different forms (they can even be an anti-hero!), whether or not the story resembles Campbell’s model. The Hero might relish in their role, like Conan the Barbarian, or they may be a reluctant leader in the story’s narrative, like Bilbo Baggins (initially). Indeed, the nature of the Hero will largely depend on the particular subgenre of fantasy you're reading/writing.
Example:
As the Chosen One, Harry Potter checks off all of the standard Hero boxes: he hasn’t volunteered to be a hero, but he still feels an obligation to fulfill that role.
For the first eleven years of his life, he is unaware of the legacy he holds within the wizarding world as the Boy Who Lived. When he does learn his own origin story, he does not relish his perceived heroic notoriety — he just wants to make some friends and learn some magic in a place he feels he belongs. However, when threats present themselves and put others at risk, he doesn’t hesitate to step into the role of Hero or to put himself on the line to save others. For more fantasy books the feature heroes like Harry Potter, check out this post.
More Heroes:
- Frodo Baggins (Lord of the Rings)
- Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)
- Sarah Williams (Labyrinth)
- Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz)
- Lucy Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)
- Conan the Barbarian (the Conan books)
- Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)
- Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
2. The Sidekick
In many ways, Sidekicks in fantasy could just as well be the Hero because they’re brave, skilled, and determined. The only reason they’re not is that the actual Hero has been anointed in some way as the person who must solve the conflict. And yet, the Hero usually wouldn’t get close to a successful resolution if not for the Sidekick.
The Sidekick doesn't only help the Hero save the day, they also stick to the Hero's side through thick and thin: while going through the trials and tribulations of being “the Hero,” the protagonist often buckles under pressure and reveals a darker side to themselves. The Sidekick sees through this falter and reminds the Hero that they can accomplish their task — while reminding the reader why we’re rooting for the Hero. If the Hero begins to take on a larger-than-life quality, it’s also up to the Sidekick to help readers see past the blinding heroic glory and continue to relate to the protagonist.
Example:
The Sidekick to end all Sidekicks: Samwise Gamgee. When we say that Samwise gives legs to the quest to destroy the One Ring and save Middle Earth from a doomed eternity, we’re speaking both metaphorically and literally. He provides Frodo with the mental and emotional strength to keep going, and when that’s not enough, he picks Frodo up and carries him up Mount Doom. Let’s just say we don’t think Bonnie would have chosen Clyde if Samwise was up for grabs.
Furthermore, Samwise is by far the most relatable character in the Lord of The Rings. He provides comic relief, moral guidance, and acts as a conduit between the reader and Frodo towards the end of the series, when Frodo begins to lose himself to the Ring.
More Sidekicks:
- Donkey (Shrek)
- Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (the Harry Potter series)
- Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess)
- Sir Kay (Legends of King Arthur)
- Inigo Montoya and Fezzik (The Princess Bride)
- Ser Bronn (A Song of Ice and Fire)
- Obern (The Iron Druid Chronicles)
- Samwell Tarly (A Song of Ice and Fire)
- Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
3. The Mentor
The road to solving a fantasy’s main conflict is usually long and filled with peril. And without someone who knows the ropes just a little, it would be damn near impossible for the story to be resolved. Enter: the Mentor.
Referring back to the popular fantasy story structure, the Hero's Journey, the Mentor is usually the person who either guides the Hero to answer the “Call to Adventure” (moving them from their comfort zone into the unknown), or they are waiting to welcome the Hero after they decide to accept the Call. (Other than the "chosen one" Hero, the Mentor is one of the most common tropes in the fantasy genre.)
The Mentor is typically familiar with the narrative of the conflict (perhaps they’ve seen it play out before), or they’re uniquely equipped to prepare the Hero for their journey. They don’t usually stay with the Hero for the majority of the narrative — this might be because they die while helping the protagonist, or they are off working on removing obstacles in the Hero’s path behind the scenes. But they do often appear to help save the day in crucial times of peril.
Example:
When people think of Harry Potter and Mentors, their mind likely goes to Albus Dumbledore. And for good reason. The guy has a long white beard, smiling eyes, and half-moon specs — not to mention he basically spends the whole series secretly coaching Harry to take on Lord Voldemort.
