Despite my crazy busy college career, I have still managed to juggle writing my novels, as well as reading several others. During this time, I have discovered, much to my dismay, that there is a saddening lack of depth in character development in many fiction stories nowadays.
While this realization certainly isn't as serious as the many issues that plague our world, (as I write this, I am reading about the terror attack in New York, and my heart is saddened by this news), from a writer's perspective, I find it sad that authors are sacrificing originality for sales.
By no means am I accusing all authors of this, I have read many amazing books by truly talented authors who have turned this issue on it's head and all but decimated it. However, more often then not I find that most books (particularly of the fantasy genre) have followed the same thread, time and time again.
While some books I have read have indeed had intriguing plots, the characters are choppy and one-sided, hardly relatable. Perhaps that is okay, and my concerns are just to be cast aside as odd complaints of an amateur author. Or, perhaps they do indeed carry a weight that should be regarded as truth. Regardless of one's position on the debate, I certainly believe that fictional characters need to be engaging, deep, and three-dimensional.
How does one create such a character, and why on earth does it matter?
In order to have an engaging character, they must be believable. Who cares if your character has had a bad past? (Spoiler alert, we all deal with issues in our past and present in some way or another.) If they're going to live in the present shadowed by an action of the past, it must be grounded in some form of reality.
Now, that can be strange to say, coming from a fantasy author. How can one write realty in fantasy? It's actually simpler then one would initially think. Personally, when I create a character, I try to make their struggles as real life as possible.
Also, personality is key. My characters range in all sorts of personalities, ideals, creeds, and cultures. Take my character Norgal, for example. (The guy in the painting featured above) He is a Kyraen, which is one of the two winged races in my series. His background is one of turmoil and sadness, but also many regrets. His people are regarded with fear and mistrust because of their past actions, and have been painted in a terrible light for some very valid reasons.
That is an example of taking very real and serious issues like racism and generalization, and turning down a fictional avenue to thicken the plot with meaning. It makes fictional worlds, cultures, and people groups far more believable, as well as relatable.
The goal of my writing has always been to create characters that are deeply complex and multifaceted. I desire for my readers to relate to my characters, and in a way, I like to view the characters as mirrors. They reflect real life, and I hope that readers can be encouraged by their stories.
Because after all, isn't that the purpose characters, as well as the story, is to serve? If it isn't to inspire, encourage, and even educate; then what purpose is there? If God isn't glorified, and if the tale doesn't reflect the grand story that is our reality, then I find that there is no reason to write.
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