Your most important character will be your protagonist, also known as your lead or your hero/heroine.
This main character must experience a life arc — in other words, be a different, better or worse, stronger or weaker person by the end. (I use “he” inclusively to mean hero or heroine)
For most novels, that means he must bear potentially heroic qualities that emerge in the climax.
For readers to be able to relate to him, he should also exhibit human flaws.
So resist the temptation to create a perfect lead. Who can relate to perfection?
You’ll also have an antagonist (also known as the villain) who should be every bit as formidable and compelling as your hero. Make sure the bad guy isn’t bad just because he’s the bad guy. ????
He must be able to justify — if only in his own mind — why he does what he does to make him a worthy foe, realistic and memorable.
You may also need important orbital cast members.
For each character, ask:
- Who are they?
- What do they want?
- Why do they want it?
- What or who is keeping them from it?
- What will they do about it?
Use distinct names (even distinct initials) for every character — and make them look and sound different from each other too, so your reader won’t confuse them.
Limit how many you introduce early. If your reader needs a program to keep them straight, you may not have him for long.
Naturally, your lead character will face an outward problem — a quest, a challenge, a journey, a cause… But he also must face inner turmoil to make him really relatable to the reader and come alive on the page.
Heroic, inventive, morally upright, and physically strong? Of course. But your protagonist must also face fear, insecurity, self-doubt.
The more challenges he faces, the more potential he has to grow and develop.
Much as in real life, the tougher the challenges, the greater the potential transformation.
For more on developing your characters, check out my blog posts Your Ultimate Guide to Character Development: 9 Steps to Creating Memorable Heroes, How to Create a Powerful Character Arc, and Character Motivation: How to Craft Realistic Characters.