At a glance: This article offers some tips and strategies for creating believable characters in speculative fiction, namely sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
Investing time and energy into your characters is one of the best things you can do to improve your writing. By making your characters more believable, you’re helping readers suspend their disbelief and accept the fictional world you’ve created.
This is true for writers of any genre. But I would argue it’s even more important for those who write within the speculative genres, where the reader is taken way outside of “the known.”
This article offers many tips for creating believable characters in horror, fantasy and science fiction. But before we get to those tips, I want to reiterate the importance of character development with the speculative genres.
Believable Characters: A Key Ingredient in Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Fiction
Characters in sci-fi, fantasy and horror novels have a big job to do. (They have a lot of jobs, actually. But here, we’ll be focusing on just one.) They have to make your fictional world more believable for readers.
This applies to other genres of fiction as well — romance, mysteries, thrillers, you name it. But it’s particularly important for the speculative fiction genres of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
After all, when you write within these genres, you are delving into a world of unbelievable things:
- Science fiction often deals with future technologies, times or locations that don’t exist yet. It’s part science, part fiction. Hence the name. Readers of sci-fi want to believe in the future or alternate world you’ve created. They just need a little help to accomplish that. Realistic characters to the rescue! By creating believable characters within your science fiction story, you’re helping the reader accept the broader world in which those characters live.
- Fantasy, by definition, is unreal. This genre of fiction usually features elements of magic and supernaturalism, or creatures that don’t exist in the real world. And that’s exactly why readers enjoy reading fantasy fiction. It offers an escape from the real world. But if you want your readers to be truly immersed in your story, you need to include some believable elements. When readers “see” your fantasy world through the eyes of a realistic character, they’ll have an easier time suspending disbelief and entering that world. You’ve given them the gift of escapism and immersion.
- Horror is more of a mixed bag. Some horror stories involve things that are frighteningly real, like serial killers and madmen. Other horror stories include elements that are less believable, like ghosts and demons. All horror fiction can benefit from having believable and relatable characters. But it becomes even more important when your story includes fantasy or supernatural elements.
Okay, you’re convinced that creating believable characters can improve your fiction game. Now what? It’s one thing to talk about creating believable characters in sci-fi, horror and fantasy … quite another to actually do it. So where do you begin?
Here are some strategies to keep in mind, as you build your characters and let them inhabit your new world.
Show Us Your Characters’ Internal Struggles
One way to make your sci-fi, fantasy or horror characters more believable is by showing us their internal struggles. And by “internal,” I mean the ones that take place inside the character’s mind — those inner thoughts, fears and worries that bubble beneath the surface.
We all face challenging dilemmas in our lives, moments where we struggle to find the right path. Moments of indecision and internal conflict. So why should our fictional characters be any different?
Inexperienced and aspiring writers often focus on the external struggles, while neglecting the internal ones. They show their characters struggling against villains … or natural disasters … or zombies … or whatever. But they sometimes forget to reveal the struggle within. As a result, the characters end up being one-dimensional and less believable.
When writing a scene in your sci-fi, fantasy or horror novel, ask yourself: What does my character feel and think at this moment? Is she conflicted about something? Does she feel guilt or fear or remorse? Get to the bottom of it. Delve into the psychology of your characters. Figure out the mindset, and then share it with the reader.
Creating believable characters in horror, fantasy and science fiction is a two-sided affair. You have to show us how they react to external threats and complications, as well as internal conflicts and dilemmas.
Experiment With the Diary Method
Earlier this year, I wrote an article for Sci-Fi & Scary entitled “Dear Diary: Creating Believable Characters in Speculative Fiction.” In that piece, I shared one of my favorite strategies for creating believable characters in science fiction and horror. The diary entry.
The general concept here is simple. But don’t let that simplicity fool you. This technique can help you bring new layers of depth and complexity to your fictional characters. It can help you discover things you didn’t know before.
How it works: Start by writing a few diary / journal entries in your main character’s voice and POV. Imagine it’s your character writing in the diary — not you. These are her own private thoughts, her own fears and hopes. You don’t publish it or share it. You keep it private, just like a real diary. You let your character pour her emotions onto the page.
Here’s an excerpt from the article I shared with Sci-Fi & Scary:
“You have to remember it’s not your diary or journal. It’s your protagonist’s. It’s their own private space for channeling their hopes, dreams and fears. If you can think of it in those terms, you’ll release a flood of emotion and energy you didn’t even know existed. You’ll strike the mother lode. There’s a kind of freedom in this process. It lets you switch off your internal editor and let the thoughts just flow. Unrestrained. Unafraid. Uncensored. If you do this, I’m willing to bet you will make some interesting discoveries.
Journaling can help you get inside the mind of your characters, unlocking thoughts and motivations you didn’t even know they had. It’s a powerful technique for creating more believable characters in science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Grab a notebook and a pencil, or open a blank document on your computer. Channel your main character. Turn off your internal editor and let the words just flow. You’ll be surprised by what comes out.
Make Them Sound Like Real People
Good dialogue is important in all genres and fiction, and that goes double for the speculative genres of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Remember, when you’re writing about things beyond our own reality, you have to work harder to make your characters believable. Natural dialogue brings you one step closer to that goal.
In his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King simplified the role of the fiction writer as such:
“The job boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you behave and then telling the truth about what you see.”
Words of wisdom right there. And we could say the same thing about writing character dialogue, just by tweaking the above quote:
Writing good dialogue boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you talk and bringing that truth into your fiction.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, I used to spend my mornings at a local coffee shop, caffeinating and getting my pages down for the day. People would come and go, grabbing cups for the morning commute. Some would stay a while, sitting at nearby tables.
Every now and then, I’d pick up bits of an interesting conversation at a nearby table. (Eavesdropping. Guilty as charged.) I would stare at my computer or notepad, pretending to work, but really I’d be listening … listening to the flow of the dialogue, the interruptions, the agreements and sometimes disagreements, the endless pursuit of understanding.
That’s one way to learn to write good dialogue, by listening to the world around you. Another way is to read good dialogue, especially from writers who are known to have that gift.
Margaret Atwood. Jeffrey Eugenides. Elmore Leonard. Toni Morrison. All of these writers are known for writing great dialogue. Their characters’ conversations sound like real people. They come alive on the page. You would do well by reading some of their work.
On the Masterclass.com website, Margaret Atwood created a curated list of works that offer examples of effective dialogue. Her list included:
- Any of Elmore Leonard’s thrillers
- Chicken (2018) by Lynn Crosbie
- Get in Trouble (2015) by Kelly Link
- Lives of Girls and Women (1971) by Alice Munro
Lastly, check out this article on the NY Book Editors blog. It offers a wealth of tips for writing effective dialogue.
So there you have it, a blueprint for creating believable characters in science fiction, fantasy and horror. I hope you’ve found this article useful, and I wish you well in your writing adventures!
