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How to write realistic characters is something most fiction writers worry about. This is for good reason. Writing realistic characters, with realistic dialogues and inner worlds, is the key to writing realistic fiction.

Of course, before seeing how to write realistic characters, you should perhaps ask yourself whether it’s necessary for your novel to have realistic characters.

You might find that question a bit odd. Surely, what’s wrong with realistic characters? Why would anyone not want to write realistic characters?

We’ll take a look at this little detail, too. Sneak preview: it has to do with what I mentioned above, referring to “writing realistic fiction”.

After we get that out of the way, I’ll give you concrete tips on how to write realistic characters. Here’s another sneak preview: To write realistic characters, with believable dialogues and rich inner worlds, you must think like them, individually.

Are There Cases Where You Shouldn’t Aim for Realism?

So, let’s get this out of the way first. Generally speaking, the answer is “no”; you should always strive for realism. But generically speaking – that is, in terms of genre – the answer is “not quite”.

If you recall my post on types of fiction characters, I then said that sometimes you need a balance between having and not having stereotyped characters; between following the “rules” and breaking them.

The matter of stereotyped versus realistic/unpredictable characters is particularly related to genre. To put it simply, the less highbrow the genre, the more it relies on stereotyped characters.

If you write literary fiction, your usual concern is to avoid stereotyped characters. Conversely, if you write, say, romance or fantasy, your usual concern is how to balance realism and generic expectations. Is the male love interest of the protagonist too arrogant, or just about right? Does the wizard serve the role of the assistant adequately, or is he too insecure?

However, even if you’re writing genre fiction, the problem is first about introducing realism and only then about balancing it. So, let’s focus on the former first, and we’ll talk about the latter later.

How to Write Realistic Characters: Concrete Tips

When it comes to real, believable characters, the attributes a fiction writer needs to focus on are the following: Dialogues and Interaction, Inner Worlds and Thought Processes, and finally, Randomness and Unpredictability.

I’ve ordered these elements from the simpler (and easier to fix or work on) to the more complex. Let’s take a look at them, one by one.

Dialogues and Interaction

Let’s begin with an example. Take a look at the following two cases, and try to decide which one is preferable.

Case A

“Can I ask you something?” John said.
“Of course you can,” Mary replied.
“Do you know where is my typewriter? I can’t find it.”
“Let me think,” Mary smiled and, after a moment’s thought, she said “No, I can’t remember.”

Case B

“Do you know where’s my typewriter?” John mumbled, his eyes scanning the room.
“Well…” Mary uttered and, after a moment’s thought, she sighed. “No, not a clue.”

I expect most people to prefer Case B, considering it a more realistic example. That is, more likely to be part of a real exchange, between real people – as opposed to literary characters.

In most cases, authors write unrealistic dialogues because they’re too preoccupied with supplying factual information. If you haven’t read it yet, I strongly advise you to take a look at my article on narrative exposition.

Dialogues and character interaction is a relatively easy thing to fix, if you want to write realistic characters. Simply put yourself in your characters’ place and try to imagine if you would use those words to talk to another person.

In our example, it’s very unlikely that anyone would precede such a simple question (“where is my typewriter?”) with “can I ask you something?” What makes it even more unrealistic is the lack of any behavioral contextual hints. Notice this:

Case C

“Can… I ask you something?” John uttered softly, his voice quavering, an unnatural pause separating the first word from the rest.
Mary stared at him for many long moments, charged with invisible forces. “Of course you can,” she then said, her lips arching imperceptibly.

These kinds of contextual hints offer a justification for a question such as “can I ask you something?” and infuse the narrative with significantly more depth. Which is great!

Inner Worlds and Thought Processes

When it comes to realistic characters, having rich inner worlds and thoughts is a must. Difficulty and complexity here increase in comparison to dialogues and interaction.

The reason is that whereas in dialogues and interaction we have visible samples – little chunks of “everyday” reality that we can gauge as realistic or not – inner worlds rely on invisible such expressions.

I referred to this already in the previous section, when I talked about the behavioral context. The key to writing realistic characters from an inner-world perspective is this: Less is more.

There is an inversely proportional relation between (over-)explaining and realism. Because inner worlds and thought processes are intrinsically connected to affect – feelings, states of mind, thoughts, self-reflection – you must leave room for the reader to experience them.

