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How to Create Believable Characters with "Blood of Gods and Girls" Author Katja Kaine
Award winning author and Novel Factory founder, Katja Kaine, deep dives into character creation with us. Where to find inspiration, how to make them feel free, and how to keep it all straight in your head!
Jessika Raisor
April 17, 2025
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Your characters are what make up your story. They drive the plot, they make the readers laugh (and cry), plus they get all the amazing fan art. So why are they the hardest part to write?
Humans are complex creatures and we can spot flat representations even in the most interesting of settings. We sat down with Katja Kaine and picked her brain on how she weaves together realistic characters by sowing internal conflict, learning psychology, and using a little bit of careful planning.
Hi Katja, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today! Let our readers know a little bit about your background.
Hi! I’m Katja Kaine— I’m a writer, and I’m also the creator of the Novel Factory, which is software for novel writers. I’ve been writing and learning about writing for about fifteen years, and last year I got my big break— a major six figure deal with Penguin Random House for my YA Feminist Fantasy, Blood of Gods and Girls.
Yes, and we met through Novel Factory! But we can talk more about your app later, let’s jump right into your writing process.
You've sat down to start a story...do the characters come first before the plot?
They are so completely intertwined, they both develop at the same time. After I have the first spark of an idea, I start by thinking about my five main story elements.
Character
Situation
Objective
Opponent
Disaster
The character is the protagonist, the situation is the situation they find themselves in after the inciting incident, the objective is what they want, the opponent is who or what is stopping them getting what they want and the disaster is what will happen if they fail.
For me, the plot exists for the purpose of the character realising what is missing from their psyches or souls, so character and plot are two sides of the same coin.
I think that has to be a case for a really fulfilling story.
So you have the seeds of plot and character planted, how much of the character development happens before you put pen to paper vs. learning more about them as you write your story? In my early days as a writer I would try to have my characters completely fully formed before I started writing my first draft— I would think about their wants, needs, appearance, background, personality type, where they lived, what hobbies they had, their flaw, how many brothers and sisters they had, etc., etc. |  |
These days, I approach the pre-drafting character development with a lot lighter touch and a lot more flow and instinct. I do a bit of exploring some key aspects of each of the main characters, but I don’t go into too much depth. Then, when I’m writing, I let aspects of each of the characters emerge within the scenes and the conversations with other characters. When I’ve finished my first draft I might go back and do a bit more ‘off stage’ work, to add detail to what emerged during the scene.
For me, the plot exists for the purpose of the character realising what is missing from their psyches or souls, so character and plot are two sides of the same coin.
What does the basic character outline look like for you when you explore these key aspects?
For my main characters, I will usually want to pin down their:
Name
Age
Gender
Physical appearance
General sense of personality (are they outgoing or shy, meticulous or carefree, etc.)
Role in the story (i.e. sidekick, mentor, antagonist)
Fears and phobias
In the case of the protagonist I will also be looking at their want and their need.
Their want is the external thing they want to achieve or attain. It might be to win a competition, win the love of someone, or save their village— that sort of thing.
Their need is the internal thing they really need to achieve in order to be ‘complete’ as a person. This usually boils down to something related to finding their courage or finding their compassion. The most interesting thing about this is that their want and their need are often at odds— and at some point you can make them have to choose between them.
You can have that thing you’ve always wanted— here, take it, it’s yours. But there’s a catch— if you do take it, then you will forever lose the thing you really need. Will you take it? Or will you choose your need, and sacrifice your want?
To give an example, a character might have wanted to go to the prom with the cheerleader and have the adulation of his whole school. Thing is, the cheerleader is cruel and doesn’t care about him. But, after he spends much of the story trying to form himself into the kind of jock she’ll want to be with, she says she’ll do it, she’ll go with him.
However, there’s a goth girl who really does love him, and if he chooses the cheerleader, the goth girl’s heart will be broken and she’ll never forgive him. So, what will he choose? The cheerleader, who represents glory which is ultimately shallow and unfulfilling? Or will he choose the goth girl, enduring social scorn but finding true connection?
I think it’s important to sow that internal conflict, those are my favorite characters to read.
I also love to see the character change by the end, but how do you ensure a character’s decisions are consistent with their personality while still allowing for growth and surprises?
That is such a great question. Getting the balance right between making them complex and inconsistent enough to feel like real people rather than cardboard cutouts, but while not making them so erratic they feel like they’re constantly having personality transplants is one of the trickiest things.
