I'm planning to write a fantasy short story (or a longer story, perhaps?) about a young assassin/"a problem solver", who's been trained by a power-hungry court wizard and a royal spymaster to "take care of some things and criminals", such as corrupt guards and "troublesome" people, like political opponents. The story is mostly staying in a single city (the capital of a kingdom). The assassin is quite young (around twenty or so) and has been in training for over a decade. A while ago, I noticed one thing. How do I give this assassin a personality or depth? I don't want to make a character who's like "Yes, my master. Consider it done", a character without proper personality. I'd like to write a character who seems an unstoppable force, like Geralt of Rivia from the Witcher series, but is actually trying to make a difference. You know, don't judge a by it's cover. How do you plan your characters, or what do you think, if you're writing something like my character?
Give him an underlying motivation. Why is he a 'problem solver'? How did he come to be trained? What do you mean by 'making a difference'? Answer these questions, and you're well on your way. As an example; from my old RPing days, I had an assassin character whose sole underlying motivation was to be the best. If he accepted the job, then he would accomplish it. It wasn't about satisfaction or wealth (he lived a spartan life, even though his work made him fabulously rich) or sadism; amoral to the core, the job was everything. Improvement of his craft was everything. Those who taught him from his youth ended up dying by his blade; for by beating the best, he was now the best. Being the best assassin was the end-all and be-all of his life, even though he didn't have any particular feeling one way or another about his profession or his victims or those who offered him work. And quite frankly, that was a little bit terrifying for those who ended up facing him in battle. He was almost like a mix of the Terminator and Anton Chigurh; once he accepted a job, he would see it through...no matter if someone offered him more to do otherwise. But even though he was unstoppable, he didn't really seek to make a difference in the way things worked, so I guess this doesn't apply. :V
Characters feel deep to me when they're internally conflicted. Make him torn between two important parts of his life. Flesh out his motivations and back story to accomplish this. Maybe his family was killed by this wizard and he is waiting for the right moment to get revenge. Maybe he used to be one of these troublesome people, but was forced to reform. He'll feel like he's betraying his past as he takes them out.
Check out Brent Weeks' Durzo Blint from his Night Angel Trilogy. He is an older version of the type of character you are looking to write.
Tales of Anima, thank you for sharing your experiences. Mithrandir, I've planned to write the character with inner conflicts, but you got me to think few more options than the cliched "young orphan". And Daniel Cassidy, maybe someday, if I find any of those books.
