The Writing-Practice Journal

How Would This Character Act?

         Let’s suppose I’m creating a character for a story. I have followed a prescription for creating a character, and written down his outward characteristics, age, bio, looks, where he lives and works, even how he talks, his background, his private and public life, and his hobbies. Is this enough? Depending on what I am writing it may be or it may not be enough. If I’m writing an ad for a beauty product or someone’s curriculum vitae, it is enough. If I want to write fiction and try to make it worth the reader’s while, I better heed the inner workings more.

         Creating the personality of a character has to be the most important aspect of writing fiction. Personality traits attract readers much more than physical looks, background, education and mannerisms. In order to be able to tackle this job, I ask myself questions.

         How good a person is this character? Is he likable by others? Is he modest or outgoing and boisterous? Is he a joker? Does he have a sense of humor? Can he laugh at himself, at his friends, or his superiors? Does he have common sense? Is he considerate of others? Is he kind, generous, or miserly?

         How moral is this character? What is his definition of right and wrong specifically in regards to the conflict this story will present? Is he moral, legal, ethical in ordinary circumstances but can change when the going gets tough? If he does something a little off the mark, does he seek ways to make up for it? Does he ever feel regret?

         Is this character persistent or does he give up easily? Is this character a meek person with his courage concealed? Or is his courage the type that everyone was aware of before this conflict surfaced? How will he interact with the rest of the characters in the story? This one is an important question, because its answer sees the plot through.

         When the conflict is identified, how capable is my character to handle the conflict I throw at him? Does he buckle down and give up or stand up and fight? Will he be able to learn anything from handling this conflict? Will his personality and behavior change as the result of this conflict?

         Since I care for my characters, I try to give them a workable personality first. Then I go ahead and give them the looks, the quirks, the mannerisms, and a background. When I first registered at Stories.com and put in my first piece of fiction, two of my reviewers wrote almost the same thing. “Develop your characters more.” They made me think and I can’t thank them enough.

Today’s tip:
continual: frequently repeated
continuous: without interruption

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Joy
"A witty saying proves nothing."