The Ultimate Guide to Developing Your Characters
Lots of people say that character questionnaires are the best way to develop your characters, but I feel like that's just a little superficial. I prefer character sketches. One of the many reasons is that it's got the added benefit of helping you develop your characters' voices, especially if you plan to write the actual novel in the 1st person perspective. Character sketches are usually written like a journal entry from the point of view of one of your characters, although that's not a hard-and-fast rule. One important tip is to just have fun with it. If your character is like you personality-wise, just kick back and let your own voice shine through a little bit. If they're completely different, that's even more fun, because you get to use your creative powers.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CHARACTERS YET:
Here are some tips:
You don't have to start with your protagonist. You can start with a really intriguing minor character that's begging to be put to paper. Also (although I admittedly haven't really done this), you could try sitting down and letting the brainstorm come, taking notes as you mentally work out a character. Whatever works for you! Use people you know, too. Not directly, of course, but maybe their general personality with some tweaks here and there.
DEVELOPING CHARACTERS WITHIN YOUR NOVEL:
Remember that most of the best stories have external and internal conflict. The main internal conflict is usually focused on the protagonist, although that's not necessarily a rule (see Ferris Bueller's Day Off as an example: Cameron changes more than Ferris, who doesn't really change at all). What makes the protagonist/whoever the internal conflict is centered on tick? In other words, what drives them? What do they want? And here's the part that makes it a conflict: what's keeping them from their heart's desire? There has to be something (well, if you have an internal conflict), or else the "conflict" will be pretty one-sided. If Uncle Owen had told Luke Skywalker that he could leave Tatooine and set off to look for adventure right then and there, whenever he wanted to, that would have shaved several scenes off of the movie and made that unfulfilled desire to explore and have an adventure a lot more difficult to identify with. There's a reason it's called "character development": there should be some sort of a change in the character.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CHARACTERS YET:
Here are some tips:
You don't have to start with your protagonist. You can start with a really intriguing minor character that's begging to be put to paper. Also (although I admittedly haven't really done this), you could try sitting down and letting the brainstorm come, taking notes as you mentally work out a character. Whatever works for you! Use people you know, too. Not directly, of course, but maybe their general personality with some tweaks here and there.
DEVELOPING CHARACTERS WITHIN YOUR NOVEL:
Remember that most of the best stories have external and internal conflict. The main internal conflict is usually focused on the protagonist, although that's not necessarily a rule (see Ferris Bueller's Day Off as an example: Cameron changes more than Ferris, who doesn't really change at all). What makes the protagonist/whoever the internal conflict is centered on tick? In other words, what drives them? What do they want? And here's the part that makes it a conflict: what's keeping them from their heart's desire? There has to be something (well, if you have an internal conflict), or else the "conflict" will be pretty one-sided. If Uncle Owen had told Luke Skywalker that he could leave Tatooine and set off to look for adventure right then and there, whenever he wanted to, that would have shaved several scenes off of the movie and made that unfulfilled desire to explore and have an adventure a lot more difficult to identify with. There's a reason it's called "character development": there should be some sort of a change in the character.
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