100 Example Character Ideas (& How to Design Your Own)

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Character ideas by genre & expert advice on character design

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 9, 2026 References

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Character Examples

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Creating Your Own Characters

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Character Archetypes

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What Makes a Good Character?

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How to Use Characters

Coming up with characters is one of the most important parts of the creative process. But what do you do when you’re feeling uninspired? Don’t fret – we’ve got you covered. This guide provides 100 character ideas to spark your creativity. Plus, we’ve added some tips on designing your own characters and what to do with them when you’re done.

Sample Character Ideas

A vampire who dreams of becoming a phlebotomist.
A young shapeshifter with ADHD.
A time traveler who repeatedly failed history class.
A mindreader with hypochondria.
An astrologer who is becoming cynical.
An estate attorney who receives an unexpected inheritance.
A business student who moonlights as a poet.

Section 1 of 5:

Character Ideas to Get You Started (By Genre)

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Fantasy Mystical lands and magical realms are the perfect breeding ground for quirky and adventurous characters. Who knows what could be in store for a vampire or a sorcerer? But we’ll leave that part to you. Here are twenty whimsical characters ready to jump into action.
- A horticulturist with bad seasonal allergies.
- A vampire who dreams of becoming a phlebotomist.
- A water nymph with a recurrent nightmare about drowning.
- An elven prince or princess in a human high school.
- A centaur with body dysmorphia.
- A wizard-in-training with a stutter.
- A young shapeshifter with ADHD.
- An alchemist who is clumsy to a fault.
- A narcoleptic sorcerer who casts spells in their sleep.
- A magical archivist with short-term memory loss.
- A werewolf who keeps changing under the new moon.
- A witch whose coven switched her at birth.
- An assassin-in-training who startles easily.
- A ghost who doesn’t know they died.
- An immortal warlock with existential dread.
- An enchantress with impostor syndrome.
- A necromancer with a fear of ghosts.
- A mindreader with hypochondria.
- A renowned assassin who wants to moonlight as a comedian.
- An open-mic poet whose poems work as spells when read aloud.
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Science Fiction Sci-Fi is the perfect genre to break new ground with your characters. After all, who knows who you’ll encounter when you blend the worlds of science and technology with your own imagination? Let’s meet some contenders.
- An AI chatbot that resents its creator.
- An astronaut who believes in conspiracy theories.
- A time traveler who repeatedly failed history class.
- A quantum physicist with amnesia.
- A time traveler who struggles reading analog clocks.
- An aspiring military linguist with dyslexia.
- An astronaut who is afraid of heights.
- An alien whose first point-of-contact with Earth is an AI bot.
- A socially awkward astronaut who must befriend sentient life on Mars.
- An astronomer who starts having hallucinations.
- A rebellious chemist who finds a new element somewhere he isn't supposed to be.
- A tech mogul who wants to go to space.
- A computer scientist on a deadline who has screen fatigue.
- An extraterrestrial being who becomes a TikTok influencer.
- A clone who can’t find their original.
- An astrophysicist with a secret agenda.
- A quantum physicist who wants to hide their latest discovery.
- A meticulous government programmer who suddenly keeps making mistakes.
- A marine biologist who is afraid of the ocean.
- A climate scientist who abruptly decides to become an astronaut.
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Romance The great thing about romance characters is they can be anybody. Whether your favorite trope is enemies-to-lovers or fake dating, you just need to decide who will be playing the leading roles. Here are some possible characters for you to fall in love with.
- An ambitious writer with burnout.
- An actor who’s tired of pretending.
- A baker who’s becoming bitter.
- A CEO who is about to go bankrupt.
- A football player who gets a career-altering injury.
- A travel blogger who misses home.
- A musician who has started to lose their hearing.
- An artist who is running out of ideas.
- A comedian in a depressive episode.
- A prince or princess who wants to experience the real world.
- An astrologer who is becoming cynical.
- A celebrity who misses obscurity.
- A teacher who wants to be in a rock band.
- A brooding bartender who likes to give relationship advice.
- A songwriter with stage fright.
- A college student who doesn’t want to be home for the holidays.
- A taxi driver who wants to see the world.
- An aspiring author who needs inspiration.
- A podcast host whose sponsor is about to drop them.
- A singer who needs a new sound for their next single.
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Mystery If you’ve been on the cozy mystery bandwagon, you might be ready to write some mystery characters of your own. Maybe you’re a true crime junkie who wants to try your hand at some detective fiction. Well, put on your detective hat. Here are some character examples to get your creative juices flowing.
- A retired detective who receives an anonymous note.
- A hotel owner who wants to sell all their property.
- A key witness with amnesia.
- A police officer who has to go into witness protection.
- A librarian who starts sneaking books home.
- A compulsive liar who wants to start telling the truth.
- A wealthy CEO who makes last-minute changes to their will.
- A celebrity who abruptly leaves the limelight.
- A writer who starts leaving coded messages in their work.
- A true crime podcast host who starts receiving anonymous threats.
- A news anchor who starts going off-script.
- An estate attorney who receives an unexpected inheritance.
- A marketing manager who starts sabotaging their own ad campaigns.
- A coroner who stops ordering autopsies.
- A mailman who keeps losing packages.
- A carnival psychic who starts refusing clients.
- A detective who suddenly becomes forgetful.
- An acclaimed author who wants to start using a pseudonym.
- A therapist who starts giving bad advice.
- A private investigator who commits identity fraud.
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Realistic Fiction Much like with romance, these characters can be anybody. The best realistic fiction can be stories about ordinary people facing ordinary problems. Here are some everyday protagonists waiting for you to pluck them from obscurity.
- A barista who wants to open their own cafe.
- A teacher who dreams of publishing a novel.
- A programmer who wishes they pursued painting.
- A business student who moonlights as a poet.
- A rural college student who moves to a big city.
- An aspiring singer who works as a theater tech.
- A retired CEO who wants to open a bookstore.
- An author with writer’s block.
- A stay-at-home parent who wants to get their pilot’s license.
- A busy surgeon who wants to start a family.
- A lawyer who wishes they had time to travel.
- A shy poet who wants to become a performer.
- An editor who wants to pitch their secret novel.
- A scholar who wants to be a stand-up comedian.
- An executive assistant who wants to become CEO.
- A librarian who likes to strike up conversation.
- A marriage counselor with relationship problems.
- A comedian who wants to be taken seriously.
- A hoarder who needs to sell their house.
- An event planner who wishes they were more impulsive.

