Every successful story needs a character to drive the story. Here are basic ideas to make the character stand out in each page and word.
"Just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character." The Wolf, Pulp Fiction.
The character is the spark plug that runs the engine of your fiction. Some are complex while others show up to merely drive the plot forward. Regardless, the best memories for a reader is a fully developed personality who mystifies the literary senses. Here are some basic steps to bring the hero, villian or average joe.
Build the Character's Skeleton:
- Ask the question. What is my character lacking? Is it love, revenge, fear, happiness, etc.? Find out what will drive this person to act and think the way they are will build its motive.
- Hard time figuring out what they will look like. Tear up pieces of paper. Jot down different hair (blonde, redhead, brunette), short, tall, old, young, blue or brown eyes, etc. Or write names of men and women celebrities. Pick one out of a hat and use these as the model to describe them.
- Give them a job. An occupation whether a janitor, security guard, nurse and how these shape or influences their lives.
Give the Character Flesh:
- Spend at least 10 minutes and give the man or woman background information to explain why he or she is the way they are such as childhood memories, war stories, high school, prom date.
- Create ticks whether facial or physical from licking lips to pulling on hair or rubbing their temples. Add a dialect or accent when they talk, mannerisms when they sit or interact with others.
- Dreams also can give a picture of the character's psyche and give an opportunity to delve deeper into the person's mind. Use dream interpretation sites to help create foreshadowing of the character's fate in the story.
Design the Character's Picture:
- Imagine yourself as the photographer and it depends on you how the character is presented to the reader's imagination.
- Take all the elements and mold the frame into a leaner and fast paced character but this depends on how deep the plot delves into their past or present and eventual futures.
- Make sure to make the person as unpredictable as possible and try to avoid cliches such as the alcoholic, divorced detective over 40 about to retire. Take those tired elements and give them a twist the reader will not see coming.
Insert the Character's Personality:
- Every character needs an edge in order to draw in the reader. A detective in a mystery may help a master criminal rob a bank to pay old gambling debts from mobsters. Or a husband allows an affair with his wife to further his own career. A lawyer who purposefully loses a case to receive a pay off from a major corporation.
- Look to family members or relatives with quirky or strong behaviors like an aunt, uncle, or cousin. Recall an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend that were absolutely off-the-wall or
- Reality TV has an assortment of colorful personalities to write down in a journal and file for further use.
Remember to have fun with this model and make sure the chacater is as original as a newborn baby. The journey has to start with the traveler and if there is no investment in the person then the whole story falls apart. Have fun with the design of the character and continue with others whether they have a big roles in the plot or not.
The copyright of the article Writing Exercises for Emerging Writers in Character Development is owned by Eduardo Camacho. Permission to republish Writing Exercises for Emerging Writers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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