Creating Characters Kids Will Love

1. Believable Characters are Built from Four Pillars

Believable characters are born from real people and revealed to readers through your writer’s craft.

Characters act. The first step in bringing a character to life is deciding what they will do. Readers form impressions based on actions, whether it's a new kid running to a teacher or showing off pierced earrings. As a writer, you direct the larger plot actions, but then you must transform into the character, asking how they would perform specific actions and why, revealing their personality and background.

Inner life matters. Beyond actions, characters think, feel, and speak, revealing their inner world. Thoughts can range from fundamental beliefs to opinions about others, and they don't always align with what's said. Emotions, often subtle, are evoked through physical sensations and unique reactions, reflecting a character's complex inner state.

Authentic voice. What a character says, and how they say it, is crucial. Use natural, age-appropriate language, but avoid verbatim reproduction of real speech's "uhs" and "ums." Dialogue should sound distinct for each character, stemming from their thoughts and feelings, not just awkward taglines. Remember, characters, like real people, don't always tell the truth, creating tension between what's said and what's known.

2. Mine Your Memories to Understand Childhood

Once you experience it, you know all about the emotions and thoughts of childhood, and you never really forget.

Reconnect with your past. To create characters kids will love, you must remember the child you were. Re-reading old diaries or journals, listening to family stories, and recalling significant incidents from your youth can unlock a wealth of authentic emotions and experiences. These memories, whether of bravery, fear, joy, or specific activities, are the heart of relatable characters.

Memory keys. Tangible objects and specific contexts can serve as powerful triggers for forgotten details. Explore:

• School days: first friends, bus rides, teachers, secrets, betrayals, loyalties.
• Family life: room, siblings, parents, relatives, and the dynamics within these relationships.
• Personal items: lucky charms, lost treasures, pets, or imaginary friends.
  These details, when recalled vividly, provide the raw material for rich character backstories and motivations.

"Write what you know." Your own life, with its unique experiences and perspectives, is your ultimate resource. Don't dismiss your childhood as "ordinary"; no one else has lived your exact journey. By honestly exploring your past feelings—pride, shame, regret—you gain insights that will resonate with young readers, allowing them to see themselves in your characters.

3. Observe Real Kids to Capture Contemporary Authenticity

You can recall the triumph of winning a ballgame or setting a track record, but can you know the exhilaration of setting a record on the latest Nintendo game?

Engage with today's youth. While personal memories are invaluable, contemporary children have experiences unimaginable to past generations. To create characters that resonate with 21st-century kids, direct observation is essential. This means actively engaging with children in their natural environments, understanding their interests, language, and social dynamics.

Hands-on observation. If you're a parent, grandparent, or work with children, take time to truly play with them, following their logic rather than imposing your own. For others, volunteer at youth groups, sports teams, or libraries. These settings offer opportunities to:

• Watch interactions and listen to conversations.
• Observe physical appearances, clothing styles, and movements.
• Understand their prized possessions and secret hiding places.

Beyond the surface. Don't just record what you see; delve into why children act the way they do. If a child wears worn-out shoes, consider multiple explanations beyond poverty, such as saving money for other interests. If a child plays with food in a restaurant, imagine their internal reasoning. By looking at the world through a child's eyes, you can transform simple observations into profound insights for your characters.

4. Transform Reality to Create Unique Fictional Characters

What gives a story based on a real incident its power is using your feelings about that memory to intensify the experience for the reader.

Protect real relationships. Directly using real people in your stories can lead to hurt feelings or legal issues. To avoid this, transform reality by changing names, appearances, hobbies, and even genders of the individuals who inspire your characters. This protects your relationships and frees your creativity.

Unleash creative freedom. Real life rarely follows a neat plot structure. By stepping back from exact factual occurrences, you gain the liberty to shape events for dramatic effect and character growth. Retain the defining personality traits that impacted a memory, but alter other details to serve your story's needs, making the fiction more compelling without diminishing the emotional truth.

Fictionalize yourself. The greatest challenge is stepping back from your own memories. Use your remembered emotions—pride, shame, regret—as the core, but empower your fictional character to act differently than you did, resolving unresolved past moments. This allows you to explore deeper truths and show character transformation, offering readers guidance and a sense of completion that real life sometimes lacks.

5. Every Story Needs External Conflict and Internal Growth

The decisions the character makes to deal with the story problem also resolve an internal problem that illuminates the change and growth at the heart of your story.