Section 2 of 5:

Easy Methods for Character Design

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Try people watching. One of the best sources for new characters are the people around you. What quirks and mannerisms do you notice in your local barista? What about that stranger you saw on your way to work? These observations are all fair game for your creative process.
- Tip: Carry a notebook with you when you go out. If you see someone interesting or you overhear a funny conversation, write down the details for character inspiration!
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Draw inspiration from your own life. Surely we all have that one friend with outlandish stories and snappy one-liners. Or maybe you have a relative who always brings the element of surprise to family reunions. Either way, the people in your life (including you!) make for excellent sources of inspiration when you’re designing a character.
- One thing to keep in mind: if you portray a real person in a negative light, you could actually be liable for libel. To avoid any legal issues, make sure you change names and alter enough characteristics that your character cannot be identified as a real person.^{[1]
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Use a character generator. If you’re really in a rut and you just need some quick ideas, you can always try out an online character generator. This is an easy way to drum up some inspiration when you’re dealing with writer’s block.

Section 3 of 5:

Understanding Character Archetypes

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Character archetypes are a framework to apply to characters. Literary content expert Frank DiLuzio defines a character archetype as “a recurring figure in stories representing a fundamental human role with distinct motivations, characteristics, and weaknesses.”^{[2]
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Expert Source

