Character Development: Part 1

Character Development: Part 1

The Basics

Character development can refer to the actual creation process in which you decide your character’s strengths, flaws, goals, features, etc, or it can refer to a character’s progression/transformation throughout a story, which is also known as an arc.

Your Character: How Much Do You Need to Know?

Some will say you need to be aware of everything when it comes to a character, including miscellaneous minutia, but when you follow that advice you’ll find it’s all too easy to get bogged down. In order to make things easier, it’s best to have an outline (or at the very least a general idea) for your story, and then consider your characters within that context. Make sure you flesh out these basics:

Features and Identifying Characteristics - Consider what makes them unique in both physical appearance and personality.Their voice and mannerisms are also important here.

Goal (s) - What does your character want and how does it drive the conflict in the story? How does your character’s goal, and the lengths they’ll go to accomplish it, affect others?

Strengths and Flaws - You can divide these into major and minor categories. Some will affect the character and those around them more than others. It’s important to try to find a balance between the two, even if it’s not initial. The character can find a balance during the story.

Fears - These are very important to know because they’ll influence your character’s behavior. Fears can be internal and external, major and minor.

Reactions - How does your character handle situations that occur within your story, and what do those reactions say about your character to themselves, other characters, and the audience?

Interactions - How does your character conduct themselves around other characters? Why?

Static vs. Dynamic Characters

Simply put, a static character is one who does not change in a story while a dynamic character does. Dynamic characters tend to have legitimate, major growth, whether it be over the course of a single story or over many. Their personality, beliefs, perspective, or even goals may be altered by their experiences, and they learn something, whether it be good or bad. Both kinds of characters will appear in stories, and it’s alright to have either in the main character role.

You may also see static characters referred to as flat and dynamic characters referred to as round.

Static Character Examples: Sherlock Homes, Hannibal Lecter, Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Robin Hood, James Bond, Tarzan, Huck Finn, Long John Silver, Classic Superheroes (Batman, Superman, Spiderman).

Dynamic Character Examples: Harry Potter, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Bilbo Baggins, Batman (Batman Begins), Buzz Lightyear, Darth Vader, and Aladdin (Disney).

Character Arcs

The key to writing a good character arc is maintaining believable change in the eyes of the audience. If your character is a pretty nice guy for most of the story, then suddenly decides to do something vile, like kill a kitten for no good reason (other than your Master Plan to make him a villain), your audience is going to be confused. Character arcs aren’t just about the beginning and the end, but how you get to that end. They are a progression.

There are three basic types of character arcs: positive, negative, and flat/no change.

Positive: Your character begins at a low point, and by the end of the story reaches a high and is better off than where he was when he started. An external force causes a change within the character. An example would be The Hero’s Journey (Shrek) or overcoming an internal obstacle.

Negative: Your character begins at a high point, and by the end of the story hits a low and is worse off than where he was when he started. An external force causes a change within the character. An example would be The Fall from Grace (Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader).

Flat/No Change: The character, at some point, has already found their truth, accomplished their goal, come to terms with their struggles, or had a major change at some point prior to the story and already knows how to handle things. These stories tend to focus on how the character can affect his world, and not the other way around.

There are, of course, different degrees of severity to these arcs, and depending on how long your story is, or if it’s over the course of a series, a character may go through multiple arcs.

Remember to treat your characters like people. Force them into situations that expose them, and make them show who they really are.

Happy writing.

-Morgan

me: how many words have i written

is it a million

is it TWO million

word counter: 409 words

me: LIES

i’m always a slut for a christmas au 

“i know we hate each other but it’s christmas eve and your flight was cancelled please come inside”

“i got you for secret santa so i got you this really expensive but sentimental gift that you’ve always wanted, hoping you’ll never find out it’s from me - and that i’ve been in love with you 1234567 years” SNOWBALL FIGHTS

“hi we’re neighbours and omg are you alright i could smell cooking burning - whoaaa now that’s just embarrassing? step aside i’ll handle this”

person a seducing person b into taking a few steps back/backing them against the wall (”oh look, how did that mistletoe get right there????”)