However, there’s another Mentor that gets overlooked: Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid is the one who goes to get Harry, and ushers him into the wizarding world perched atop his flying motorcycle. He shows him the ropes and ensures he is prepared to attend Hogwarts. He is also the person Harry goes to in times of emotional need. And he often gives Harry information crucial to defeating Voldemort (though he does it by accident — or because of a little too much fun at the Flying Broomstick).
More Mentors:
- Gandalf (Lord of the Rings)
- Great Uncle Merry (The Dark Is Rising)
- Ebenezar McCoy (The Dresden Files)
- Doctor Morgenes (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn)
- Professor X (X-Men)
- Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- Glinda the Good Witch (The Wizard of Oz)
- Aslan (The Chronicles of Narnia)
4. The Love Interest
Love is one of the greatest forms of magic, right? The Love Interest in a fantasy novel can fulfill many narrative purposes: they can help humanize the Hero by showing a more vulnerable side to them, or they can help raise the stakes when they’re threatened or in danger.
That being said, readers are likely to quickly tire of a Love Interest if the character’s existence is solely a plot device. In other words, the Love Interest needs to be a fully fleshed-out person if readers are going to care when they’re captured by a dragon. The Love Interest should have their own thoughts and values (that could be in contrast to the Hero’s way of thinking and offer interesting conflict on its own), be able to stand on their own two feet, and contribute in some way to the story around them. Give these damsels or gentlemen more than distress.
Example:
Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series has epic fantasy written all over it — but that doesn’t keep him from portraying love stories with detailed strokes. We are, of course, talking about the love story between Vin (a rebel and our protagonist) and the heir to the most powerful noble house in the city, Elend. They’re both developed characters with their own intricate backstories which contribute to the person they are in the story. Their relationship is a complicated one that’s often being tested — and at times looks like it might not make it.
Other Love Interests:
- Jamie Fraser (Outlander)
- Edward Cullen (Twilight)
- Alec Campion (Swordspoint)
- Arwen (Lord of the Rings)
- The Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
- Prince Po (Graceling)
- Buttercup (The Princess Bride)
5. The Friendly Creature
Some kind of mythical creature that has a bond with the Hero. The creatures are often large and intimidating at first glance, and, if aggressively provoked, have the power to cause damage. But the creature recognizes the Hero as being on the “good side” and forms a connection with them, often even helping them and getting them out of sticky situations. Friendly creatures are common to all types of fantasy, but especially children's fantasy, such as in the example below.
Example:
In the movie How to Train Your Dragon, the Night Fury is one of the rarest and most dangerous species of dragon. One day, teenager Hiccup shoots down a Night Fury. When he goes to find its body so that he can prove his accomplishment to the village, he finds himself unable to bring himself to kill it and instead sets it free. This act of compassion leads to an unlikely friendship between the awkward 15-year old and massive dragon whom he dubs “Toothless.”
More Friendly Creatures:
- Buckbeak (the Harry Potter series)
- The Ents (Lord of the Rings)
- The Wild Things (Where the Wild Things Are)
- The Coyote (Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight)
6. The Villain
In high fantasy, this character often lives in some kind of menacing fortress in a land most would find inhospitable, surrounded by their unfalteringly devoted minions as they plot total world domination. Fire and brimstone abound, and the story revolves around the Hero trying to take this character down.
But the Villain can take other forms as well — they might be an entity, a concept, or even an aspect of human nature. The most interesting Villains are often not pure evil, and have at least some backstory that shows readers how they came to be “bad.” But whatever the case, the Villain is still the primary antagonist of the story, and they pose some kind of threat to the fantasy world the story takes place in.
Example:
Opal Koboi, the main antagonist from the Artemis Fowl series, might be an uber-intelligent pixie, but make no mistake: she’s got plans for world domination, and she’s got a weapon-engineering lab to help her achieve it. Her ultimate goal is to rally the fairy societies to war so that she can become empress and destroy humanity. She is prone to delusions of godhood and ultimately believes she’s the only one capable to control the world.
More Villains:
- Lord Farquaad (Shrek)
- The Kurgan (Highlander)
- Lord Voldemort (the Harry Potter series)
- The White Witch (The Chronicles of Narnia)
- Sauron (Lord of the Rings)
- Thulsa Doom (the Conan books)
- King Xerxes (300)
- Saruman (Lord of the Rings)
- The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
- Queen Bavmorda (Willow)
7. The Evil Creature
While the Friendly Creature sees the good in the Hero and bonds with them, the Evil Creatures cares about, well, no one, really. They might seem like they are on the side of the “bad guys,” but this cooperation only occurs if it furthers the Evil Creature’s agenda — which is, usually, to destroy.
