How to Create Believable Characters: What Writers Can Learn from Training a Puppy

From Edie: Struggling to create believable characters? Discover how understanding motivation—through an unexpected lesson from training a puppy—can help writers craft deeper, more realistic fiction.

How to Create Believable Characters: What Writers Can Learn from Training a Puppy

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

My husband, Rob, and I have a new puppy.

Now you’re thinking, “Beth, what does a puppy have to do with writing?”

For one thing, Willa is named after author Willa Cather. She also distracts me from writing my novel, thanks to how often we play “in and out” during the day.

Rob and I adopted Willa from a local shelter, after she was found walking along the road. All the backstory we have for Willa is that she’s 8 months old and a mix of Australian cattle dog and Labrador Retriever. 

Willa crouched in the back corner of her 3 feet by 8 feet kennel when we met her. It required a lot of coaxing to convince her of our kind intentions. Why did we adopt such an anxious dog? Because we want to love her and to provide her with a good home where she will thrive.

Has it been easy? No. She reacts to other dogs. To cars. To strangers—and everyone besides Rob and I are strangers. 

Still thankful we adopted Willa? Yes. 

Will we ever know why she is fearful? No. Based on her reactions, we think Willa was abandoned and possibly mistreated. Will we ever know what she experienced the first eight months of her life? No. Rob and I can only deal with how she reacts. (Yes, we’re taking her to a trainer.)

Which brings me to how adopting a puppy applies to writing. When we’re developing our fictional characters, we must know why our characters act the way they do. There’s no “maybe” when it comes to why our hero and heroine make the choices they do. No writing “just because” scenes that confuse our readers. 

Plotter or pantser, it’s wise, i.e. not optional, to get to know your characters. 

Did you heroine leave her fiancé at the altar? Ask her why. But don’t ask once. Write down her initial answer and then keep asking why until you’ve dug deep into your heroine’s mind, soul, and emotional makeup. Why couldn’t she say, “I do”? Why didn’t she say something sooner instead of waiting until the wedding day?

Is your hero a risk taker? Ask him why. Again, don’t settle for the first answer he throws at you. Dog his heels (no pun intended) and keep digging with more whys until you’ve peeled back the surface layer of his life story and discover the deeper reasons fueling his dangerous choices. Why doesn’t he care about the fact he could injure or kill himself? Why is he an adrenalin junkie? Why doesn’t he care that people think he’s crazy?

Our fictional characters aren’t abandoned dogs we find along the road. We don’t wonder why they act the way they do and just deal with bad behavior—or good behavior, for that matter. We’re in control of their story—no guesswork involved. All we have to do is take time to ask why, why, why. 

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How to Create Believable Characters: What Writers Can Learn from Training a Puppy from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, released June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at BETHVOGT.COM.