I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: every story starts with a what if? What if a prime minister’s daughter went missing? What if a spy was cut loose by the very government he served? What if two lawyers on different sides of the Atlantic found themselves falling in love?
That “what if” gives me the seed of the story. But once I’ve got that, I can’t just throw words onto a page and hope for the best. To make the story feel alive, I need characters who are more than just names. I need to know who they are, what drives them, and how they’ll react when the world tests them. That’s where my character-building process kicks in.
The Big Picture First
Before I even start sketching out a single person, I look at the bigger picture. Where does the story begin? What’s the middle twist that will turn everything on its head? How does it end?
Knowing the shape of the plot helps me see what kind of people the story needs. A spy thriller requires very different characters than a romance drama. If I’m writing about black-ops betrayal, I need hardened agents, political players, and people who operate in the shadows. If I’m writing about love across oceans, I need people who feel warm, human, and relatable. The story sets the stage — but the characters are the ones who carry it.
The Character Bible
Once I know the type of story I’m telling, I start building what I call a character Bible. It’s basically my personal handbook for the cast.
I’ll jot down everything:
- The basics (name, age, background, family).
- The quirks (what they do when they’re nervous, whether they always order the same drink, how they react under pressure).
- The emotional hooks (what they want, what they fear, and what pushes them past their limits).
It’s not something the reader ever sees directly — but it’s my safety net. If I’m halfway through a draft and I forget if someone’s left-handed, or if I risk drifting off-track with a side character, I can flip back to the Bible and anchor myself.
But here’s the truth: even with a Bible, characters have a habit of running off-script.
When Characters Surprise Me
This is one of the strangest — and best — parts of writing. Even with all the planning in the world, sometimes my characters still surprise me. I’ll be halfway through a scene, read it back, and think, “I didn’t see that coming — and I wrote it!”
Take Megan from Across the Brief. When I first sat down to map her out, I thought she’d be a typical brash New Yorker: sharp suit, sharper tongue, all business. Without giving away spoilers, let’s just say I was very wrong. The more I wrote, the more she revealed herself to be layered — ambitious, yes, but also warm, funny, and unexpectedly vulnerable. She started leading the story in directions I hadn’t planned, and that’s when I realised she wasn’t just a character on paper anymore — she was her own person.
The same thing is already happening in the early stages of The Vale Protocols. I’ve got a rough Bible for Thomas Vale, a disavowed MI6 operative. His background and trigger points are locked in, but the little things — how he reacts under fire, how he handles betrayal, even the way he speaks — I can almost guarantee will evolve once I’m halfway through the draft. Those details are impossible to pin down until I’m in the thick of it, because that’s when the character starts to take over.
Now, before anyone panics in the comments: no, this doesn’t mean I’ve got multiple personalities. It just means that when I write, I stop writing as the author and start writing as the character. Their voice, their instincts, and their flaws come to the surface, and sometimes they make choices I never saw coming. And honestly? Those are often the best bits of the book.
Building from the Inside Out
A lot of writing advice will tell you to decide on a character’s eye colour, what car they drive, or how tall they are. Personally, I don’t think that’s what makes a character feel alive.
For me, it’s all about voice and motivation. Can I hear them in my head? Can I tell how they’d argue, laugh, or shut down in a crisis? What’s pushing them forward, and what’s holding them back?
To figure this out, I’ll often write little “test scenes” that will never make it into the book. I’ll throw a character into an argument or a quiet moment and just listen to what they do. It’s like auditioning them for their own role. Once I hear their voice clearly, I know I’ve got someone who can carry the story.
Don’t Forget the Supporting Cast
Even side characters matter. A throwaway lawyer, a bartender, or a junior officer might only show up for a chapter — but if I know who they are, they’ll feel real. And sometimes, those smaller characters surprise me just as much as the leads. I’ve had background figures step forward and demand more page time, simply because their voice turned out stronger than I expected.
Why It Matters
Good plots can fall flat if the characters feel like cardboard cut-outs. A reader doesn’t just follow a storyline; they follow people. If those people feel human, flawed, and unpredictable, then the story carries weight.
That’s why I put the time into building my characters before I let them loose on the page. And that’s also why I don’t panic when they start making choices I didn’t plan. The truth is, those moments usually make the story better — because they remind me that I’m not just moving chess pieces around a board. I’m writing people, with all their contradictions and surprises.
Why My Books Are Character-Driven
If you’re the kind of reader who loves stories where characters make the story, not just follow it, then you’re in the right place. Whether it’s Megan’s sharp wit and vulnerability in Across the Brief or Thomas Vale’s haunted unpredictability in The Vale Protocols, my focus is always on people first. Plot matters — of course it does — but it’s the characters who make you want to turn the page at 2am.
What about you?
If you’re a writer, do your characters ever surprise you mid-scene? Or do you prefer to keep them tightly under control? Drop me a comment — I’d love to hear your process.
And if you’d like to meet some of the characters I’ve been talking about — Megan, Vale, and more — head over to the Coming Soon page. You’ll find a first look at the projects I’m working on, and maybe even get to know the people behind the stories before the books are out.