The Character Triangle: A Lesson on Meaningful Character Backstories

 (Note: this was a class / workshop offered at Storycon Dungeon. the class was presented as a powerpoint with visuals. This is instead going to be presented in text with fewer visuals. Enjoy!)

Your First Character! This workshop / blog post is about creating heroes, villains, weird little guys, and everything in between. While this workshop was presented for teenagers learning to build their own 'Dungeons & Dragons' characters, I'd say it's appropriate for any character creation!

More Than a Page...

When thinking on your favorite fictional character, what do you remember about them? I gave my students four options of popular fictional characters, and listed different features about them that were memorable and impactful to their characters.

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians): Percy is a teenage demigod, the son of Poseidon. He has the ability to control water, loves blue food, and is incredibly sarcastic and snarky. But Percy is also incredibly loyal, almost to a fault, and actively protects his loved ones. He's memorable for all these different things, but they impact the story in different ways.

Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls): Mabel is a high energy twin who's been shipped off to her uncle's for the summer. She's bright and random, wearing a different sweater every 'episode'. She also loves fiercely and unapologetically, and struggles with change. She's a strong facet of the Gravity Falls story, and both her strengths and flaws are intertwined into the story.

Azula (Avatar the Last Airbender): Azula is the intimidating daughter of Fire Lord Ozai. She's a firebender herself, and is cruel, charismatic, and confident. She commands attention in any room and doesn't have wiggle room for failure. Azula also craves approval from her father and experiences a deep fear of abandonment. She's unable to trust anyone in her life as she's been groomed the whole time as a weapon. She's not just memorable as an antagonist, but as a tragically complex character.

Edna Mode (The Incredibles): I bring up Edna Mode, the odd and hilarious superhero fashion designer in The Incredibles. She has a distinct voice and physical stature, and is confident and intelligent. She's unapologetic about her work and takes an immense pride in creating, and adjust, superhero fashion for looks and practical uses. Edna is memorable for more than just her big glasses and bob haircut.

Each of these characters has 'outside' features that make them who they are, but there are deeper memorable features as well, that assist in deepening the story (whether it be the overarching story, an arc, etc).

The Character Triangle

I have not coined this as my own creation; there are many different forms of 'character triangles' out on the internet and in different books. They all look different, but I anticipate that many have used a triangle for this same purpose before. That being said, this shape might not feel right for your own writing. Find a triangle, or another geometric shape, that helps you in your writing and character building.

The triangle is the strongest shape! This three pointed shape is incredibly rigid and struggles to be pushed out of place. Weight distribution, truss networks, etc. are all strong and sturdy in a triangle. Triangles are used frequently in architecture, bridge building, and other engineering feats. 

Our Character Triangle is also one of the strongest shapes in character development, and is a great stepping stone into learning more about your character and what facts might be most important. 

Point 1: WHAT CAN THEY DO?

Does this character have any special skills? In D&D or other TTRPGs, do they have a class or race? What is their background or childhood like? Do they have any certain helpful abilities? In your regular writing, consider their skills and abilities as they pertain to the story.

The point of this 'point' is to discuss the capabilities of your character. I'll use two different examples, one within the realm of Dungeons & Dragons and the other within the realm of my novella and my main character.

Dungeons & Dragons: Cometiel Ashveil

Cometiel "Comet" Ashveil is my current Dungeons & Dragons character. Comet is a Level 7 Eladrin Paladin. He is proficient in skills like intimdation, athletics, and perception. He receives his powers from his sacred oath to Corellon. Comet likes to use a mace, a shield, a lance, and a set of brass knuckles in combat. His background is Noble-turned-Street-Fighter. This is Comet's main overview, and a very surface-level examination of his first point on the triangle.

We know, based on some of these different traits and abilities, that Comet is powerful. That does not make him memorable though. His backstory, and his interactions with other characters, makes him more than just a character on a sheet.

What you wouldn't know, just based on images or text about him alone, is that he was banished from his Summer Court in the Feywild. He used to be the jousting champion of the court, and is intent on protecting not just his allies or justice, but the vulnerable and marginalized. He's also reckless, impulsive, and quick to react. He's a hothead that struggles to keep his oath.

Can you tell how much deeper his character became with all this extra information? Let's see the regular writing example now.

