👋 Hey there, budding writers! Are you tired of writing about the same old boring world every time you sit down to write? Do you want to create a unique and fantastic world that will transport your readers and keep them immersed in your story? Well, good news! In this blog, I’m going to show you how to create believable characters in unrealistic worlds that readers will love.

Understand the World and its Rules

Before creating believable characters in an unrealistic world, it is important to understand the world and its rules. What makes this world unique? What are its physics? What challenges do the characters face in this world? Understanding the world and its rules helps you know how to create characters that fit seamlessly into it.

A picture of a fictional world, with mountains, rivers, and forests.

Give Your Characters Believable Personalities

The key to creating memorable characters is giving them believable personalities. With unrealistic worlds, you have more leeway for their actions and behaviours. But that does not mean that you make them superhuman or perfect. Make them compelling, with strengths and weaknesses, fears and desires. This way, your readers can relate to them and be invested in their journeys.

A picture of two characters, where one is mad at the other, and the other looks guilty.

Make Your Characters’ Motivations Clear

Every character has a motive. It is essential to make sure that your characters’ goals align with the world they live in. Motivations could be survival, revenge, love, power, or anything that aligns with the world’s rules. Clear motivations are fundamental to creating characters that your readers can invest in and care for.

A picture of a character who is frantically running away from danger.

Use Dialogue to Build Believable Characters

Dialogue is a potent tool when it comes to creating believable characters in any world. It can help show aspects of a character’s personality, their beliefs and worldview. It can help depict complex relationships between characters, and explain their motives. Dialogue is a powerful tool, and using it correctly will make your characters more believable and memorable.

A picture of two characters deep in conversation with each other, one leaning in while the other looks pensive.

Create an Exposition that Doesn’t Feel Like an Info-Dump

When creating an imaginary world, there’s an understandable temptation to explain everything to the reader all at once. However, this kind of expositional writing can be a real turn-off for readers, especially those hoping for an immersive experience. To avoid this, try and reveal world-building nuggets to your reader gradually, a little at a time, over the course of the story. Find ways to make the exposition feel exciting and organic as opposed to formulaic.

A picture of a character staring out into a fantastical world, taking in the sights with awe.

Make the Character’s Reaction Genuine

Make sure that your characters react to the world they are experiencing in genuine ways. At the same time, avoid the cliché of having your protagonist say things lik,e “This is beyond bizarre” or “This is insane” every time they experience something that they are not familiar with. Audiences need to feel that the characters are well within their right to find the world at least somewhat realistic and that they react to it accordingly.

A picture of a character reacting to something new with an expression of awe on their face.

Final Thoughts

That’s it, folks! These tips can help you write believable characters in unrealistic worlds. Remember, your characters need to be as alive as you and me, and that means bringing them to life. With a world that is entirely new, it’s exciting to create your own rules and see your characters navigate and make sense of the world they’re in. Go ahead and create new worlds, beautiful characters and bring stories to life!

A picturesque image of a writer's desk, with a pen, notebook, and steaming coffee mug.