When I’m exploring how to write real characters, I always start with two questions:

What are they hiding?
And what are they craving?

That inner conflict, the tension between fear and longing, is where a character’s emotional truth begins.

In Max Johnny, the protagonist wasn’t heroic in the traditional sense. He was angry. He was grieving. His emotional struggle wasn’t decoration, it was the story.

Because if you’re learning how to write real characters, perfection isn’t the goal. ...