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

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

You know you fucked up if your OTP consists of a light and dark haired person

Writing is hard work. It’s your job to string together words in such a way that readers will effortlessly understand your meaning.

If you’re writing a novel or poem, of course, you can break the rules and indulge in strange twists of phrase. But if you want to write a crisp blog post, persuade someone to buy your product, or explain how to do something step-by-step, your writing must be crystal clear. In fact, clarity is your #1 job, no matter what you’re writing.

There’s no formula for writing clearly, but there are techniques you can use to improve your prose.  Below, I list seven tips for making your writing simple and direct.

1. Put the reader first.

Your purpose is to communicate, not to show off your writing prowess. Words are the medium you use to transport the meaning in your head to the head of another person. You must ask yourself, “Who will read this?” Picture a real person and write directly to him or her.

2. Organize your thoughts.

You don’t need a detailed outline for most writing. If you’re comfortable with the sort of outline you learned in school, use it. Generally, all you need is to jot down the important points you want to make, and arrange them in the order you want to make them.

3. Use short paragraphs.

Look at any newspaper and notice how short the paragraphs are. That’s done to make reading easier and faster, since our brains take in information better when it’s broken into little chunks. Short paragraphs also look easier and less intimidating.

Read More →

“How’s writing going so far?”

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”