Hey friends! There are all kinds of techniques out there for writers to develop characters, including some very complicated worksheets. Today, I’m sharing a simple infographic, plus a trick to making a character lovable and more sympathetic. You might already know this writing tip…in which case, you can tell us how you put it in action!
I created this specifically to go with my Blank Page to Final Draft Youtube series. The character development episode goes up next Monday! However, you can use this worksheet whether you’re subscribed to the series or not. Pin or bookmark it for future reference!
The nice thing about long and involved character worksheets is that they force you to learn more about your characters. But some writers don’t like to invest too much time into advance preparation, which is why I created this infographic that’s pretty simple (but still may inspire some plot points!)
Many writers will get on writing forums and say, for instance, “I just found out my hero is actually a villain, plus he wants a pet turtle.” Those kind of dramatic shifts can happen a lot if you don’t do any character development work beforehand. If you don’t mind throwing a lot of pages away, that’s fine, but if you find it frustrating to have to trash a lot of work, then do some character development work before or near the beginning of your story.
Even if you plan ahead, you’re still likely to discover things about your characters as you write. I always have to get to the end of a first draft before my characters become completely real people to me.
So here’s the very basic infographic for developing characters. (For the visually impaired, I’ve added the full text of the infographic at the bottom of the post.)
And now I’m going to share my secret for making a character loveable…which you may already know!
Give them a habit or a quirk, and mention it a few times. Give them a thing.
In my forthcoming novel, The Equinox Stone, my editor and my beta reader are commenting on how my heroine, Valentina Vega, makes custom-blended herbal teas. It’s her thing. She was doing it in book one, too.
Getting to know a character’s habit or quirk helps readers feel almost like the character is a friend. I’ve done this in other stories, and I’ve noticed that in fandoms, fans latch onto things like this with other characters, too. Habits and quirks can be so endearing.
Do you use simple or complicated methods for character development? Did this worksheet help you discover anything new about your character? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and happy writing!
Text for the Infographic Here!
Blank Page to Final Draft
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
- NAME YOUR CHARACTERS Realistic, Distinctive Names
- Use consistent logic for families, fantasy cultures
- Keep in mind that most readers like easy-to-pronounce names
- DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTERS, Personally and Physically
- 10 adjectives to describe their personality
- age, physical build, hair, eyes, skin tone
- include flaws, even for heroic characters
- LEARN THEIR GOALS and What Motivates Them
- What is their goal at the beginning of the story?
- What do they need on an emotional level?
- Have they given up on any goals or hopes?
- LEARN THEIR TRIGGERS, positive and negative
- What big or small things make them happy?
- What big or small things upset them?
- What big or small things do they fear? Why?
Thank you so very much for this helpful guide. I’m swamped with a few other writing commitments, but when I start my next novel I will be using this as a new guide for my character(s). My current way is to sketch out a person as a whole – likes, dislikes, favorite foods, music, etc. I put this in a notebook so I can easily flip to each character as I write. Have a great rest of your week!!!
I love knowing a character’s likes and dislikes! I know I’m not the only one (Supernatural fans love it that Dean Winchester loves pie, for instance. đŸ™‚ ) Hope everything’s going well with you!
A very helpful guide for character development. Another thing I read in Save The Cat by Blake Snyder to get people to like your characters – there was a movie Sea of Love – in which the character played by Al Pacino and police department are on a sting operation to lure parole violators with the promise of meeting the New York Yankees. At the end of that scene one of the parole violators shows up with his son, Pacino flashes his badge at the guy – he didn’t want to arrest the man in front of his son – temporarily lets the guy off the hook with the line Catch you later. That’s one way to get readers to like the character
Hi, Ian! I love Save the Cat, but I don’t remember reading about this Sea of Love example. That is really great characterization. I love it.
It’s in the introduction on page xv
Oh, thank you! I’m the worst about skipping prologues and introductions. đŸ™‚
Great tips! Do you use this outline for all your characters? It would be neat to see a sample of a completed worksheet for one of your characters too đŸ™‚
Hi, Michal! I’ve used this exact outline for two projects. For another project, I used the more complicated worksheet from Screenwriter’s Bible. Hahaha, that’s so nice of you to ask about an example from one of my characters! Maybe I’ll do that sometime!
Ooh, I like the triggers suggestion. I’m sure it helps make them seem multi-dimensional and real. I’ll be using this worksheet for my Valentine’s re-write…because my characters do not need a pet turtle. (I love your human btw). ?
Thanks, Katrina! I’m glad you like it. And thanks for commenting!
I like this. I have my own quite long character sheet to use when creating a character, but I don’t like using it while actually writing. This shorter set of questions delves into the character aspects most important when writing. The two only things I’d add are:
1. Language style. We all have our overused words, and as writers we’re to get rid of them. But in speech we all have them – they’re part of our character – so I believe our characters should also have theirs. I over-use “that”. For a public example, the narrator of “Expedition Unknown” – never an episode goes by without him saying “Amazing!” and “Oh, my gosh!” and “Oh, my God!”. It’s part of who he is (at least his on-screen persona). Mary on “Young Sheldon” is frequently using religious arguments. Some people will say that something is true even if they aren’t really sure. Others will qualify many factual statements. Some of these are related to personality section in the sheet, but others are just habits.
2. Preferred observational modes. No one notices everything, so: Detail vs. Big picture. Action vs Situation. Insightful vs. Superficial. People vs. Environment. Colour vs. Shape. Visual vs. Audio vs. Scent. And do they realize (analyze/understand) the scene/consequences/relationships/feelings on the spot, or later, or never?
I have come to wanting those beside me when writing dialog or even 1st person narration.
This is super helpful. I like this a lot better than my 13 page worksheet I have used before. Like you, I don’t feel like I fully know my characters until I get through that first draft, and that massive worksheet did not help. Thank you so much for this. I can’t wait to put it to good use.