#developing characters

[adharagranley-writer]

last night i was thinking about what a hug from my characters would be like. and i think it's a good way to explore them.

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

character questions

does the journey or destination matter more to you? why?

what's the first thing on your bucket-list?

if you were to travel to one place, where would it be? 

~Nyx

[dragon-writez]

You know when you're imagining scenarios of your characters in your head and the development of one of your characters hits you like a Ford F-150 going 200 mph in a school zone

[moshieee]

Fun fact!

Moshie was originally going to communicate similar to how the floffis do, which is mainly through emotions

That couldn't work for the mafia au however sense m!moshie is going in and out of apathy due to... Certain factors...

And I wanted to keep their two stories similar, sort of like a branching of paths instead of an entirely new character

[lunacreativeacademy]

Experimenting with Voice

This week I’ve been experimenting with voice.💻

One of the ways to define your character’s voice is to list their hobbies 🖊

Firstly it helps you as a writer define who they are and secondly, it helps you work out how they see the world and how this alters the language they use and the way they think.🧐

An artist is more likely to describe their life through colour, paint and canvas.🖌

A photographer sees the world through a lens, possibly indicating they prefer to be slightly removed from it. 📸

My character Nik is a CIA operative but at heart he’s a musician, he plays guitar to unwind. His creative side is constantly at war with the practical necessities of his job, and it creates some interesting conflicts for him. It also made me consider how the work he does effects his current life and stops him from pursuing the things he loves 🎸

As a creative Nik more emotional than his colleagues, and this skews their view of him and his ability to do the job.

In terms of voice, Nik is a songwriter at heart so he speaks in long sentences. The language he uses is almost lyrical, another thing that sets him apart from the people he works with.

Already by doing this small exercise I’ve learned so much already about Nik, his environment, mindset and perspective.

Why don’t you give it a try?

Let me know in the comments below what you discover about your character!

[ettawritesnstudies]

My Personal Process: Developing Characters

Welcome to the first of my Personal Process Posts, talking about how I develop characters!

January is Characterization month on my website so today's blog post talks about how I personally go about developing my characters in the outline stage. This isn't a How To Guide, since everyone's methods will be different, but sometimes seeing how another writer goes about some aspect of the creative process can be useful for learning new tools to adapt and use in your own writing. I hope you find it useful :)

Which of your characters has changed the most since you first started writing them? For me, it's Alric. He's one of the villains in Laoche, and he went from being a very one dimensional evil wizard who sat atop his tower going "muahahahaha" to being a desperate student with a complex motivation and a redemption arc.

[peaked-in-third-grade]

Audrey's Mediocre Midnight Character Analysis Class Part II: Archetype vs. Stereotype

I see these words get thrown around a lot, with people often using them interchangeably, so I thought it was time to drop another of these bs posts that 0 people read- enjoy class below the cut :D

So, to start off, what ARE Archetypes and Stereotypes? Here are some incredibly loose definitions

Archetype- a category of character that's made up of different goals, basic traits, motivations, and ways of seeing things.

Stereotype (Literary, Character)- a category of characters that share a basic purpose to the story, as well as sharing several traits, some of which are usually appearance-related.

Examples of Character Stereotypes-

The Mean Popular Blonde Girl (Regina George, Mean Girls; Heather Chandler, Heathers; Quinn Fabray; Glee)

The Mysterious Loner Bad Boy (Edward Cullen, Twilight; Jason Dean, Heathers)

The Idiotic Pair of Mischief-Makers (Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, Cats; Fred and George Weasley, Harry Potter; Jessie and James, Pokémon)

You guys know the drill with these.

I want to clarify that having slightly (LITERARY) stereotypical characters is not always a bad thing! Like I love the pair of idiots stereotype. If you stereotype your characters based on their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. Ill break your fucking femurs though

But ARCHETYPES are different from stereotypes in the sense that vastly different characters can fit into the same one. Stereotypes are often based on appearance, as well as personality (see: The Mean Blonde) but Archetypes are based soley on character and motivation.

These are what we call the 12 jungian archetypes. The gray part in the middle is the goal of the character, and the colored part is how they wish to achieve it. For example, the Everyman wishes to connect to others through belonging, the Caregiver wants to provide structure through service, and the Sage wants an espiritual journey for/to spread knowledge.

Archetypes are not always obvious. For example, Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer (see my post on Paired Characters btw to see why I sort of count them as one) you would expect to be the Outlaw, right? They actually fit better (depending on how you interpret them, that is) into the Jester, Everyman, or even Explorer categories. Try and ignore the names of the categories, and focus soley on their meanings, if that makes sense.

Anyway this is getting long- let me know if you want a part 2 on archetypes! It's one of my favorite literary subjects.