Three Character Development Exercises

1. Describe your character in detail. Physical characteristics first. Personality traits. Then, motivations. Work and hobbies. Friends and acquaintances. Impact on his/her surroundings. Anything else that makes him/her unique.

STOP. PAUSE. REFLECT.

2. Describe the contents of his/her pockets, handbag, briefcase or backpack: i.e., the items that are always with him/her.

STOP. PAUSE. REFLECT.

3. Choose an emotion. Write about your character in a situation where your chosen emotion predominates. Allow the character to use at least one thing that he has in his/her pockets, handbag, briefcase or backpack to aid him/her in this situation.

Building Characters

Character Name   

Metaphorically, this character is a __________________.
Physical Characteristics
Age

Weight

Eye Color

Hair Color

Male/Female
Birthdate

Birthtime

Birthplace   
Physical Description   
What does the character look like?

How does the character carry himself or herself?

What is his/her life’s work? Why?

Life’s Purpose
From the perspective of the character, what is his/her primary goal?
Why is this important to the character?
Past Influences
What events in the character’s past have affected this view of his/her primary goal?
How did these events affect the character’s perspective regarding his/her goal?
What were key events in the character’s past that influenced his/her present?
Personality Characteristics
Who has/had the greatest influence on this character? Why?
Who does this character hate?
Who does this character love?
What does he/she do in his/her spare time?
What motivates this character?
What are his/her public strengths? Weaknesses?
What are his/her private strengths? Weaknesses?
What is his/her darkest secret?
What are his/her pet peeves? Why?
What is his/her strongest character trait?
What is his/her driving force?
What is his/her personality type?
What does this character hate?
What does this character love?
Personal History
What was this character’s family life/situation like?
What is his/her favorite food?
What is his/her favorite song?
What is his/her favorite movie?
What is his/her favorite historical figure?
Support Characters
What is his/her best friend like? Why do they like each other?
Who is his/her greatest nemesis? Why?

Web Resources
Character Development Tips
Character Sketch Template
Character Development Exercises 

100 Character Development Questions

Character Timeline (also Peers List)
Good Advice
Well Organized Relevant Topics

Advice from Comics Characters

Your Writer's Voice: Step 10

Step 10: Now look at all the versions of your sentence. Is there a prior version that is actually stronger than the last? Which sentence now strikes you as the most original...the one less likely to have been written by someone else?

Your Writer's Voice: Step 9

Step 9: Sometimes the most effective and intriguing way of getting a message across is to whisper it (rather than shout). How would you revise it...to make it more suitable for being whispered?

Your Writer's Voice: Step 8

Step 8: Now imagine that you look down and see that the crowd below has disappeared—except for your greatest enemy. He says, "I didn't hear you. Would you repeat that?"

Given one last sentence, addressing one's enemy, instead of an anonymous crowd, can inspire in different ways. You don't want to give your enemy the last word—to counter in a way that would pre-empt what you've said. Can you alter your sentence in a way that will make it enemy proof?

Your Writer's Voice: Step 7

Step 7: At this point, you now have the option of choosing one or the other sentence. Or, there may be value in combining and/or condensing them.

Setting the Setting

Meant to have posted this earlier. If you need a list of questions, you can copy and paste from here. Also, feel free to add questions to the list (via additional posts, I suppose).

The word “beings” is used throughout this list of questions. This word was chosen so that your stories and thinking would not have to be limited to human characters. The word “creatures” is used. This would be defined as living entities dependent on the higher-order "beings" for their life and existence--"animals," if the story is earth-based and populated with human "beings."

