Brianne Wragg
Once upon a time (because all good stories start that way – apparently), I was a classroom teacher. And, as you may have guessed, teaching creative writing was my favorite. I loved watching my students’ imaginations blossom as they crafted new worlds and breathed life into their characters. But, as with all things, there were regular challenges my writers always had to overcome without fail. Every year, this curious struggle with character creation existed across all age groups.
This problem is not subject to young writers alone; adult writers often grapple with the same issues. We draw characters who are far too likable or, conversely, perfect to the point of being unrealistic. I remember one character in a story – let’s call him Timmy. Timmy was so likable that he could do no wrong; he was always helping, the model school kid, always saying the right things. The problem? No one is that perfect.
People make mistakes, have fears, and grapple with insecurities in real life. But, the writer in question wanted Timmy to be a hero, and, in his mind, his hero was perfect. So, how do you tell Timmy his character needed more grunt? Flaws? Weaknesses? Let’s discuss how you can help create more rounded and realistic characters with your young writer.
Character creation with young writers can be likened to conducting a science experiment.
“Imagine your character as a test tube,” I often say. “Each trait we add is a different ingredient. We observe the reaction as we shake up the tube and place it in different scenarios. This is how we explore our characters.”
Every aspect of your character—from their likes and dislikes to their deepest fears—shapes their personality and, ultimately, the narrative. Let’s examine some of these ‘ingredients’:
Other traits include goals, skills & abilities, quirks, emotional wounds, biases, self-doubt, insecurities, secrets, morals & beliefs, misbeliefs, personalities, and traits. These traits combined form the blueprint of your character. Understanding these ingredients is crucial for writing actions and choices with authenticity.
However, like in a lab, introducing too many elements at a time can be overwhelming. When I mentor young writers, I recommend starting with the basics: likes, dislikes, desires (wants & needs), challenges, and fears. We then observe these traits, like watching the reaction in our ‘test tube.’ As writers gain confidence, we gradually introduce additional traits to layer their characters further.
Another essential aspect of this ‘character experiment’ is the importance of imperfection. It’s easy for young writers to fall into the trap of creating too perfect or passive characters. After all, their characters often mirror themselves, a best friend, or a sibling. However, perfection often leads to dull narratives. A character who never errs or experiences conflict is hard for readers to relate to.
One writer recently wrote about a skateboarder who broke his leg because of a rogue rock in the road. The skateboarder didn’t err; the rock was just there. The result? A flat story where the character has little control or agency. However, the story transformed when we instilled a risk-taking attribute in this character. It evolved into a tale about a daring skateboarder who chose to ride down a road under construction, despite the apparent danger. This simple twist dramatically enhanced the narrative! The writer, in turn, became much more enamored with their story.
Like conducting science experiments, creating characters is about exploration, observation, and fine-tuning. As we guide our young writers through this process, let’s remind them to embrace their character’s imperfections. After all, it’s the quirks, the flaws, and the struggles that make a character genuinely memorable.
So how can we make children’s characters more active and engaging? Here’s where our science experiment analogy comes in handy again. We must reframe character building by experimenting with the character’s motivations, challenges, and fears. Imagine each as an ingredient. The character’s motivations are the accelerants, pushing the story forward, while the obstacles, challenges, and fears are the reactants, generating the sparks that keep your readers glued to the pages.
Building compelling characters is an adventure; having fun activities to explore this process can make it even more engaging. Here are a few to get you started:
Remember, the aim of these activities is not just to develop characters but to promote creative thinking, problem-solving, and a deeper understanding of character dynamics.
Mentor texts or popular culture references can serve as excellent tools to illustrate characters with clear motivations and challenges. A mentor text is a written piece that is an excellent example of quality writing for students. It can be an entire book, a passage from a book, a poem, a newspaper article, or any text demonstrating effective writing techniques. A mentor text aims to inspire and teach students about writing by showing how successful writers craft their work.
Let’s take the world of Harry Potter, for instance, if your child is an aficionado. Harry’s overarching goal of defeating Voldemort drives his narrative arc. At the same time, his path is strewn with numerous hurdles – feeling like an outsider, grappling with sudden fame, navigating friendships and rivalries, and the constant fear of losing his loved ones, to name a few. What’s interesting to observe is how some of these challenges evolve or are overcome as the story unfolds – for example, Harry’s initial struggle to make friends when he arrives at Hogwarts. Conversely, challenges persist throughout the series, such as his fear of losing loved ones.
Drawing upon their reading can help your child understand that a character’s motivations and obstacles are not static but dynamically intertwined with their growth and development in the narrative. This understanding can open new dimensions of character-building for young writers.