Frank DiLuzio
Literary Content and Podcasting Expert

Expert Interview} These archetypes provide distinct sets of traits to help us categorize and design characters.
- Archetypes help your readers see themselves in your story and can add an element of relatability to your narrative.^{[3]
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- Examples:
  - The Hero is an archetype that almost everyone knows, according to DiLuzio. This is a character who is strong, charismatic, and witty – but not without faults. The Hero usually possesses key weaknesses like arrogance or naivete to balance out their strengths.^{[4]
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    Frank DiLuzio
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  - The Outlaw is another familiar favorite. This character breaks the rules to get justice, but they can also be headstrong and obsessive. Like the Hero, the push and pull of strengths and weaknesses adds to the Outlaw’s complexity and relatability.
- Tip: Give your characters some flaws! Archetypes like the Hero and the Outlaw work because their imperfections make them realistic. Characters don’t always need to be likeable to keep your readers engaged.
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Character archetypes are a helpful creative tool. Archetypes are a great starting point for complex character building. And let’s be clear, you do not need to follow an exact blueprint to use an archetype successfully. Archetypes can help you play around with familiar traits and even challenge your reader’s expectation of a seemingly predictable character.^{[5]
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- Before you start writing, explore the 12 character archetypes for inspiration!
- Tip: Try writing a character who matches or defies one or multiple archetypes. How does this make them interact with their surroundings and other characters? Get creative!

Section 4 of 5:

What Makes a Good Character?

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A strong driving force So you’ve got a character. Maybe they have a name, maybe you’ve decided on some traits. But to really build a strong character, you need to give them an objective. Professional writer Grant Faulkner, MA, says the main goal in character design is “knowing what drives your character.”^{[6]
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Grant Faulkner, MA
Professional Writer

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- Tip: Ask yourself what your character wants and what’s stopping them from getting it. You can’t have a story without conflict, so it is important to know what might be standing in the way of your character.
- Example: Consider a character named Briana. She has dreams of graduating college, but she has to commute an hour to school every day and is getting discouraged. Her driving force is her desire for an education.
  - Briana’s desire for an education and the tension that her commute adds is something seemingly simple that you can build a whole story around.
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Internal conflict If you look at the list of example characters, you’ll notice almost all of them have some sort of inherent contradiction. This creates immediate internal conflict. If your character makes perfect sense to themself and everyone around them, they won’t have much mobility within your story.
- Example: Let’s say we have a character named Shelby who wants to be a writer. She has no issues coming up with ideas, and in the first chapter of your book, she writes and publishes a complete novel. Great for Shelby, but now you have no conflict and no story.
  - Try this: Shelby still wants to be a writer, but now she has writer’s block. How will she publish her novel? What does she need to do? Now we have conflict!
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Inherent beliefs Just like real people, characters have internal reasons they make decisions – at least strong characters do. Understanding what your character believes will help you understand what actions do or don’t make sense for them.
- Example: You have a character named Pat who deeply believes in the value of marriage and family. This simple belief can steer a lot of Pat’s actions.
  - If Pat ends up in a situation where he has to choose between money and family, we know Pat would choose family. If he chooses money, you have either written Pat with inconsistencies, or something else in the plot is altering his decision.

Section 5 of 5:

What to Do with Your New Character

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Start thinking about the plot. If you’re a fiction writer, it’s time to start deciding what scenarios and conflicts you want to inflict on your new character. Are they chasing an impossible dream? Working up the nerve to confess their feelings? However small, conflict and desires are what will bring your characters and your plot to life.
- Tip: Try writing an outline for your story to organize your ideas!
- Not a fiction writer? That’s fine! Try using your brand new character in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Gameplay requires characters that are just as quirky and original as the ones we see in fiction.
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Flesh out your character’s background. Understanding where your character came from is just as important as deciding how they’ll move forward in your story. Even if you don’t describe every detail of your character’s background in your actual narrative, just being aware of your character’s backstory will help the creative process.
- Tip: Write a journal entry from the perspective of your character to get inside their psyche. Where are their thoughts coming from? What events have shaped their actions and their thinking?
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Introduce your character to other characters. Well, you’ve got one character. Now it’s time to see how they play with others! Bring in some conflicting energy or a love interest to start working on the dynamics between characters.
- Now is a great time to refer back to character archetypes. Try picking an archetype that clashes with your current character and see what happens!
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Explore sources of external conflict. Now that your character has a background and some new character friends, it’s time to decide what problems they’ll face. Will another character hate them? Do they have to keep a secret? External conflict can be anything that exists outside of the character’s mind.
- Example: Let’s go back to Shelby. She wants to be a writer, and she has writer’s block (an internal conflict). She also has a full-time job that stops her from working on her novel. That’s her external conflict.
- Tip: Go back to your character’s driving force/desire and think about what external factors might stop them from getting what they want.