One way I like to do this is by making sure they have a core driving force, like are they ‘the funny one’ or ‘the kind one’ or whatever, and then on one or two occasions, have them deviate from that attitude, but for a good reason— usually because they are under a lot of stress.
For example, you might have a character which is always playing the clown. But when something bad happens to someone they love, that humour can’t survive the moment, and they show vulnerability without hiding behind jokes.
I also find it very helpful to do what I call ‘character viewpoint synopses’ which is where I go through the whole story from the point of view of that character, examining how their past experiences might impact on how they view the events, and also thinking about what they were doing before the scene started. I find that this helps give them depth because it gives you little insights which you can weave into the story to make the characters feel more three dimensional.
For example, if you don’t do this, your main character might ask their best friend for a favour, and you might write the best friend agreeing, because they are their best friend, after all.
But if you’ve done the character viewpoint synopsis, you might know that the best friend has just had an argument with their mother and are in a really bad mood, and that will affect how they respond to being asked a favour.
When you do this though, you need to be constantly asking yourself what the heart and themes of your story are, and whether this aligns with those, rather than just adding random details.
Where do you get inspired or find the internal contradictions that make them feel real?
I read quite a lot about human psychology and philosophy. There are lots of clever people who have tried to work out what drives humans and whether we are inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and I find these real life stories and insights very inspiring when it comes to writing characters.
 | A book I read recently which I found particularly useful in that regard was The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate. He talks about how experiences in our childhoods form our coping mechanisms (such as people pleasing, playing the clown, keeping people at a distance) which we use in adulthood— often to our own harm. Understanding these processes really helped me when it came to understanding why my characters might behave in a certain way and how I would need to write their backstories to make it all make sense. |
The most interesting thing…is that [your character’s] want and their need are often at odds— and at some point you can make them have to choose between them.
We focused a lot on the protagonist but stories always have a supporting cast as well. How do you handle secondary characters to ensure they also feel layered and complex?
I spend almost as much time on my main secondary characters as my protagonist, exploring all of the aspects I’ve written above. The difference with the protagonist is that the plot is closely interwoven with their own internal development, whereas the secondary characters which have arcs (as in, they change and learn and grow through the story) will be alongside, rather than at the centre. Each character’s arc will be exploring a different aspect of my main themes— from different angles.
For example, my YA novels explore feminist themes and questions of women’s power. So the main character goes on a journey from being powerless, to being powerful. But the secondary characters explore things like, how men respond to the oppression of women or women’s power, different types of power, and how the oppression of women harms men as well as women.
Now we met through your app Novel Factory, an amazing organizational tool I am glad I stumbled upon!
Do you want to share briefly how Novel Factory can also help with keeping all your characters straight?
I’d love to, thank you! The Novel Factory has a dedicated section for keeping track of your characters, where you add character profiles for each character, and each profile comes with optional predesigned templates to help you explore different aspects of your character, including backstory, personality, attitude to love and loads more.
If you want to try it, you can get a 30 day free trial - no payment details required.
We’ll share everyone’s review in our next email
And you’re keeping busy with an upcoming novel! Share a bit about your current projects.
My debut novel Blood of Gods and Girls is due to be released early 2026, so please look out for that! I’d also love it if people would give The Novel Factory a try, I get lots of people contacting me telling me it’s helped them make huge progress with their novel, as it gives a straightforward framework for progress, as well as loads of practical advice and information.
Yes everyone check it out and use our affiliate link to support the blog and Katja at the same time!
But before we wrap-up, what are you currently reading?
I have just finished You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne, which I thought was incredible. Uncomfortable, chilling, unsettling— and every teenager should probably read it. Especially boys.
I’ve been really lucky to have read a load of great books recently, and the ones that spring to mind as being particularly outstanding are Butter by Asako Yuzuki and The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks.
Thank you again Kat for such amazing insights!
About the Author: Katja Kaine is a Yorkshire-based writer of feminist YA fantasy novels. She has won multiple awards for writing, including the Northern Writers Northern Promise Award and the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition. She was also shortlisted for the Bath Children's Novel Award. Her debut novel, Blood of Gods and Girls, will be released early 2026 with Penguin Random House. She is the creator of the Novel Factory software for writers, and the Novel Writing Roadmap. Katja is half Singaporean and half German and when she's not writing can be found walking through ancient woodland with her mud-soaked labrador, bending into pretzel yoga shapes and raging against the patriarchy.
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When you start fleshing out your characters for your new novel, use Katja’s Novel Factory to keep it organized!
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