Ways to Create Emotionally Intelligent Characters

As much fun building characters in a fiction story is, the process is equally challenging. Trying to create memorable characters who incite a heartfelt connection with readers requires quite a bit of work. But you can start by developing them with emotional intelligence, also known as EQ.

You want your characters to have an authentic balance of emotional intelligence so their impact on your readers is lasting. Additionally, if your readers can resonate with your characters’ internal struggle and growth, they’ll be more inclined to finish the entire story.

So, let’s briefly define what emotional intelligence is and then explore three ways to incorporate it into your character development to create emotionally sound characters.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is defined as “the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.”

In terms of character development, this means you want to show your character’s understanding of their own emotions. Show how they use them in different circumstances and manage them in stressful times when they need to communicate effectively, overcome obstacles, and form relationships with others.

With this definition of emotional intelligence in mind, here are three ways to create emotionally intelligent characters in your fiction stories.

Three Ways to Create Emotionally Intelligent Characters

Defining emotional intelligence is just the beginning of creating emotionally intelligent characters. You want to ensure you’re striking the right balance of emotional intelligence in your characters to paint an authentic picture of who they are. Here are a few ways to help you do just that.

Work on your EQ

Creating emotionally intelligent characters who provoke genuine emotion and connection from your readers is a bit easier when you understand your EQ. An emotionally intelligent writer has gone through some of the things their character is going to go through. And that can be used to write better characters.

So, work on your EQ. Your characters can mirror the general flow of your emotional journey to make them that much more realistic.

Draw on real-life experiences

As you work on your emotional intelligence, you’ll likely learn how to be better from your involvement in other people’s journeys to a high level of emotional intelligence. And these encounters should be leveraged to create solid characters. One of the best ways to develop emotionally intelligent characters is to draw on real-life experiences.

For example, let’s say you have or are currently dating someone with depression or anxiety. Think about the nights of researching their disorder, the difficult discussions you had to have with them, how you overcame their attempts to push you away and self-isolate, or how you improved your communication to support their healing. If you’re creating a character living with either of these disorders themselves or in relation with someone who is, draw from your own emotional experiences.

Ultimately, considering how you navigated similar circumstances that your characters are going through will help you develop them with a realistic balance of emotional intelligence. Also, the genre you’re writing can help shape the emotional intelligence of your characters.

Consider what EQ looks like in different genres of fiction

To determine the right EQ for your characters, you’ll want to consider the genre of fiction you’re writing in. Your characters’ emotional intelligence journey should make sense not only for the character but for your chosen genre as well.

For example, let’s say you’re developing a character for a comic book. You decide the stories will involve fighting crime, and therefore, the comic will be placed in the action/adventure genre. The question becomes, what does the emotional intelligence of a comic book character in the action/adventure genre look like? If their goal is to fight crime effectively, what is their motive for doing so? Were they bullied as a kid? Was a family member the victim of a high-profile crime?

Ultimately, your character’s level of emotional intelligence and how it develops in the story, and the pace at which it does, should be informed by the genre they’re in.

Conclusion

Creating emotionally intelligent characters will make your story stand out among the many fiction pieces out there. Develop these characters by working on your personal EQ, using real-life experiences to inform your character creation, and considering what EQ looks like in your chosen genre.

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for dynamic content. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.