 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Christine Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources And you are listening to the well-sturried podcast where I share insights, encouragement and actionable advice designed to help you craft Sensational novels and build your best writing life. Always in 30 minutes or less, so you can get back to writing, of course Ready for the show? Let's get talking. Hello again friends. Today is Friday, February 12th, 2021 and you are listening to the well-sturried podcast Today's episode is titled how to craft emotionally complex characters And if you'd like to read along, you can find the episode transcript at well-sturied.com slash emotions. Now let's dive in Writers are commonly advised to craft complex characters, but what exactly makes a character complex? To answer this question, we must first take a quick dive into an important aspect of human nature Anthropologically speaking, humans are a tribal species We need to band together to survive the dangers of this world as well as the dangers that other tribes present To more easily identify friend from foe and to find a sense of community based on shared identity We often apply labels to ourselves and those around us For example, if I were to ask you who you are You'd likely answer by sharing the labels that you feel define your identity Which may include your profession, your racial or ethnic background, political or religious affiliations Who you are in relation to your loved ones, what hobbies and interests you enjoy and so on As readers, we carry the same tendency to identify, label and categorize Into our relationship with storytelling Particularly in the way that we view characters A benevolent protagonist is a hero while a supportive secondary character is their sidekick An older wiser character serves as the hero's mentor and the character to whom they are attracted is called their love interest Identifying characters by the roles they play can help us understand and engage with the story We root for the hero because well, he's the hero Just as we root for the villain to fail and the love interest to return the hero's affection But these aren't the only labels we apply to the characters in the stories we consume In fact, we love our labels so much that we've taken to categorizing characters into archetypes That is broad character classifications that transcend genre and medium Common character archetypes include the warrior, the orphan, the maiden, the crone, the joker, the seductress, the ruler and the rebel Common archetypes even include more distinct character identities Consider the lovable rogue, the mad scientist and the tortured artist or the chosen one, the girl next door The gentleman thief and the gifted child You can find an extensive list of common character archetypes at industrialscripts.com Which I've linked for you in today's episode transcript There's nothing wrong with identifying characters by the archetypes they embody Nor with using archetypes as a starting point when crafting characters As writers, defining the roles our characters play can help us ensure they serve clear narrative purposes While developing an archetypical cast may help us craft characters that readers love or love to hate The only problem? If we aren't careful, our use of archetypes can pigeonhole characters into roles that feel overly familiar and unoriginal Leading to one note characters that never quite feel real So to put it simply Complex characters are those that exist beyond the confines of strict character archetypes And more often than not, developing such characters has everything to do with exploring and deepening your characters' internal worlds Allow me to explain Moving beyond emotional archetypes Characters who embody specific archetypes are typically defined, at least in part, by a handful of core traits and values That determine how they engage with the world around them The noble-hearted hero is courteous and brave The lovable rogue is charming, if a bit unprincipled The tortured artist is brilliant but erratic and the Christ figure is as wise as they are selfless Distinct emotions drive each of these characters Empathy, pain, longing, hope But we are each of us so much more than the foundational emotions that drive us Allowing your characters to break free of the archetypical chains that bind them is key to crafting characters that feel real and complex on the page This doesn't mean allowing your cast to act out of character Rather, to move beyond an archetype is to give readers the opportunity to see the sides of your characters that they don't often share with the world The hard-ash drill instructor that makes your hero's life a living hell will suddenly seem so much more complex if the hero catches them playing tea party with their young daughter Just as the optimistic girl next door will feel infinitely more real if readers learn that her smile hides a struggle with mental illness In both fiction and real life, instances of conflict and vulnerability are often what allow us to see an alternative side to the person or character we thought we knew Asking yourself what situations would drive your characters to act against their natures can be an insightful exercise For example, what would drive your noble-hearted hero to act out of anger or hatred? What would cause your lovable rogue to lose their charm? Major characters often break from their archetypical roles during key plot points such as the dark night of the soul When it seems that all is lost Consider the Empire Strikes Back for example When Leia confesses her love before Han is frozen in carbonite Han replies I know This snarky response is in line with Han's role as the lovable rogue But his unusually somber tone speaks to a far greater depth of emotion than viewers had previously seen Your characters lie that is the core limiting belief that defines their worldview may also lead them to their breaking point Take for example when little finger betrays Ned Stark in a game of thrones Ned forsakes his belief that one should always act from a place of honor by falsely confessing to treason in a vain attempt to protect his family Next let's talk about lending complexity to your character's emotional landscape Though people are often defined by their most notable traits such as their kindness their anger issues or their insecurity No one experiences such definitive emotions all the time In fact, most people experience a wide range of emotions each and every day Defining the nature of your character's own emotional landscape The circumstances that would cause them to experience a wide range of emotions Is a great way to develop your character's emotional complexity To complete this exercise simply pick an emotion and ask yourself what would cause your character to experience it Seriously give it a go Choose a character from your latest work in progress and ask What pisses my character off? What little things bring my character joy? What makes my character feel insecure? When where with whom does my character feel most at peace? Repeat this process with any emotions you're interested in exploring such as rage desperation disgust amusement gratitude jealousy confidence bravery inspiration Etc Then as you write consider the small ways you can explore your character's emotional landscape on the page No need to treat this exercise as a to-do list It's okay if readers never get to see your character disgusted or enraged or feeling overly grateful Let this exercise simply serve to remind you that your characters can be so much more than the one-note archetypes they embody As a bonus completing this exercise can also help you explore other characterization elements such as your character's backstory world view and personality Finally, let's define your character's emotional intelligence While exploring your character's emotional complexity, you may also find it helpful to determine their emotional intelligence Their level of awareness and control over their emotions as well as their ability to build and maintain healthy relationships Characters with a high level of emotional intelligence will have good communication skills clear boundaries and a strong understanding of healthy and unhealthy behavior In addition to being accepting empathetic and patient, they'll understand that they are not their emotions They'll think before speaking and act calmly and rationally rather than impulsively On the other hand, characters with low emotional intelligence will be poor communicators They may be selfish, demanding, needy, or narcissistic And as such they'll likely exhibit toxic or abusive behavior They don't know how to manage their emotions, so they will speak and act impulsively Like any trait emotional intelligence exists on a spectrum Understanding the level of your character's emotional intelligence can help you better understand how they might act and react throughout your story In fact, defining your character's emotional intelligence may even help you develop their character arc That is, the series of events that explore your character's internal journey Characters who experience positive arcs typically grow in emotional intelligence Learning how to better manage internal obstacles, establish boundaries, and strengthen their relationships Characters who begin their stories with a high level of emotional intelligence are more likely to experience a static arc in which they strive to hold true to their values in the face of temptation Meanwhile, many characters who experience negative arcs begin and end their stories with a low level of emotional intelligence Though, of course, there are always exceptions to the rule Ned Stark's story is a good example of that Developing your character's internal arc is, in turn, a fantastic way to showcase your character's emotional complexity on the page So, win-win Can you see how so much of what makes a character feel real and believable lies in their emotional complexity? People are complicated, and so your characters should be too As a writer, you have very little control over how deeply readers will connect with your story But in striving to develop emotionally complex characters, you'll craft a cast that truly comes to life on the page And in doing so, you'll set the stage for the right readers to connect with your story on a deeply personal level A topic I'll discuss more in our next episode here on the podcast Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Podcast Writer I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode and to give the podcast a quick rating or review Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating You can also give me a shout out directly on instagram at christen underscore keeper For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life, be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses, and other helpful resources for writers Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d.com Thank you again for tuning into today's episode, my friend Until next time, happy writing!