“you’re in the hospital for the holidays so i came in while you were sleeping to decorate your room i love you merry christmas”

“YES I BOOBY TRAPPED THE PRESENTS BECAUSE YOU DO THIS EVERY FUCKING YEAR”

“i live below you and i was minding my own business watching the snowfall out the window WHEN I SAW A BODY FALL ARE YOU REALLY PUTTING UP CHRISTMAS LIGHTS NOW”

I KNITTED YOU A JUMPER

MY MOM KNITTED YOU A JUMPER

“we’re strictly ‘platonic’ but we’re snowed in omg we’re gonna have to repopulate the earth”

“i slipped on ice outside your house and you ran out barefoot to help me quick let’s get inside under a blanket”

“’it’s a wonderful life’ aww it sounds so cute babe sure we can watch it! *30 mins later* “YOU MONSTER”

“we were playing in the snow and you suddenly tackled me to the ground and now…we’re just…staring… at each other…”

“YOU DON’T LIKE MARSHMALLOWS IN YOUR HOT CHOCOLATE? WHY DO YOU HATE LOVE”

TREE DECORATING (bonus points if one of them is doing it completely wrong omg why am i in love with you) 

“we took our kids to santa’s workshop and they both wished we would get together” FRIENDS AU - “our christmas party turned into a tropical theme because the radiator is broken and it’s hotter than hell in here - damn you look good without a shirt i never noticed before asgdhfjgkhl” 

“we’re co workers who hate each other but you had too much to drink at the staff christmas party and admitted your love for me i don’t know how to act around you now” 

DRUNKEN CAROLLING (”that’s not a thing” “oh yes it is”) 

TEACH ME HOW TO SKI (lol jk i know how you’re just so fucking cute)

“there’s a storm and omg i’m losing signal are you okay?? hold on let me drive 489432 miles to get you the night before christmas” 

PULLING YOU IN FOR A KISS WITH A SCARF 

“i did that annoying thing where i put loads of smaller boxes inside one big box and you’re getting really mad but you don’t know that the ring is in the smallest box and i can’t wait to see your face”

Describing Accents

Anonymous asked: Hey there! In the story I am writing it takes place on a different planet. However I really want a certain race of people to have African accents. How do I describe accents that don’t necessarily exist? I hope that made sense!

There’s a wealth of ways to encapsulate an accent, what with all the words available to you. It’s a matter of how straight-forward or creative you want to go. Maybe some of the methods below will help.

Adjective:

She had a fragile accent.

The people had throaty voices, sawing out words in blunt grumbles.

Metaphoric:

His voice was splinters and broken glass.

Her accent had a song-like quality that reminded her of swaying tides.

Straight-forward:

He had a French accent.

“I have to go,” she said, though from her accent, French, the words sounded more like “I hive tego.”

Straight-forward & ‘Technical’:

He had a French accent, perhaps Northern, his voice lilting the edges of his vowels and dragging out others.

Some methods work better in combination with others, such as straight-forward combined with technical (as shown). It truly shouldn’t take many sentences to give readers enough info to imagine how someone’s voice or accent sounds. Therefore I wouldn’t overdue the clues, as it can stir into offensive.

More Reading:

Describing Voices

55 Words to Describe Someone’s Voice

Online Thesaurus

Describing Qualities of the Human Voice

~Mod Colette

Soulmate AU where Enjolras has “sorry I don’t mean to startle you but there’s a spider on your hair” tattooed on his arm and Grantaire has just the capitalized letter A repeating and twisting all over his body (like a scream), from the top of his shoulder to the bottom of his foot and the both of them are very apprehensive about finding their soulmate

Seven Ways to Build Up Your Writing Confidence

Seven Ways to Build Up Your Writing Confidence

By Ali Hale

Do you ever worry that your writing isn’t good enough?

Maybe you’re scared to let anyone read your latest short story. Or perhaps it’s worse than that – you find yourself agonising over every email that you write.

You’re not alone.

Most writers – even those who make a living from their craft – lack confidence at times. Writing is, after all, a daunting thing to do: you’re putting down your thoughts on the page and hoping that they’ll be worthy of someone else’s time and attention.

A lack of confidence, though, can be crippling. It leads writers to give up before they’ve even begun – or to fret for hours over the simplest of writing tasks.

Whether you’re struggling to get to grips with grammar or preparing to launch your third novel, you can become more confident.

Here’s how.

#1: Practice Writing – Regularly

As a child, I had piano lessons. I didn’t much like having to practice – but I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get any better.

It’s the same with writing. Some people love writing, others find it tedious: but either way, you’ll find that the more you practice, the more you’ll improve.

That could mean:

Spending ten minutes free-writing every morning

Working through different writing exercises, so you get experience in several forms

Deliberately working on the elements of writing that you find hard (e.g. if you write fiction, practice dialogue or description; if you write for work, practice those difficult emails)

Writing a weekly post for your blog – no excuses!

Write from a prompt (a word, phrase, question or image that inspires you)

Your writing exercises might be for your eyes only – or you might choose to develop them into something more. Author E.J. Newman’s From Dark Places is a book of short stories that started as pieces written from prompts sent in by her “story of the month club”.

