Character Development

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

(Note: For simplicity's sake, I use the pronoun "he" here. Obviously, a character is not necessarily a he. Or a she, for that matter.)

One of the most important things in a story, of course, is the character. On the first page of your story, you can list your main character's statistics; his height, weight, color, species, etc. You can describe his hobbies and his personality. But it will read like a textbook, and will likely not hold your reader's attention. (Unless you are writing a textbook, that is.) You want the reader to like (or hate) your character. He needs to get to know him, understand him, identify with him, become his friend or enemy. If all you do it throw him in on the first page and get right into the action, your reader won't care enough about your character to want to read what happens to him.

To make your character familiar to your reader, he must be familiar to you. Do you know what his favorite color is? His favorite food? Perhaps these things will never be brought into your story or plot, but knowing these things will help you to know your character more intimately. After all, you're controlling his every move, shouldn't you at least get to know him first? He might think you rather rude if you don't. Now granted, some things you will discover as you write your adventure, but for the most part, you should have your character well thought out before you begin.

The Basics of Your Character
Main Characteristics
Telling your Reader
Twenty Questions

THE BASICS:
First of all, don't make your character invincible. Don't make your character unrealistic. (The fanfiction section has more on this type of character, usually called a Mary Sue - Mary Sues are generally seen in fanfiction, but an original character can be one too.)

What is your character? If he is human, is he black? White? Hispanic? Heinz 57? How tall is he? What color are his eyes, his skin, and his hair? For that matter is it a he? What does he look like? Is he blessed with a perfect complexion, or is his face like a pepperoni pizza? What are his clothes like; does he like bright, obnoxious clothes? Does he dress trendily, or do all of his clothes clash? Does he wear shoes? A hat? Jewelry?

What is his personality like? If he has a perfect complexion, does this make him arrogant about his looks? If he is unusually short, is he self-conscious about it? Or does he take pride in being small? Does he care about people, or is he cold? If he is a child, does he hang around with the "cool" kids, or does he hang with whom he chooses? Is he a "nerd" or a "geek"? Or is he one of the loners who doesn't get picked on, but doesn't hang with the popular crowd, either?

Where does he live? City? Country? Suburbs? Is he American, or does he live in Russia? Does he have a big family, or is he an only child? Does he have one or two parents? How does he feel about this? Lonely? Or if he has a big family, does he wish that he didn't always have to be around so many people?

What can he do? Is he an ace basketball player, or is he the youngest star ship pilot in the galaxy? Can he play the piano, or the guitar? Is he perhaps a jack of all trades, master of none? Does he prefer the company of his computer to other human beings? Is he a famous movie star or a ballet dancer? Or maybe he's a crack detective who loves his job more than his wife and kids.

How about God? Does he believe? Does he care? Is he Wiccan or Shamanistic? If so, how do his peers or parents feel about this? Do they share his beliefs? How big a part does his belief play in his life? How far does he go in teaching others of his belief? Is his faith unwavering, or does he often doubt?

You see, every aspect of your character, from the physical to the spiritual will define him. A boy who believes the bible and follows it to the letter would likely not be caught dead stealing; what if he were somehow forced to choose between sins? An arrogant man may not believe that harm will come to him if he drives like he's in the Indy 500; what would he do if he killed someone by driving like a jerk?

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
Most characters will have two or three major aspects about their personality that truly identify them. For example, in my opinion, Frodo Baggins' main characteristics are courage and pureness of heart. Yes, he likes a secure home life, enjoys smoking pipe weed, and eating, but those are only things that help refine his character. Not define it. Lion-O (ThunderCats) is proud, loyal, and brave.

Perhaps your character is a man who has managed to hang onto the innocence, wonder, and purity of being a child. Or maybe your character is bitter, pessimistic and unhappy about the lot he was dealt in life. These are things that will dominate the person's life. Things that when you say this characteristic, a reader will automatically think of that character. The other characteristics, while important, don't always play as big a part in the story.

