Early in my writer career, when I was still in the process of drafting my novel, The Healer’s Legacy, a member of a critique group told me, “You can’t have your character be both a healer and a hunter.”
I recall being stunned by the statement and being at a momentary loss before saying, “Why not?”
Her response was matter-of-fact and said with great confidence. “Those things don’t go together.”
“Well, people are not one dimensional,” I told her. “In fact, part of the point of the story is the way my character wrestles with those contradictory facets of who she is.” This internal struggle actually helps to make Kira relatable and, more importantly, human.
People are multifaceted.
We carry a lot of odd, mismatched baggage and, as writers, we want our heroes to be as messy and dichotomous as we are. We want our stories, even the most fantastical ones, to be relatable. We want to know that we too can be heroes despite our personal conflicts and often contradictory character traits.
Think about giving your main characters odd habits or behaviors. A good guy who is all good, a bad guy with no heart or other humanizing traits, or a logic driven character who doesn’t at least struggle with emotion, or the idea of it, will feel one-dimensional.
Characters who have unusual traits or interests, especially those with conflicting desires that create internal struggles, are vastly more interesting and entertaining than those that are flat or one-dimensional.
Spock is half human for a reason. Angel is a vampire with a soul because it’s not only tragic, but fascinating.
A warrior with PTSD may have no desire to fight yet struggle with keeping their anger in check. A talented comedian, who makes others laugh out loud, may struggle with depression. A brilliant professor may be a confident public speaker unable to make small talk.
Characters with contradictory traits and internal struggles are more interesting that bland ones. So, when developing your characters, consider giving them contradictory character traits, conflicting goals and desires, internal emotions that don’t always match their outside demeanor.
But be careful. Steer clear of contradictory character traits that have become cliché, like the hooker with a heart of gold, the brooding bad boy who is actually super sensitive, etc.
Dig deeper. Be creative. Come up with your own, fresh contradictory character traits.
Your readers will love you for it.
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