PART 1: THE BASICS. Answer the following questions.
1. Is your story set in the past, present or future?
2. What is the time for your story? Is it set in B.C., A.D., or some other schema? List a year or a range of years.
3. Is your story set on earth, off-earth or in an imaginary place?
4. What is the location for your story? In 30 words or less.
5. What is the mood of the times, mood of the location, or atmosphere for your story?
PART 2: IMAGINE IT. Close your eyes and imagine everything you have written so far. Imagine it richly and colorfully.
6. What colors do you see?
7. What are characters wearing?
8. What do the buildings look like? What do other “being-made” objects look like?
9. What does the surrounding countryside look like?
10. What kind of “creatures” populate the space?
11. What kind of plants do you see?
12. What is the weather like, TYPICALLY? AT ITS WORSE? AT ITS BEST?
13. How do “beings” in this society move from one place to the other?
PART 3: SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. A deeper look into the culture or society of your story.
14. What are the attitudes that prevail in this society? The values? The behaviors toward one another? Toward strangers?
15. What is the best thing one “beings” can do for another in this place? The worst?
16. How do those living in this society feel about authority? Each other? Money?
17. What are the expectations of this society regarding its citizenry?
18. What are the good things about this society? What are the bad things? What are the worst things? What are the best things?
19. Regarding the “beings” in this society, are they transient or static?
20. What are the three to five most significant laws that govern this society?
21. What are the three to five unspoken rules that most everyone follows?
22. What happens to a “beings” who does something bad? Violates a significant law? Breaks an unspoken rule?
23. How do you know if “beings” in this society are in love? Hate each other?
24. How does this society treat its “young”? Its “old”? Its “creatures”?
25. What is their primary source of food? What other foods do they eat? What does a typical meal look like?
26. What is the basic unit of this society? How is this unit recognized? To what extent is this unit valued? What constitutes “family”? Friends? Acquaintances? Enemies? etc.
27. What are their unique terminology, customs, practices, beliefs?
28. How do “beings” in this society greet each other? Shun each other?
29. What is the measure of success? Failure?
PART 4: DRAW IT.
30. Draw a map of the key locations in your story. Draw examples of clothing. Draw splotches of color that are commonly seen in this story. Draw tools and utensils. Anything you can draw to help you visualize your story will be helpful as it continues to develop. Your drawings don’t have to be “good,” they just need to help you visualize the elements of your story.

Your Writer's Voice: Step 6

Step 6: Has your second sentence (from step 5) weakened your first? It usually does. If so, make it stronger than the first.

Your Writer's Voice: Step 5

Step 5: Suppose the person you most love in all the world were to strongly disagree with your sentence. Can you answer his/her disagreement in a second sentence? Write it now. (Note: If your first sentence is original, the chances of another person—even your closest loved one—agreeing with it without the sligthest exception is unlikely.)

ONE THING I KNOW - poem by Lisa Anne Kelley Peter

One thing I know, and I know so well,
and this one thing I've got to tell
No one, no how, no way
can ever take God out of the public domain

I looked for Him in school today
and though I saw no reference to His name
He was there just the same
I saw His evidence everyplace

Where did the brick come from to build the walls,
and the flooring to line the halls?
Who created every human form
Who made everything out of the norm?

I saw pictures on the bullentin boards
of zebra's and rainbows and beautiful snow,
mountans and rivers and a big red rose

At recess I saw the pebbles and sand,
and the sky above and trees and more

In the cafeteria I saw trays of food, milk and juice.
No the students didn't bow their heads,
but in my heart I gave God thanks...

I looked for and longed for a time of prayer
I thought how much more powerful it would be
than the time out chair..

In the morning when I had my break,
you know what I was doing -
I was praising His Name

Everywhere I looked, I saw the things that God had created.
To Him be all the glory and praise!

Lisa Peter Feb 2010 (written after a day of subbing in the Chester County Public Schools)

Your Writer's Voice: Step 4

Step 4: After step 3, consider additional questions:

Would the crowd cheer your sentence?

Can you revise it to give them something to cheer about?


These questions help you strengthen and individualize your sentence.

Your Writer's Voice: Step 3

Step 3: After Step 2, consider these questions:

Is your sentence outrageous? Could it be?

Is your sentence a question? Would it be stronger as a question?

Revise, as necessary.

