Creating Memorable Characters: Essential Traits for Engaging Kids
The full framework for building your own inspired stories to fuel family storytelling adventures is covered in our book, Creating Stories Worth Telling Your Kids.
When creating a character for your family stories, it’s essential to consider not just what they are, but also who they are, in terms of personality traits. In a previous post, we discussed Sparks and how to choose the type of main character (Creating Characters). Now, let’s explore character attributes that will help bring your hero—and even your supporting characters—to life.
Why Character Attributes Matter
The main character drives the plot forward and should be relatable to your child. For young listeners, a character’s personality traits help establish a deeper connection. Children often gravitate toward characters who share their interests, face similar challenges, or exhibit traits they aspire to have. In fact, research from Scholastic Inc. has shown that children are drawn to characters who are smart, brave, and strong (1). These traits create engaging and inspiring heroes that captivate young minds.
Three Essential Character Traits: Smart, Brave, and Strong
1. Smart: What Kind of Intelligence Will Your Character Have?
Intelligence comes in many forms. Using Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory, you can define how your character demonstrates intelligence in a way that feels unique and meaningful (2):
Interpersonal: Highly sensitive to others’ needs and moods. Generally well-liked and able to get along well with others.
Intrapersonal: The character has a deep understanding of themselves, both strengths and weaknesses.
Logical: Comfortable working with numbers, critical thinking, and reasoning; mathematically and scientifically minded.
Naturalist: Easily able to identify flora and fauna and use this skill for productive means, in tune with the natural world.
Spatial: Able to visualize with one’s mind, possessing good spatial judgment.
Bodily-Kinesthetic: Control over own bodily movements, usually resulting in superior physical activity or handling of an object.
Linguistic: Adeptness with words and languages, written and/or spoken.
Musical: Strong sense of how to use sounds, rhythm, and tone to generate music.
By selecting one or more of these intelligences, you create a well-rounded and engaging character with distinct abilities.
2. Brave: What Type of Courage Will Your Character Show?
Courage isn’t just about physical bravery—it comes in many forms. According to Dungate & Armstrong’s Six Types of Courage, characters can demonstrate bravery in different ways (3):
Physical Courage: bravery at the risk of bodily harm
Social Courage: doing what’s right at the risk of embarrassment, exclusion, or rejection
Intellectual Courage: willingness to ask tough questions, challenge popular ideas, search for and tell the truth
Moral Courage: doing what’s right in regards to ethical choices, showing integrity often in opposition to others
Emotional Courage: being able to open oneself up to different feelings, both to enjoy the positive and face the negative
Spiritual Courage: exploring topics of faith, individual purpose, destiny, and the meaning of life
By integrating one or more of these forms of bravery, your character can face obstacles in a way that resonates with your child’s experiences and aspirations.
3. Strong: How Will Your Character Display Strength?
While intelligence and bravery shape a character’s mind and heart, physical strength plays a different role in storytelling. Whether human or fantastical, a strong character can demonstrate abilities in the following ways:
Power: Exceptional strength or force, useful in high-stakes moments.
Endurance: The ability to sustain physical effort over long periods.
Agility: Quick reflexes and movement, helpful in action-driven plots.
Speed: The ability to move or act quickly when necessary.
Your character’s physical capabilities will often play a role in resolving conflicts, making action sequences exciting and dynamic.
Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses
Great characters aren’t just defined by their strengths—they are also shaped by their weaknesses. Developing flaws or challenges for your character to overcome makes them more relatable and engaging. You can choose to:
Have a smart character struggle with social interactions.
Show a brave character who battles self-doubt.
Feature a strong character who lacks patience or strategy.
By introducing these imperfections, your character’s growth becomes a key part of the story, making it even more compelling.
Final Thoughts: Creating Memorable Characters
Selecting character attributes thoughtfully will help you craft heroes that engage, inspire, and entertain your young listeners. Whether your character is smart, brave, strong, or a mix of all three, giving them distinctive traits will make your stories more immersive and meaningful.
References:
Scholastic Inc. & YouGov. “Kids & Family Reading Report.” Scholastic Inc., 2019.
Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York, Basic Books, 2011.
Dungate, Dr. Lisa, and Jennifer Armstrong. “Lion’s Whiskers: The Six Types of Courage.” Lionswhiskers.com, 2012, www.lionswhiskers.com/p/six-types-of-courage.html. Accessed 17 Nov. 2023.
