Anyone’s who’s ever rolled a twenty-sided die knows that character creation can be one of the most tedious, boring, and lengthy party of any table top role playing game (except for when your halfling bard decides to try and seduce literally anything). However, we’re going to put aside the D6’s (and don’t you even dare bring up the point buy system, which is totally cheating), and focus on the part of roleplaying and story creating that makes it all fun: character.
Now, one might argue that the greatest test of character belongs to the player/writer, since creating a good character background and taking them through an entire campaign, short story, novel, play, or screenplay is nothing less than a testament of will. But honestly, character is the most dynamic and exciting part of any story–and a lot of that is because good stories are run by good characters. When your character walks into a final boss battle with the pit fiend that they’re contractually obligated to obey or die and ends up talking their way out of a fight only to participate in a consensual foursome with that boss later and is now carrying his lovechild before being rendered mute at the command of a Duke of Hell that also holds a contract with your character before your mother attacks and knocks your character out, you’ll be glad that you devoted so much time to an intriguing backstory (potentially based on an actual character of mine in an actual gaming campaign–I admit to nothing).
Compared to the bland motivation of “I want gold,” which requires a story to constantly find some plot device that will provide the character with money (which is super annoying in tabletop roleplaying games since half the quest objectives have nothing to do with cash), I’d rather be playing the pregnant unconscious daughter without a soul (not that I’m biased or anything). For me, I think that that’s what it really comes down to: motivation. The most important question is one of “why”–”why is my character doing this, why is my character doing it in this way?”
How your character chooses to do what they’re doing, why they’re doing it that way, and why they’re doing it at all will tell you and readers/other players more about your character. In this way, you’re able to develop your character in an organic way that doesn’t feel forced. Characters should grow, and if they don’t grow, well that develops them too (so they are growing, kinda, it’s a character creation paradox oh no!). If your character jumps on a horse to chase after some bandits, it might be because your character’s father was a stable manager who was killed by bandits. Or maybe your character does nothing because your character sees no gain or is a coward. Either way, these aspects and traits of your character are wonderful treasure troves that can be explored and investigated throughout a campaign or written work.
One last suggestion: let your character surprise you. Sometimes they might do something that you don’t expect, and if they do (even if it pisses you off), let them do it. Characters, after a certain point, become their own person and they know what they’d do better than you might, so just allow them that freedom. It might make the story harder to write, but that’s only if you’re holding the reins too tight. Let them write their story for you and you’ll find that your own work just became that much easier. You’re now the scribe rather than the creator and that’s okay. In his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King talks about how stories are something you find the way archaeologists discover bones or Michelangelo freed the statues already there but trapped inside blocks of marble. It’s like you’re a transistor radio that’s tuning into this station and your job is to write it down as accurately as you can. Let your characters write their stories (just as you write your own story), so that you can discover them as they continue to discover themselves.
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