The "novel in a year" blurb lists the resources of eHow and Robert Ray's "The Weekend Novelist." I recently purchased the early edition (1994) of Ray's book and was disappointed to see that he spends the first month dedicated to developing characters. I'm happy to see that the eHow guidelines focus the first month on pre-planning, deciding the "big issue" of story/plot with character development coming later. Although I agree that character and plot are the two most important ingredients of a story, beginning a plan with a character first and plot second is like hiring an employee and then deciding just what it is you plan to have him do. Other than this "out of order" issue with Ray's book, it appears to be a good resource.

Your Writer's Voice: Step 2

Step 2: Is your sentence one that could have been said by any person or writer you know? If so, revise it until you're convinced no one else could have said that sentence.

Preparation is Everything

Here is another approach that parallels our month-by-month plan. The first step fits with the first month. The other steps fit in along the way. I just thought another take on this process might be helpful.

How to Prepare to Write a Novel

From ehow.com

Step 1: Choose the genre that interests you most. Genres include: action-adventure; crime; detective; fantasy; horror; mystery; romance; science fiction; western; literary fiction. Novels can also be categorized according to specific criteria, including truth of main story; truth of general setting; occupation of a major character; worldview of narrator; focus of interest (plot, character, other); setting; target audience; age of the author; literary realism vs idealism.

Step 2: Decide who your characters will be.

Step 3: Carefully review the book of baby names and pick names that best suits your characters.

Step 4: Visualize the story's setting and write a brief description.

Step 5: Write a summary that focuses on the most important parts of the story.

Step 6: Make an outline for each chapter.

Step 7: Begin writing a rough draft.

Step 8: Rewrite the story until you are satisfied that you have done your best.

Your Writer's Voice: Step 1

Step 1: Imagine yourself on a rooftop, the townspeople assembled below. You are allowed to shout down one last sentence. It is the sentence by which the world will remember you forever. What one thing are you going to shout? Write down that one sentence.

Finding Your Writer's Voice: Introduction

As a writer, it is important to find your individual voice, theme and view of the world that distinguishes you from all others. Such voice has two components: what is said and the way it is said. Here is an exercise that may help you, as a writer, discover your original voice.

The intent of this exercise is to create one sentence that is strong, incontrovertible and uniquely yours. Your first attempt may not produce your ideal expression, so save your results and try again later after thinking on it more. If nothing else, this exercise has provided yet another lesson in the shunning of the sentence that comes first, and honing, changing, polishing the words of a single sentence to test all of its possibilities. That's what a writer does.

It is recommended that you work through this exercise one step at a time. To that end, we will present a new step every Saturday. The first step follows immediately.

This is excerpted from "Stein on Writing" by Sol Stein.

An Overview

Our Novel-in-a-Year Plan

 
First month: Pre-planning—jot down first impressions, big scenes, genre, major and minor characters and conflicts. Note the elements, don’t write elaborate descriptions.

Second month: Set setting—develop your setting, flesh out place, customs, geography, important time-specific details (especially those that will give a better handle on details that will develop later).

Third through fifth months: Develop characters—two to four months along with plot development (total of six months). Write bios for main characters. Create fact sheets about their lives and personalities (for easy reference). Explore their voices.

Sixth and seventh month: Plan your plot—using what you’ve done for setting and characters, develop more scenes. If desired, map out climatic structure for each scene to understand each scene’s purpose. Also, develop descriptions. Clarify “5Ws and 1H” of each scene.

Eighth through twelfth months: Write rough draft—Write outline, if necessary; or, use a stack of notes or note cards. First draft will go well with a clear idea of your setting, characters, motivations and direction. Finish draft by December 31 or earlier, if you want to edit and rewrite what you’ve done.

Our Novel-In-A-Year Plan

Okay, so we're going to work on writing a novel in a year. A more leisurely pace than NANOWRIMO to be sure. Each month we'll work on something new as we work toward our goal of writing an entire novel within the next 12 months. We'll be using two resources primarily: 1) an outline discovered at ehow.com and 2) a book entitled "The Weekend Novelist" by Robert J. Ray. So, get ready...away we go!