Advise on Character building.
Oh boy, I could talk hours about character building!
Sometimes characters can just appear out of no where and you don’t have to do a ton of work to flesh them out. Then there are some times when you just know their name is Bob.
In those situations I like to use a quick method to create an interesting well rounded character.
It’s called a Character Diamond
You can physically draw a diamond for this but you don’t really have to. It looks something like this:
North Star: Most Noticable Characteristic
Counter Star: Something that people would be surprised to know because it contradicts the North Star
Mountain They Will Die Upon (Mountain): Their values, what they believe, much like the name they will die on the mountain to protect it.
Flaws/Weaknesses: Self explanatory just don’t make these hidden positives like “too attractive” or “too ambitious” pick real flaws and weaknesses.
Example
My character Mirra
North Star: Straight Laced Protector
Counter Star: Naive and Hot Headed
Mountain: Duty/Loyalty
Flaws/Weaknesses: Trust Issues/Blunt
As you can see you can also put multiple things on one point. Really there are a few different variations of the character diamond, so you can always change it up to fit your needs. I just find this helps me create a more well rounded character.
Thanks for the ask!