Example:
Here are a few characteristics of “the Wood” from Naomi Novik’s Uprooted: it warps everything around it, it gives birth to poisonous creatures, and produces crops that emanate destructive fumes that drive people dangerous and insane. Not to mention the actual trees that trap people in their trunks where they remain stuck in a form of limbo — constantly trying to escape the Wood that they have also become a part of. Yikes!
More Evil Creatures:
- The Balrog (Lord of the Rings)
- The Shelob (Lord of the Rings)
- Sandworms (Dune)
- Cthulhu (H. P. Lovecraft’s Mythos)
- The Dementors (the Harry Potter series)
- The Kraken (Clash of the Titans)
- The Megalodon Sharks (The Meg)
- Plague Demonspawns (Shattered Pillars)
- The Other Mother (Coraline)
8. The Other Hero
While this character helps save the day, they’re not quite a Sidekick: their goal is more to solve the conflict, not to support the Hero. Because of that goal, they do protect the Hero at all costs and help guide them through the journey, but they are more skilled than the Sidekick and generally have a knack for knowing just what to do.
The difference between the Other Hero and the Mentor is that the Other Hero is usually zeroed in on the conflict at hand, while the Mentor sees the bigger picture and has a broader, more deep level of knowledge of the unfolding story. In addition, the Other Hero provides more practical support to the Hero while the Mentor also gives emotional guidance. However, they are both usually highly skilled, and, like the Mentor, the Other Hero will do whatever it takes to help clear the path for the Hero.
Example:
Well, the site TV Tropes has actually named this commonly recurring fantasy character after Aragorn, and who are we to contradict them? While the main characters in the Lord of The Rings are often split off engaging in various subplots, the story is mainly splintered into “Sam and Frodo” and the “Other 7.” And the Hero of the Other 7 is Aragorn. He is constantly kicking orc ass, he summons a dead army, he leads Rohan to victory at the Battle of Helm’s Deep. He keeps Sauron’s army busy while Frodo and Sam make their way to Mount Doom — oh, and then he makes sure Mordor is cleared of orcs while they sneak their way up the volcano. Shall we go on?
More Other Heroes:
- Bard (The Hobbit)
- Raven (HIVE)
- Professor McGonagall (the Harry Potter series)
- Wedge Antilles (X-Wing)
- Princess Leia (Star Wars)
- Madmartigan (Willow)
9. The Reluctant Villain
There are many potential facets to this character. Maybe they’ve fallen on hard times and are lured by the antagonist with promises of a better life if they only commit these few small (and bad) deeds. Or maybe they’ve been raised by unsavory people and they would lose everything they have if they turn away from them. Perhaps they are being threatened and don’t have a choice. Either way, they are an antagonistic force that is committed to the bad side to a degree. What differentiates them from the Villain is that they also hesitate at every bad move they make. You'll often find Reluctant Villains in grimdark fantasy, a subgenre characterized by morally gray characters and plotlines.
Example:
Tyrion Lannister is an interesting character because of his grey shades. He is part of a family of villains, and out of familial obligation, he spends the first few books acting in the best interest of Lannister House. However, acting in their best interest often requires committing villainous deeds. So while readers might be able to empathize with Tyrion’s desire to protect — and fit in with — his family, they still recognize many of his actions as “bad.”
More Reluctant Villains:
- Draco Malfoy (the Harry Potter series)
- Regent (Worm)
- The Henchman (Coraline)
- Jeremiah Colt (The Zombie Knight)
- The Angarak people (The Belgariad)
- Theon Greyjoy (Game of Thrones)
- Count Dracula (Blood for Dracula)
And that's a wrap on the nine most common types of fantasy character archetypes that you'll encounter in every book! If you'd like to read more about the genre, check out some of the following magical posts:
- Best Fantasy Writing Prompts (Read here)
- Kick-Ass Tips For Writing Fantasy (Read here)
- A Century of Fantasy: How the Genre's Changed Since the 1920s (Read here)
You can also find all these characters in the following fantasy books, lists courtesy of the Reedsy Discovery blog:
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