Character Development

Coming up with characters is as easy as pie, but coming up with BELIEVABLE characters is a whole different piece of pie. I know each writer has a different process of how they write their characters. Now I will be giving you a tour of how I do this process.

1. Motivation - I start with what motivates my character. Is my character doing this because of x, y, or z? This brings me a clear view of how their personality will be. So if my character had to rob a bank then I want to know WHY he had to.

Example: Joe Bob needed to rob the bank to pay off the mafia boss that he had borrowed money from so they don't take their payment out of his flesh.

Once you have figured out the WHY then we can move onto the next step.

2. Background - I have had some writers tell me that they don't do a background on their characters but I feel that having one makes my characters a little more believable and relatable (at least to me). When we have our motives then we need to know why our character feels they need to go about it that particular way.

Example: Joe Bob grew up in a bad part of town, raised by a single mom who worked as a prostitute for the mafia. He wasn't a good student and never graduated from high school and the only job he has ever had was with the mafia. He slowly developed a drug habit and began borrowing more and more money to supply his habit.

Ok so now we know that Joe Bob hasn't had a great life. He might have had small moments of happiness but that all depends on how much background you want to put into your characters.

3. Personality - Personality is a tough one for me. I have a tendency to give my characters snarky personalities in the beginning. But not all characters stay that way. As with each person, each character has a unique personality and quirks.

Example: Joe Bob has a Napoleon complex. He is very domineering and aggressive which was only made worse by his drug habit.

4. Description - Describing a character can be really easy or it can be extremely hard. I always look at my characters background and their motivations before I start putting their description together. To make your character more believable their physical description needs to 'fit' their personality.

Example: Joe Bob is very short and underweight. His hair is unwashed and a dull brown color. His eyes are a bloodshot brown color. He has track marks covering his arms.

5. Naming Your Character - Obviously Joe Bob was given a name but lets give him an official name. Now poor Joe Bob has a bad history and isn't the greatest looking guy.

Honestly, he is completely forgettable but that's how I want him to be. Now if we look at my poor character we know he didn't grow up in a great neighborhood and has ties to the mafia. Joe Bob is not what his name should be. Why? Because it doesn't fit him.

What would be a good name for my unimpressive character? A name that is equally unimpressive. I think I will call him Keith. Now that we have a name for him it is time to write his story. Either way the end for Keith is always the same, death.

If he succeeds in robbing the bank the cops shoot and kill him before he gets away. If he doesn't succeed then the mafia makes him an example. He newspaper article never makes it to the front page, he's relegated to page 8.

Yes poor Keith's story is a dark path of misery but that is how I wrote him. When writing characters every piece influences the character you create. Now Keith could have had to steal the money to get his mother off the streets as a prostitute. His story all depends on you and what you make it to be.

NOTE: This was originally written on my Wordpress. I am slowly copying posts from there to here cuz you all need lovin' too.