Let’s see a more specific example, straight from my literary-fiction novel Illiterary Fiction. Again, consider the following pair – the scene is from chapter three and Paul, the protagonist, has just been fired. To help you, I’ve emphasized certain portions.

Case A

He reaches the subway station and walks down the stairs feeling the familiar hot draft of air rushing to meet him. A train is already arriving at the station and Paul instinctively runs to catch it.

Moments later, as if he changed his mind, he stops and walks calmly again, allowing the train to take on passengers and depart without him. He walks near the tracks and stands just behind the dotted yellow line. He sighs. The red-bordered white tiles on the wall behind the tracks seem old, decayed; the remnants of something ignored and forgotten. They used to be sparkling new once, beautiful and even envied.

Case B

He reaches the subway station and walks down the stairs feeling the familiar hot draft of air rushing to meet him. A train is already arriving at the station and Paul instinctively runs to catch it.

But moments later he stops and walks calmly again, realizing it doesn’t make any difference anymore – he doesn’t have a job he needs to rush to. He walks near the tracks and stands just behind the dotted yellow line, obedient as ever. He sighs, looking at the red-bordered white tiles on the wall behind the tracks. They seem old, decayed; the remnants of something ignored and forgotten. That’s how he feels now too. Just like the tiles which used to be sparkling new once, beautiful and even envied.

The actual excerpt from my book is Case A. Notice how this tendency to over-explain how Paul feels (Case B) negatively impacts the affective quality of the text.

The reader doesn’t feel the same kind of deep, realistic, direct connection, because the symbolic power of the scene is diluted by the way text B is too eager to make sure the reader “gets it”.

Randomness and Unpredictability

This might sound simple at first – barring balancing generic requirement for stereotyped characters, as mentioned above (and as we’ll see further below).

However, the matter of randomness and unpredictability also interconnects with another issue, critical for realistic, solid narratives: narrative inevitability.

Remember my article on narrative journeys and endings. I there said that a narrative consists of journeys and that narrative endings are nothing but logical conclusions – this is what “narrative inevitability” refers to – of these journeys.

Ideally, a narrative must be both surprising and inevitable. That is, the characters and events must be unique, authentic, and realistic (aspects that unpredictability favors), yet at the same time narrative progression has to be logical and inevitable (aspects that unpredictability does not favor).

Much of the advice I offer in the narrative endings article applies here, so instead of repeating myself I’d advise you to take a look at it. In a nutshell, it’s about creating characters that are unpredictable in terms of behavior, but predictable in terms of motivation.

For example, someone might feel erotic desire for another person. This is, quite literally, one of the most predictable motivations one can have. But their behavior in achieving their goal can vary wildly (being counter-intuitive or even counter-productive).

It’s a balance that comes with experience. Finding a balance in anything related to abstract concepts – such as writing fiction – is always difficult. Which brings us to genre fiction.

How to Write Realistic Characters for Genre Fiction: Finding the Balance

As I said just above, finding the balance comes with experience. When it comes to genre fiction, it’s impossible for anyone but the author to know how realistic a certain character should be.

Having characters that are very realistic makes for a more interesting narrative, to be sure. However, it also signals a departure from generic expectations. In simpler terms, your intended audience will have a harder time relating to your novel.

A Matter of Priorities

One of the reasons I write literary fiction is because I can’t be bothered about such things. I write what I want to write and, quite frankly my dear I don’t give a damn, I don’t care what the audience thinks. My art comes first, and serves me first and foremost. That’s also one of the lessons I learned walking away from a traditional publisher and a publishing contract: you can’t be an artist if you care about marketing, audiences, and money.

At the same time, I understand there are authors who might do, and that’s absolutely fine. It’s not a qualitative comparison – not directly, anyway.

And so, if audience reception and marketability are things you do care about, finding the balance is something you’ll need to figure out.

Writing Realistic Characters: Putting it All Together

To sum up, in order to learn how to write realistic characters, you should focus on these areas:

• Dialogues and Interaction.
• Inner Worlds and Thought Processes.
• Randomness and Unpredictability.

Each one becomes progressively more complex and requires a greater degree of experience. But remember: It’s precisely these areas that also offer the greatest opportunities for your authorial voice to surface.

Depending on the requirements of your genre, some restraint or a certain way of introducing your characters can also be part of the realism they should have.

Ultimately, fiction is about expressing the unexpressed, showing the invisible, and voicing the unspeakable. The human experience is a fantastically rich tapestry for the most unimaginable hues. Why should your fictional characters deserve any less?