Tension drives narrative. A good story goes beyond a character study; it shows a youngster growing and changing through struggle. To engage readers, complicate your character's life with a problem they want to solve, a need they can't meet, or an antagonist making trouble. The plot then unfolds as the character attempts to overcome escalating obstacles.

Two problems in one. Strong children's stories operate on two levels: an external plot problem and an internal character problem. For instance, a character's struggle to win a baseball game (external) might be intertwined with a lack of self-confidence (internal). The climax of the story should force the character to confront both, making a difficult decision that leads to profound personal growth.

Believable transformation. Character growth must be earned and believable. Inner qualities that lead to a breakthrough should be subtly established earlier in the story, not appear as a sudden coincidence. For younger readers, resolutions often offer positive guidance, while older readers may encounter more realistic, complex outcomes. This shared journey of struggle and growth allows readers to vicariously experience maturity and self-discovery.

6. Choose Your Narrative Voice to Connect with Readers

Kids identify with a story’s main character as they read, so they want to get inside that character’s heart and mind right away.

Anchor your viewpoint. To draw readers into your story, consistently write from your main character's point of view, seeing the world through their eyes. This allows readers to share their thoughts and feelings without being distracted by other characters' perspectives or an intrusive adult voice.

First-person immediacy. The "I" voice makes the story personal and immediate, allowing the reader to almost become the character. This can be flexible, presented as a standard narrative, a diary entry, or even emails. An unreliable first-person narrator can add tension, forcing readers to question the truth and engage more deeply with the story's complexities.

Third-person versatility. Most stories are told in the third person ("he/she"), offering a direct path into the character's head without the self-conscious presence of a narrator. While less immediate than first-person, it's often easier for beginning writers and allows for a broader scope in novels. Multiple viewpoints can enrich longer works by showing different perspectives, but must be handled carefully to avoid confusion.

7. Craft Characters for Specific Story Lengths and Audiences

Short stories still require strong characters, but you need to focus on specific qualities rather than showing every aspect of your character.

Concise characterization for short fiction. Magazine stories and anthologies demand tight characterization due to word limits. Instead of a full biography, introduce only the significant details about your character that are essential for the immediate conflict and turning point. Discard extraneous information, no matter how well-developed it is in your mind.

Target your audience. The depth and complexity of characterization must align with the target age group. Younger children connect with characters based on one or two quirky traits and simpler conflicts, often set in familiar environments. Middle graders, who are more attuned to social dynamics, can handle more complex internal and external problems, and broader settings.

Picture book potency. Picture books require strong, appealing characters that make an immediate connection. Focus on universal themes and emotions, supported by vivid, visual actions. Character growth in picture books is less profound than in novels, but it should still show the character drawing on inner resources to resolve a situation, often through imagination or simple determination.

8. Heroes and Villains Must Be Exceptionally Human

What makes a hero heroic is his willingness to face a problem he didn’t seek and deal with it—just the way a reader hopes he could actually rise to the occasion in real life.

Flawed heroes resonate. Readers struggle to identify with a "perfect" hero. Instead, create an ordinary kid in an extraordinary situation, willing to face challenges. Give your hero a mix of strengths and flaws, allowing their positive qualities to sometimes hinder them and their weaknesses to surprisingly help. This complexity makes them engaging and relatable, like Harry Potter, who is basically an ordinary kid despite his wizard heritage.

Sympathetic antagonists. Your hero needs an equally compelling antagonist, who isn't just purely evil. Give your villain redeeming characteristics and a clear motivation, even if it's born from desperation or pain. This makes them more believable and dangerous, forcing the hero to confront a complex foe rather than a two-dimensional caricature.

Beyond human foes. Not all antagonists are human. The enemy could be:

• Circumstances: A character searching for hidden treasure with no clear path.
• Nature: A drought threatening a family farm, or a storm isolating a character.
• The self: An inner flaw like a violent temper or a refusal to accept responsibility.
• Illness/Disability: A character coping with sudden blindness or a chronic condition.
  Regardless of the form, the antagonist must be well-developed and believable to truly challenge your exceptional hero.

9. Populate Your World with a Diverse Cast of Secondary Characters

The other members of these groups will figure into the action.

Beyond the main conflict. Heroes and villains don't exist in a vacuum; they are surrounded by a host of secondary characters. These can be friends, rivals, family members, or mere placeholders. While placeholders serve to move the plot, significant secondary characters should be developed in depth, reflecting the protagonist's world more completely.