As parents, you can make the character-building process more relatable and less overwhelming by bringing it into everyday conversation. There’s no need to limit character discussions to books. Films, TV shows, animes, graphic novels, or even video games can offer plenty of character exploration opportunities.
Just think about the informal conversations you can have after watching an episode of their favorite show or a movie. Talk about what the characters did, why they might have acted that way, and how they could have reacted differently. This can even lead to interesting debates about characters’ morals, beliefs, and choices. You can also discuss how these characters grow and change throughout a series or how they remain the same and whether this was effective.
Indeed, not every character your child creates will find a home in a story, and that’s perfectly fine. The process of character creation is a journey filled with exploration and experimentation – much like the experience of a scientist in a lab. Some characters might get put on a shelf for a while, only to be picked up again later when they fit into a new narrative. Some might serve as stepping stones, enabling your child to understand better the nature of creating relatable, interesting characters.
It’s important to reassure your child that abandoning certain characters or not finding a place for them in a story is perfectly okay. Creating these characters and considering their traits, motivations, and challenges still contributes significantly to their writing development. It’s all about the learning and the journey, not just the destination.
Additionally, remind them that creating, experimenting with, and potentially discarding characters can be extremely valuable. It allows for risk-taking and promotes resilience. Not every attempt has to result in a ‘success’ – in fact, it’s often through these so-called ‘failures’ or ‘errors’ that we learn the most.
It may come as a surprise when I say that I avoid providing feedback while discussing characters with young writers. It might seem counterintuitive, but in these early stages of the writing process, I encourage them to cultivate their ideas with the proverbial ‘door closed.’ The objective here is not to superimpose my thoughts onto their creative canvas.
Using open-ended questions such as “Why would the character do that?” or “What could happen if…” often proves more valuable than direct feedback. These questions prompt your child to think more deeply, explore diverse perspectives, and ultimately create engaging nuanced characters – that’s the real magic of character creation! These questions serve as an effective way to provide constructive feedback without imposing your ideas onto their narrative.
Creating characters is an explorative journey with discoveries, missteps, and experiments. Let’s encourage and cherish the process, with all its trials and tribulations. After all, every experiment, successful or not, is a learning experience, as true in writing as in science! For those children with a strong grasp of character development, this practice allows you to assess whether you can challenge them further with questions about their character’s quirks, morals, beliefs, and more.
Final Thoughts
There’s no denying that creating characters can be a challenging process, both for us seasoned writers and for our young learners. As writing mentors, it’s our responsibility to guide them to understand this process, see the fun in it, and gain confidence in their creative abilities.
Remember, creating characters isn’t about designing the ‘perfect’ individual. It’s about exploring and understanding the ‘ingredients’ that make up a character and watching them react to different scenarios. In this journey, every character we create—whether they end up in a story or not—is valuable in shaping our understanding of character creation.
Ready to take your child’s writing to the next level? I invite you to join my Writer’s 45 Workshops and community. Here, your child will participate in daily 45-minute Zoom sessions, flexing their writing muscles and exchanging ideas with other young writers.
My one-on-one Mentoring Sessions might be just the ticket if you want a more tailored approach. These sessions let students dive deep into a project of their choice, with me providing guidance and support.
Join us in this journey to nurture the young writers among us, fostering their love for storytelling and equipping them with the skills they need to express their thoughts and ideas more confidently. Let’s create, experiment, and grow together in the world of character creation.
I can’t wait to meet you and your budding writer in my workshops and mentoring sessions. Join me on a Meet & Greet to get started!
About the Author
Brianne Wragg is a self-described "deschooled English". After leaving the teaching profession, she started writing as a copywriter, ghostwriter and editor for companies and individuals. She returned to education, working at Synthesis School and starting Writers' Genesis for kids aged 10-15 years old.
Read On
Imagine a space where your child can unleash their thoughts without barriers, where the clock encourages a thrilling chase of words. A Quick Write is this spirited sprint—a short, timed writing bout that challenges young minds to flow with creativity without the brakes of perfectionism.
The label’ teacher’ feels overly restrictive. I don’t want to critique or elevate one role over the others, but I wish to share why the labels of mentor and coach resonate more deeply with me.
The old woman finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, yet it permeated the room with a ghostly resonance. “Secrets are heavy burdens. To release them, one must be prepared for the void they leave behind. It can be filled with something far weightier.”
Weekly writing sessions and community to develop creative thinking, writing skills, and imagination for kids ages 10 to 16.