Myrtlin Springs, a novella: Judith

Judith is the main protagonist in my upcoming body horror novella. She's an older woman who lives in Texas and runs a butcher shop. She's been butchering for thirty years. 

Judith's character is very very flat with her base level of information. When we decide to use fill in her backstory with more of the points though, she becomes more three-dimensional and interesting. Just from the one point, her abilities, you wouldn't know that she was never married and never had children, that her business has suffered economically from a cattle plague wiping through Texas. You wouldn't know that she doesn't believe in God, or that she has OCD tendencies.

All this extra information comes with our next two points on the triangle.

Point 2: WHO ARE THEY?

If you managed to strip your character of their equipment or skills, or everything that made them 'powerful' or 'important' in the world, would they still be interesting? Other facets of this point of the triangle are things like their personality and values, their morals and relationships, and what they fear as an individual. This also helps deepen and connect your character to the story.

For Comet, my D&D character, without being a paladin or a skilled noble, he gets his personality in being flirtatious and crude. He has never in his life had to ask a single woman to consider him as an option, and for that, he seems to crash and burn when he asks regular women who don't know him. He's also impulsive and makes decisions without thinking, which leaves consequences for our party. He's afraid of rejection, he's afraid of abandonment, etc.

For Judith, my novella protagonist, what does she have if she wasn't a Butcher? This is addressed in the novel as conflict, if her business were to go under, but she struggles with a personality. She's single and has been her whole life, which might lead a reader to wonder why. She's never had children either. It's revealed in the novel that she's an only child, and that her family has lived in Myrtlin Springs her entire life. Judith doesn't have a relationship with the church, and fears what that might look like if she did.

Both characters are more interesting when you figure out what makes them tick. In addition to this, it becomes easier and more interesting to throw conflict their way. Both characters have fears or relationships with other characters that they value. If those concepts are threatened, how would the character react?

Point 3: WHAT DO THEY WANT?

There are many many many many different resources on the internet about 'character questionaries' and 'what you need to know about your character', etc. I think those resources can be really valuable, but I also find many of them to be heavy, and sometimes unnecessary. While it might be interesting to consider, your character's coffee order might not be required for your story. These questionaries ask hundreds of questions, and their goal is to help you determine what type of person your character is, but characters can be bogged down in concepts if there's too much.

With motivations and what they 'want', it's important to keep their needs focused and specific. Some of their needs might never be explored in your specific story or campaign, and while they're interesting to think about, they might not help the story but hurt it instead.

Comet is a great example of this. He has several needs, some that are physical in nature, others that are emotional or occupational. His current need at the beginning of the campaign is a sense of belonging. He's been exiled from his home plane and court, and now lives on the streets as an underground street-fighter. He also though, yearns for companionship, for revenge or some form of vengeance against his old court. He wants to be seen and heard. He also has more material needs that his fighting funds, like nice armor and cool weapons. With all that being said, circumstantially, there might be more important things to focus on rather than his medieval coffee order.

Comet yearns for companionship and I'd love if my DM gave him a love interest. On the other hand, Comet's current need (as of June 2026 in our campaign) is to survive the dungeon he's in, to save a member of his party, and research more about his brand new oath. 

Your characters needs, wants, and motivations are always subject to change and shift. Don't be afraid of it.

Judith, at the beginning of the novel, is struggling with her business. She fears if she'll have to leave her childhood home for the first time in her life if the town falls apart, she fears talking to the pastor's wife and being invited to church again, and she fears for her supplier of cattle, who's been missing shipments. As the story progresses though, Judith's fears and needs change and evolve.

I concluded my class with a workshop on building a character via triangle, and the kids were amazing at it. They made interesting D&D characters who would thrive in their own little worlds. I left them with a few pieces of advice.

If you're ever feeling lost in your character, the story, or in your writing in general, consider this:

Make your character a new goal. Make them something silly or serious to follow. Give them a new flaw, a developing fear, a new friend, or a potential relationship. Let them change. Change, while difficult, is always the best way to stir things up and try something new.

I really enjoyed my conference, and am excited to continue using the triangle in my own writing. Hopefully, as my novel progresses, I'll be able to showcase my characters and their 'triangle-development'.

Thanks for reading, and happy writing! xx