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Character development



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Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:59 pm
Snoops says...



Need some advice, how do you make characters less cliché and less similar to eachother? I feel like my characters are all very perfect, have no development and are too similiar. please help.

How do you develop and really give a personality to a character?
Any tips would be helpfull.
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Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:18 pm
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Vervain says...



This is something that a lot of writers have trouble with -- making characters less perfect and into human beings. And I've found that, at least for me, it boils down to a few points.

First: "good" and "bad" traits are not exclusive. A lot of the time, one trait is good in some circumstances, bad in others, and neutral in yet others, depending on what's happening and who the character is interacting with.

Charisma (usually "good") can be seen as manipulation, and often is used for that, because charismatic people are likely to figure out that they can get things they want. (People who have been manipulated before, and despised it, are more likely to be suspicious of a charismatic character.) Being a "go-getter" and proactive can be seen as a lot of things, including sucking up to someone and wanting to prove they're better than you.

On the other hand, restrained outward emotions (usually portrayed as "bad") can be used in diplomatic situations, where a character might feel very strongly about something, but an emotional misstep could cost them. Tactlessness (not knowing where the social line is) and always speaking their mind can be seen as knowing that you can trust that character, because they don't have a brain-to-mouth filter.

Second: a list of traits does not a character make. This might seem pretty obvious, but just taking the first point may make it sound like all you need is a double-sided trait or two. People -- and by that extension, characters -- are an amalgam of their natural personality, their whole lives, large events in their life, and people around them, especially in their childhood.

So while it can be important to have a shortlist of traits on hand (to remind yourself that a certain character thinks another is suspicious, and how they act in general, etc.), it's also important to realize that each of these traits cannot be standalone. They have to be worked into the character, or else they become nothing but a list of standalone traits, and that's a slippery slope to character flatness.

Third: people develop and change through natural causes in their life. There is almost always a reason for why a person acts the way they do. If your character has a strong dislike for something, why? If your character is a natural liar, why do they lie so much that it's become second nature? If your character is suspicious of people who are or who do something specific, then why?

This also works into the actual work itself. Characters don't go uninfluenced by the work -- people change when big things happen to them, or even when little things happen to them, so it's important to stop sometimes and ask yourself, "why are they acting like this? How have these events impacted them?"

Also, if you're writing a first draft, I wouldn't worry overly much about consistency. I get mired in character and voice consistency a lot in first drafts, and I've found that it makes more sense (and it's a lot less anxiety) to just let it go and keep writing until you reach the second draft. Then you can get down to the nitty-gritty and be logical about everything.

Hope this helped, at least a little!
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Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:34 am
Vikingr says...



Darn characterization, always the difficult part.

I think one thing to consider is the almost literal proximity of some characters to each other. Like if a few characters are working at the same place in basically the same/similar job, yes they most definitely will and should have their differences, but they might also have notable similarities. Their job might require certain skills, traits, interests, abilities, etc and so the people who are going to have the job are going to have some similar skills/traits/interests/abilities. Just a thought I had, not sure if it works in practice.
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Sat Jun 13, 2015 5:00 pm
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Megrim says...



Arkhalon nailed it... not sure if I can add much there :)

Remember to make characters, not roles. I can't emphasise that enough.

Like, if a character exists only to be the love interest, or the boss, or the bad guy's head goon. Bad. It makes them flat, one-dimensional. Think about how full and complex real people are. Even if someone's defined by a major life factor, like their job or station, there's so much more to them. And for me, the little things really go a long way to making a character more real.

For example, say a character is a doctor, highly trained and educated, very professional and dedicated. We see them do doctor stuff a lot. We see some personality in how they interact with their patients (eg battle-hardened to where stuff just slides off them vs sensitive and hurt every time they see someone suffering). But even if they're completely fleshed out in a doctor capacity, how fun and unexpected would it be to learn that, say... they make stained glass, and have their creations hung up around their home. Or maybe they eat out at an Indian restaurant their friend owns every friday. Maybe they love listening to jazz music or don't like the colour orange. It's easy to make a list like this and I know it doesn't sound like it does that much for you, but the real power of it is when it's subtly, smoothly, quietly snuck into the story. An offand comment, or a recurring theme. If they need to have a business meeting, maybe they suggest that Indian restaurant. Maybe they don't pick the orange option for something.

Think about people you know, and those little things about them that make them unique. You might have a musician friend, but I bet you could tell me a zillion things more about them, even music is the most important thing.

Another huge factor to characters is what kind of people they are and how they react to things. What kind of judgments do they make? How determined will they be to get something done? How brave will they be or not be when push comes to shove? And most importantly, what matters most to them? What compromises will they make--what things will they give up for the sake of other things that matter to them? And you can totally play with that. Maybe they need to learn to be brave, or compassionate, or selfless, or to have passion.

Which reminds me that growth arcs are also key. Try not to start out with the character as the "finished product" you want them to be at the end. Give them some room to grow.
  





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Sun Jun 14, 2015 5:51 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Also, this hasn't come up yet: give them varying motives and goals.

You can have two remarkably similar people, but if one of them is motivated by, say, wanting to create stability in their lives (at the cost of others) and one of them is motivated by protecting others (at the cost of their stability) you'll end up with two drastically different characters.

And neither of these are inherently more moral than the other. Wanting stability in your life might be selfish, but if played the right way (like, say, somebody who has had no control over their life before), then it can turn into a very sympathetic motive. Of course, there are things to consider like the Moral Event Horizon that once your character crosses, you can never make them sympathetic again, but most people are not 100% selfish so if they ended up finding people to share the stability with, and realizing having solid people in their life made them even more stable, then you've got a very nice "thrown around character learns what home is" plot.

Meanwhile, somebody who always protects others at the cost of their own stability can end up a tragic story arc very quickly, if they never take any time for themselves and eventually sacrifice too much. This can lead them to snap and become selfish or they fall and either burn out or die.

Similarly, if one has a goal of achieving power and one love— that will result in different story arcs for the same trait. How they go about it is still up in the air (gaining power through respect vs intimidation, for example, would lead to two very different results for the same goal) but if you look at goals for each character, you can help develop who they are.

Also, you have to think about how people coexist and clash. Groups can be really similar, but they can also be markedly different. For example, it's really common for best friends/romantic partners to have the same general goal and result (usually respecting others), but they can come at it from very different angles. Me and my best friend, for example, have the same goal of trying to be good people and respecting others, but she grew up in a slightly different environment so her biases are different than mine. She sides slightly more authority, how authority is there to protect, and I side with chaos, how those in power almost never have your best interests at heart. But both of us understand each side has its flaws, and how each side has a point. It works, but it sure causes some tense conversations.

This comes from backstory, primarily, and life experience. Which is another thing to dive into if you want to develop character. We all come from somewhere, and that somewhere seriously impacts our life.

Hope this helps.
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Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:13 pm
ChocoDanish says...



hi I'm having trouble developing my characters. I know my characters personality but dunno how make them into something more that is relatable Fluffs (part3)
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