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Character Tips



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Fri Dec 11, 2015 6:15 pm
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Charm says...



Hi! I'm Charm and I love creating characters. I also love helping people, so if you need help I got tips!

"Let’s face it, characters are the bedrock of your fiction. Plot is just a series of actions that happen in a sequence, and without someone to either perpetrate or suffer the consequences of those actions, you have no one for your reader to root for, or wish bad things on."

— Icy Sedgwick


Creating Characters:

Creating realistic characters is extremely important to a story. Your readers need to be able to look up to or relate to your character. When you are creating characters take a look at yourself. The things that you like and why you like them and the things you don't like and why you don't like them.

Tip #1
Make a Character Outline


I know pretty simple, right? Here's the thing, character outlines can be hard because they challenge you to know everything about your character.

Here's the Outline I Use and an Example:

Character Name: Lilian Lloyd
Character Nickname: Lil'
Hair color: Dyed Dark Blue
Eye color: Blue
Height: Short
Build: Average/Curvy
Age: 15
Born: July 15
Death: Alive
Clothing: Black Jeans, Black Tank Top, Flannel
Personal Item(s): Necklace with Brother's Class Ring on it.
Likes: Black, Fall, Coffee
Dislikes: Gossip, Her Step-Father, Heights
Family: A Mother and A Step-Father
Mother: Olivia Evans
Father: Lucas Evans
Siblings: August Lloyd
Ethnical Background: Scottish
Educational Background In High School
Occupation: Student
Residence: New Haven
Personality Type: ESTP
Brief Life History: Brother died when she was in 7th grade. He fell off of a cliff in the forest, behind Ellington Academy. Her single mother found a husband in 8th grade.
Character's story: Is rude to everyone because of her grief. Penelope helps her.
Personal Goals: She wants to get out of New Haven
Quirks: Needs Coffee
Personality Details: Fiery Temper, compassionate, guarded heart, aggressive
Future: Undiscovered

Tip #2
Understand Your Character


You might be like: "Hey Charm. I just filled out an outline shouldn't that be enough?" My answer is no. Just because you filled out the character outline does not mean you understand you character. It just means you know stuff about your character. You need to know where they are coming from. You need to know why Lil' is so mean to people. It is because of her grief of losing her brother. Why is she so rude and hateful towards Penelope? It is because they used to be best friends before August died.

"Usually, we combine internal and external conflicts for a richer story. That means we have to understand how our characters approach and resolve conflict."

— Jami Gold


Developing Character Relationships

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."

― Linda Grayson


I like to think of friendship as climbing a mountain. It is really hard to get to the top but it is extremely worth it when you get there.
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There are certain stages to friendship: people you don't like, acquaintances, friends, close friends, best friends and ultimate best friends.
Moving up stages in real life takes time and patience. Some people can climb fast others cannot.

Tip #1
Planning the Friendship


It is important to have a plan for your characters' friendship. Take a look at each character and find good traits about them that the other character needs. For example, let's say your character is shy and quiet. This character will be a perfect match for someone loud and outgoing. They balance each other out. Now this isn't always the case, two loud people can be best friends. But there is something else that they depend on each other for. Your characters also need to have things in common. For example my characters Lil' and Penelope both are extremely protective of their loved ones.

Tip #2
Developing a Strong Bond


Let's look back to the mountain diagram and talk about climbing (developing). This kind of goes along with planning the friendship. To move up a level/stage you need to create a situation in which one of characters will notice something in the other character that she likes. This will make her feel like she can depend on the other character more. But don't make this a one way thing. Remember this is a relationship and a relationship consists of two people.
For example, let's go back to Lil'. She is an aggressive girl. In my story I want her to become better friends with Penelope. Penelope is a calmer, she likes to be kind to people. Let's say that Lil' gets angry at her step-father. Penelope will step up and calm her down, which is something that Lil' is not good at doing on her own. Penelope successfully calms Lil' down and while she is calming her down they have a personal conversation. Their feelings for each other (friendship feelings) will get stronger and therefore they go up a stage.

That's all I have to say (for now). I will add more tips later when I think of more. If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask me! I love to help!
  








Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
— Bernard Malamud