Creating Characters with Heart: How to Humanize Your Fiction Writing

Creating Characters with Heart: How to Humanize Your Fiction Writing

By Olivia Salter

In fiction, humanized characters are the soul of a compelling story. They captivate readers because they feel authentic—layered, complex, and relatable, even in worlds of fantasy or horror. To humanize your writing, you need to give your characters depth and present their struggles, triumphs, and flaws in ways that resonate. Here are key techniques to create characters and stories that feel real and alive, no matter the genre.

1. Build Flawed, Relatable Characters

One of the most effective ways to humanize a character is by giving them flaws, doubts, and vulnerabilities. Perfect characters, while interesting in theory, can feel distant and unrealistic. Characters who struggle with insecurities, make mistakes, or have internal conflicts are easier to relate to and care about.

Tip: Start with a list of your character’s imperfections—traits that make them feel more human. Perhaps they’re overly critical of themselves, struggle with jealousy, or have a fear of failure. Showing these traits in action will reveal their humanity.

Example: Instead of a hero who always wins, create a protagonist who, despite their courage, has moments of fear and doubt. Show them hesitating, second-guessing, or even faltering in crucial moments. These elements make the character’s growth more satisfying and realistic.

2. Show Inner Conflicts and Emotional Depth

Human characters have complex inner worlds. They face choices that challenge their morals, emotions that cloud their judgment, and past traumas that influence their behavior. By diving into your characters’ thoughts and emotions, you can add layers of depth that make them feel three-dimensional.

• Technique in Action: When your character faces a decision, let readers in on their internal debate. Maybe they’re torn between loyalty to a friend and self-preservation, or between following a dream and keeping a promise. This tension pulls readers in, as they see the character wrestling with the same moral questions they might face.

Example: Instead of simply writing, “She felt angry,” explore why she’s angry. Is it a feeling of betrayal from someone she trusted? Or perhaps it’s frustration with herself for being too forgiving. These additional layers create a richer emotional experience for readers.

3. Use Dialogue to Reveal Personality

Realistic dialogue is a powerful tool for humanizing your characters. Through their speech, readers get insights into who they are—their sense of humor, their quirks, their fears, and even their background. Make your characters’ voices unique and avoid making everyone sound the same.

Tip: Give each character distinct speaking patterns. Some may speak in short, clipped sentences, while others ramble or use specific slang or phrases. Their dialogue should reflect their personality, education, and emotions.

Example: A character who’s nervous might over-explain themselves, while someone confident may use direct, assertive language. Pay attention to how real people talk and inject those natural speech patterns into your characters.

4. Write Their Backstories with Empathy

Understanding where your characters come from—what shaped them and what they’ve endured—will help you portray them as fully human. Even if you don’t include every detail in the story, knowing your characters’ backstories will influence how you write them.

• Approach: Develop mini backstories for each main character, focusing on key formative events. Maybe a character’s fear of rejection stems from a difficult childhood. Or perhaps their drive to succeed is rooted in a past failure that left a mark. This depth brings authenticity to their actions and reactions.

Example: If your protagonist has trust issues, hint at or reveal past betrayals in subtle ways. This context explains why they struggle to form close relationships, making their journey toward openness more compelling.

5. Let Characters Make Mistakes and Learn

Humanized characters, like real people, make mistakes. Allowing them to fail or make the wrong decision can make their growth more believable and engaging. Watching a character face the consequences of their choices creates empathy in readers and builds suspense, as they root for the character’s redemption.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to let your characters mess up. Write scenes where they act impulsively, misunderstand a situation, or hurt someone unintentionally. Show them struggling with guilt, regret, or the challenge of apologizing and making amends.

Example: If a character betrays a friend out of jealousy or desperation, show the emotional fallout and their efforts to make things right. Their journey to forgiveness—both from others and themselves—adds depth to the story.

6. Use Vulnerability and Small Gestures

Small moments of vulnerability can bring out a character’s humanity. These could be scenes where they show their true feelings, reveal a fear, or let their guard down in front of someone they trust. These intimate moments allow readers to see past the character’s external roles and connect with them on a personal level.

Example: In a tense story, create a quiet moment where your character, who’s normally a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining, lets their emotions slip. Maybe they’re caught crying alone, or they absentmindedly touch a keepsake that holds emotional significance. These small details reveal emotional complexity without a single word of dialogue.

7. Make Them Actively Pursue Meaningful Goals

Readers connect with characters who have goals, even if those goals are flawed or misguided. Show your characters striving for something meaningful to them—whether it’s a personal dream, a relationship, or a cause. By letting them chase after what they believe in, you reveal their core values, making them feel more authentic.

Example: If your character’s goal is to be seen as courageous, they might take reckless risks to prove themselves, even if it means endangering others. This goal, while not necessarily noble, adds layers to their personality and presents opportunities for growth.

8. Reflect Realistic Growth and Change

Real people evolve over time, so should your characters. Humanizing your writing means letting characters change as they encounter new experiences and challenges. The change should be gradual and authentic, not a sudden shift, so readers can believe in their journey.

Tip: Let your character’s growth mirror their story’s events. A character who starts out naive may become more cynical after a betrayal, or someone driven by revenge might find forgiveness as they learn the cost of vengeance. Each experience leaves a mark, subtly shifting who they are.

Example: Show your character’s growth through their decisions. Perhaps at the beginning, they avoid conflict, but by the end, they’ve learned to stand up for themselves. This change should feel earned through the story’s progression, making it satisfying for readers.

9. Allow for Ambiguity and Complexity

Humanized characters often defy black-and-white definitions of “good” or “bad.” Embrace moral ambiguity and complexity, allowing readers to see both the light and dark sides of your characters. When characters face ethical dilemmas or show contradictory behaviors, they feel more like real people.

Example: Create a character who does the right things for the wrong reasons, or vice versa. A vigilante might save lives but harbor selfish motives, or a hero might make sacrifices but struggle with resentment. These layers of complexity mirror real human behavior and make the character more intriguing.

10. Give Characters Connections That Matter

Human beings are social, and relationships shape who we are. Characters who have meaningful connections—with friends, family, or even rivals—feel more alive and relatable. Show how these connections affect your character’s decisions, add emotional weight, and reveal different sides of their personality.

Tip: Instead of telling readers about these connections, show them through interactions. A loving relationship might include playful teasing, while a strained one may show itself in guarded language and wary glances.

Example: Let a tough character soften when around a loved one, or allow an antagonist to show unexpected kindness to someone they care about. These moments add dimension to the characters, making them more than their role in the plot.

Conclusion

Humanizing your fiction writing is about understanding that even the most fantastic or heroic characters are deeply human at their core. By exploring their inner conflicts, relationships, and growth, you breathe life into them, making your stories more immersive and emotionally clear. Embrace your characters’ flaws, vulnerabilities, and journeys, and readers will not only see them as real but also carry them in their hearts long after the story ends.