CONVEYING
Now, how to convey your character's quirks and traits to your readers? Here are several ways.

Tell them.
Just tell them straight out. For the physical aspects, it's okay to mention some in the first page or so of your story. "With his blond hair, smooth face, and alluring blue eyes, Brian Jerekson was the most handsome boy in the seventh grade. He was also the most arrogant." Let's say this is the first line of your story; what does it tell the reader? It tells the reader that Brian Jerekson is in the seventh grade, he has blond hair, blue eyes, and a nice complexion. We know that he is arrogant, and can assume that most people probably consider him handsome.

Narrate
"Brian Jerekson coasted down the final hill towards Central Middle School, the wind whipping his light blond hair. Smirking, he sat back on his seat, taking his hands from the handlebars. He had done this countless times and never fallen before; he had been riding bikes for far too long to take a spill from so easy a stunt. As he approached the school, he winked one of his baby blue eyes at a group of girls at the bike rack. The fact that they both rolled their eyes and moved on didn't faze him; he simply hopped effortlessly from his bike and began chaining it to the rack."

It's a bit more lengthy, but it conveys his arrogance, tells the reader a bit what he looks like, and sets the scene. You are not coming out and saying "Brian Jerekson looks like this, and has this attitude". You are conveying his actions, which show his personality.

Dialogue
"Brian Jerekson, you are so stuck up! Someday you're gonna fall on your face, acting all cool, riding your stupid bike with no hands like you're some kind of stuntman. And when it happens, I'm gonna laugh! You won't be so handsome with your face all scraped, and your Guess jeans all ripped!" Perhaps some girl he tries to hit on tells him this, perhaps it's his little brother. Either way, because of what another character says, we can tell that ol' Brian is stuck up. it also tells that he likes to show off and wear designer clothing.

There are myriad ways of expressing what kind of person your character is. Describe how their eyes look when expressing wonder, or what their voice sounds like when they're scared. Describe how they walk or talk. Have them ask questions to portray them being nosy, or naive, or sarcastic. Describe how others react to them, or what their hobbies are.

TWENTY QUESTIONS
Okay, so there are more than twenty questions, but if I were to call it "An Undetermined Amount of Questions", it just wouldn't sound as good. Anyway, this is a list of questions that you might not have determined about your character, that may help define him, make him a bit more human. (Or alien, or animal, or whatever he may be.) Even things that seem to be irrelevant can help a story along, determine how your character will act. Such as parents. Say your character is an orphan, why would it matter who his parents were? Ask yourself this; were the parents rich or poor? Did they have any enemies that might threaten the child? Are the parents still alive? If so, why do they not have the child? In almost any characteristic of a person in your story, there are several things to take into account. By no means should you limit yourself to these questions, nor should you feel obligated to answer them all. Use those that you believe will help round out your character.

WHAT IS HIS...
Name
Age
Height
Weight
Species (if not human)
Race/nationality
Hair color
Skin color
Eye color
Features (scars? Freckles? Moles? Stripes?)
Clothes

FAVORITE/LEAST FAVORITE...
Color
Food
Kind of clothing
Music
Movie/TV show/Play
Book/Story
Animal
Drink
Actor
Singer/Musician
Subject in school
Teacher
Job/career
Game (video, computer, or otherwise)
Character in various stories/movies
Sport

WHO IS/ARE....
His parent(s)
Children
Wife/husband
Other relatives
Best friend
Other friends
Pets
Teachers
Other role models
Enemies

WHAT ARE...
His fears/phobias
Hobbies
Beliefs
Physical weaknesses or handicaps
Skills
Loves
Hates
Illnesses (physical or psychological)
Mannerisms (fidgeting, scowling, stuttering, etc.)
Habits
Routines
Pet Peeves
Goals/Plans
Other characteristics

WHERE...
Was he born
Does he go to school
Go to church
Hang out
Go to be alone
Go for comfort
Do his homework
Live
Play
Work
Keep his treasures
Like to explore
Want to go/visit
Spend most of his time

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