#2: Read Widely

You’re probably already reading a lot in your chosen genre or area – but try dipping into a book, magazine or blog that’s very different from what you’d normally choose.

You’ll come across authors who are:

Journalistic and factual, giving you the details without making any judgements about them

Extremely personal and introspective, writing based on their own experiences

Unconventional and creative with their use of language, perhaps coining new words …and so on.

There’s no one “correct” way to write a book, a blog post, or an article – and the more you read, the more you’ll realise that lots of different styles can be effective. You’ll learn new techniques, and you’ll also get a better feel for your own voice and style (look at what resonates with you – and what turns you off completely).

#3: Take Time Over Your Writing

If you don’t like writing, or if you find it anxiety-provoking, then you might be tempted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

That’s not a great way to build your confidence. No writer – not even Shakespeare! – can produce a perfect piece of work in just one draft. By taking a little extra time to edit your work, you’ll realise that you can:

Spot clumsy or ambiguous sentences and correct them

Change words that aren’t quite right

Fix any typos or spelling mistakes that have crept in

I often advise writers to write a basic plan then produce a quick first draft, without worrying too much about quality: that way, they don’t get bogged down trying to perfect the first paragraph. After that, though, it’s important to edit rigorously. You’ll feel more confident about your work when you know you’ve given it enough time and attention.

#4: Learn About Writing

I’ve been writing with serious intent (i.e. hoping to get published!) for thirteen years now – half my lifetime. I’ve read dozens of books and ebooks about writing, I’ve subscribed to a writing magazine, I’ve taken several online courses, and I’ve completed an M.A. in Creative Writing.

Obviously, I wouldn’t have progressed very far at all if I didn’t actually write (see #1!) – but I learnt a lot about the theory and practice of writing from all these resources.

Whether you’re a brand-new writer or an old hand, there’s something you can learn. Look out for:

Blogs on writing (like this one) – a great place to start learning for free.

Books about your specific area or genre – try your library

Specialised ebooks and ecourses – you might want to start with 100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid

Writing conferences where you can attend lectures and workshops

Degree programs – a big investment of time and money, but a great way to study writing in a thorough and rigorous way, alongside other students

#5: Ask For Feedback

This one requires a bit of bravery … but it’s a great way to give your writing confidence a real boost.

Ask someone for feedback. Ideally, pick a writer or tutor who you know and trust – you want them to be honest but also thoughtful.

Get them to tell you what you’re already doing well (because there’ll be plenty of good things in your work!) And ask them what you could improve on. I know it can be quite daunting to have your work critiqued … but once you’ve edited a piece based on feedback, you’ll be able to have real confidence in it.

#6: Share Your Work With an Audience

One great way to boost your confidence is to have appreciative readers for your work. But where do you find them?

The Web 2.0 era has made publication accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Sites like Blogger.com are free and extremely easy to get started with, and allow you to publish your writing online.

(If you start getting serious about blogging, I’d recommend using WordPress and hosting the blog on your own domain, for maximum control over your work. For all things blogging-related, check out Daily Writing Tips’s sister blog, Daily Blog Tips.)

You might even choose to put together an ebook for people to download and read. You can create this using a word processing program (like Open Office or Microsoft Word) and then convert it to a .pdf file, which can be read on any type of computer and on many devices like Tablet computers and ebook readers.

#7: Submit Your Work for Publication

One of the best ways to achieve publication is to send a guest post to a big blog. This can be a pretty daunting thing to do … but it’s a huge confidence boost if you get your post accepted. Follow the tips above and make it as good as you can before sending it in – and make sure you follow any submission guidelines.

You might think that you have to already be a big “name” in the writing or blogging world in order to get published, but this simply isn’t true: editors care about the quality of your writing and the professionalism of your approach.

If you’re a fiction writer, try entering competitions – winning a prize, or even being shortlisted, is a great validation of your work.

And if you’re aiming to write for magazines as a freelancer, try sending in fillers or letters to the editor – a great first step in making contact and seeing your name in print.

Keep Moving Forwards – However You Feel

Maybe it seems like other writers have far more confidence than you. You see them chatting away at conferences, or you look at their work on big blogs or you read their prize-winning competition entries … and you think if only I was as confident as them.

Perhaps you already are. Maybe they spent a week screwing up their courage to send in that competition entry, or they had to take a deep breath and conquer their nerves before striking up a conversation with a stranger at that conference.

As you write more (regardless of how you feel) and as you put your work out there in the world, you’ll find that you gradually become more confident and comfortable with your writing.