I need everyone’s best character advice. STAT.
Know what they want, What they're scared of What/who they love What/who they're willing to sacrifice
Also their breaking point, what shit do they have to be dragged through before they give up everything just for it to stop. And if they regret it or not,
Start with something you do understand about them and branch off from there. Personally, I find it easier to write for characters that have some aspect of my personality, amplified and then manipulated into something new or different. Or maybe we share some aspect of childhood. We don't have to be the same people, but my experiences are something I can understand and use to shape new people.
Knowing your characters’ limits and how to exploit them is essential for creating tension, and for writing excellent fight scenes/final battles.
Under what odds is your character able to win? What is their greatest strength?
Now take that strength away.
How do they account for that? Is it possible to still win, or is that strength all they have?
An acrobatic fighter who is shot through the leg. A knight whose trusty sword shatters. A sorceror who runs out of spells and elixers. A dragonrider whose steed is felled.
Find the limit and push past it! That’s how to raise the stakes!
when expanding on a main character, it helps to develop the characters they interact with most often:
do other characters trust them, and should or shouldn't they? what do they base that trust/distrust on? how does this affect the main character if/when they find out they are [dis]trusted? who laughs at them behind their back? who is privately rooting for them? who frequently forgets they exist and who is the first to notice them when they enter a room? what would it take to change any of these opinions, and how good/bad would the effects of those changes be on the main character?






