The hero's inner circle. A best friend or loyal companion provides the protagonist with someone to confide in, offering both emotional support and practical assistance. This friend can also challenge the hero, forcing them to confront unwelcome truths. A humorous sidekick, on the other hand, can lighten the mood and offer an outsider's perspective, making the story more engaging.

Group dynamics and naming. Characters are part of various groups—family, school, teams, clubs. Consider:

• Birth order: Only, first, middle, or last-born children often exhibit distinct behavioral patterns.
• Group personality: A sports team might be confident or defeatist, influencing their interactions.
• Naming: Choose names that give an instant impression, reflect personality, or have special meanings. Unusual names or variations can help differentiate characters and hint at their evolving identities.

10. Special Characters Demand Special Considerations

While you use many of the same techniques to create appealing, interesting and believable characters in these roles, you’ll also need to keep some special considerations in mind.

Series characters evolve subtly. In ongoing series, characters cannot undergo profound transformations in each book. Instead, they experience slight growth, maintaining their core identity while facing new challenges. Each book often features a different main character from a core group, united by friendship, circumstances, or a common goal.

Talking animals with depth. Animal characters, while charming, must be fully developed, not just cute. They need believable problems, genuine emotions, and unique names that reflect their personality, not just their species. These anthropomorphic tales allow readers to explore childhood pains and delights in a safe, less threatening fictional world.

Aliens and robots with humanity. Science fiction characters, whether alien beings or artificial intelligences, must possess essential human qualities. Focus on their quirks, desires, and fears to make them relatable. This genre allows for the exploration of complex topics like discrimination or individuality in a safe, imaginative context, challenging readers' perceptions of the universe.

Inanimate objects brought to life. Animating inanimate objects, like toys or household items, presents a unique challenge. Toys are easier to believe, as children often imagine them coming to life. For other objects, a convincing reason for their animation and believable actions are crucial. Give them unique personalities and show their growth, making them as quirky and individualistic as any human character.

11. Adult Characters Serve to Support, Not Dominate, the Story

Kids may learn classroom lessons from adult teachers, but they learn life lessons from experience, not from grown-ups telling them what to do.

Imperfect and relatable adults. Adults in children's fiction should be well-rounded, a mix of insight and blindness, good and bad. Allowing them to make mistakes or even become antagonists makes them more believable and the story more complex. A teacher struggling with personal problems, for instance, will be more recognizable than a saccharine-sweet figure.

Mentors, not saviors. Adults should not swoop in to solve the protagonist's problems, as this robs the child character of their moment of growth. Instead, adults can serve as mentors, offering guidance through their own example or by encouraging the child to find their inner strength. Childless relatives or grandparents often fill this role effectively, treating children with respect and acknowledging their potential.

Quirky and non-traditional. Break free from stereotypical adult roles. Imagine a mom who loves fixing cars, a dad who works from home as an artist, or a grandma who runs a shareware company. These non-traditional traits make adult characters more interesting and reflect the diversity of real-life experiences, preparing young readers for the multitude of characters they'll meet in the world.

12. Bring Nonfiction Subjects to Life with Fictional Techniques

The more personal you can make your biography, the more involved your readers will become.

Profiling real-life kids. Nonfiction can be as engaging as fiction when profiling inspiring real-life children. Find subjects through schools, youth groups, or local news. When interviewing, get on their level, ask open-ended questions, and observe their actions to capture their personality. Focus on a universal positive quality—courage, determination, faith—that can inspire readers.

Adult role models. Kids are fascinated by adults living their dreams. Profile successful athletes, scientists, or artists, focusing on their achievements and formative childhood anecdotes. Research your subject thoroughly beforehand, then conduct interviews to capture their natural voice and passion. Find a central focus—a quality they exemplify—and illustrate it with three compelling examples from their life.

Kid-friendly biographies. When writing about historical figures, immerse yourself in their time period through extensive research, including contemporary sources like letters and diaries. Use fictional techniques to dramatize their lives, starting with an active, exciting scene from childhood that hints at their later achievements. Incorporate authentic dialogue and vivid descriptions to make the past feel immediate and relatable.

Fictional characters from history. Historical fiction allows you to create fictional characters who interact believably with historical figures, filling in the gaps of documented history with imagination. Ensure historical accuracy in facts, customs, and sensibilities, but craft a compelling story where your characters grow and change within that historical context. Whether inventing a young page or focusing on the undocumented childhood of a famous person, the goal is to help kids feel a personal stake in history.

Last updated: February 3, 2026