Not Your Stereotypical Character: Avoiding Common Stereotypes in Character Development

Part of the series Writing a Book from Start to Finish

By J.E. Nickerson | Wise Thinkers Help Desk

When we think of crime shows, it’s easy to fall into familiar patterns: the brilliant but emotionally detached detective, the morally black-and-white villain, the “quirky” sidekick whose personality exists mainly for comic relief. But shows like CSI, Criminal Record, and Criminal Minds remind us that compelling storytelling comes from layered, humanized characters—not cardboard cutouts.

Avoiding character stereotypes

Take CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. At first glance, it’s a classic procedural: crime, investigation, resolution. But look closer. Characters like Gil Grissom wrestle with ethical dilemmas, personal insecurities, and relational complexities. Even the “overbearing quiet intensity” of recurring detectives adds tension and depth, showing that a character can be intimidating without being one-dimensional.

Criminal Record takes this further, offering a story where each character’s choices are colored by their backstory, regrets, and personal struggles. A second viewing reveals layers missed the first time: micro-expressions, subtle dialogue, and quiet moments that expose the human side of both law enforcers and those under investigation.

Criminal Minds thrives on psychological depth. Here, villains are more than obstacles—they’re complex people shaped by trauma, circumstance, and psychology. The profiling team, too, isn’t a uniform “crime-fighting machine.” Each agent brings personal biases, vulnerabilities, and moral quandaries to the table, proving that even experts in behavior are subject to human imperfection.

When you write crime fiction, don’t just think about the crime being solved, think about what the investigation does to the detectives. Everything your characters see and experience should impact them. It should change the way they see life. Maybe it makes them wrestle with their own mortality. 

Let the crime remind them of something that happened in their own life. Letting the events of your story impact your characters, humanizes them. Think about the last time you saw a news story about a murder, did it make you stop and think about something in your own life? Bringing this kind of backstory into your character’s life makes your story more engaging for your reader and makes your characters feel more alive.  

Resources

🎙️ Want more? Listen to the trailer for my podcast Heart of Writing where I expand on these ideas.

Learn how to make your characters feel real and more engaging with the following articles. 

➡️ 💔 The Wounded Hero: Writing Characters Who Bleed and Still Stand 

➡️ Let Them Grow: Why Character Development Is Worth the Mess

➡️ Writing the Moral Dilemma: How to Build Tension Between What a Character Can Do and What They Should Do

Let’s Bring Your Characters to Life

If you’re struggling to really know your characters—what drives them, what scares them, what makes them feel human—you’re not alone. That’s why I created the Character Profile Creation Checklist. It’s a guided tool to help you slow down, ask the right questions, and build characters who feel as real as the people around you.

Whether you’re starting a new story or revisiting one that needs depth, this checklist will walk you through it—one thoughtful step at a time.

📝 Download the Character Profile Checklist and start building from the inside out.

📚 If you’re new here, I’m J.E. Nickerson — faith based author and inspirational storyteller. You can check out my books here or follow me on YouTube for more inspiration and encouragement on this writing life.

Exercises to Avoid Stereotypes in Your Characters

1. Character Layering Exercise:

Take one of your characters and list three traits that define them superficially. Then add three hidden traits influenced by backstory, relationships, or inner conflicts. Example: A detective seems cold → actually struggles with guilt over a past failure.

2. Conflict Mapping:

Identify a decision your character makes in the story. Ask: What personal history or internal conflict influenced this choice? Map out at least two possible motivations beyond the obvious plot need.

3. Perspective Swap:

Rewrite a scene from the viewpoint of a character usually seen as “antagonistic” or “secondary.” This helps you explore their motivations and humanize them, revealing nuance that stereotypes often erase.

4. Behavior Over Stereotype:

Pick a trait you’re tempted to exaggerate for effect (e.g., the “quirky sidekick”). Instead of making it comedic or shallow, link it to a meaningful behavior or personal struggle to create depth.

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Character Development Worksheet

Character Name: ________________________

Surface Traits:

1.

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2.

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3.

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Hidden/Deeper Traits:

1.

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2.

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3.

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Backstory Element Influencing Decisions: ________________________

Personal Conflict: ________________________

Key Motivations:

• Motivation 1: ________________________

• Motivation 2: ________________________

• Motivation 3: ________________________

Scene Rewrite Idea (optional): ________________________