Character Building
Hello Readers! So, this month I want to talk about building characters. If you are just looking for a questionnaire (or two) feel free to scroll to the end.
If you google “character traits” or “character questionnaire” there are a million different things that pop up. I’ve found doing a questionnaire is helpful to get the basics down, but I’ve also found that those answers change as I continue with the story. For example, in Blood Slave I honestly thought my main character would for sure have this one character as her love interest but as I wrote more it changed and honestly, I think it changed for the better. So, don’t get mad if something about your character naturally changes while you’re writing. Just make sure if it’s not something they learned that it is there throughout the whole book. Another thing that should stay the same throughout the book with your character is appearance.
Creating the appearance of your character is probably the most fun. If your talented at drawing, then draw that sucker. If you find a picture in a magazine or online that is what you want, use that. Heck make a creepy collage of different pictures if you want. If writing it out is easiest, write it out in excruciating detail what your character looks like. Then when you are writing you won’t want to throw their entire description into the first chapter, or when they are first introduced, and the appearance will naturally come out while writing.
It’s also important to think about where your character spends most of their time and how that affects their appearance. What is their job? My main character, Alana, at the beginning has pale skin and dark hair because she is always inside but later in the book, she is spending more time outside so her skin gets darker and her hair gets highlights/lighter. I remember seeing this physical change in my head when thinking about her in different scenes and it bugged me but then I realized as long as I didn’t make the change too drastic it would be believable.
Their personality should be believable too. Perfect heroes only sell in children’s books. I am most definitely not perfect, and I have yet to met someone who is perfect. Flaws/weaknesses should be part of your character but don’t force a flaw onto them. Write a scene with them in danger or in one of your own memories and see how they would act or react, good or bad.
Strengths are important too. You can’t have weaknesses without some strengths as well. I am a very good writer and I can articulate what I want to say in writing much easier than when actually speaking to someone. Alana on the other hand wasn’t taught much in the way of writing and can barely read what she does scratch out on paper. She is however good at speaking. She’s grown up in court and picked up all the lingo. Alana is kind and will go out of her way to help those around her, especially her friends. Some attributes can be learned or taught but really think who your character is at their core.
So, the basic questions you should answer about your character are:
- What does this character look like? Include gender, hair color, eye color, height, weight, if they wear makeup or not, etc.
- What job does this character have and how does it affect them/their appearance?
- What core traits make my character who they are?
- What role does this character play in the story? This could affect how detailed you go into their background.
Also another good website that has a little more detailed questions for your characters is https://www.somethingdelicious.co/2017/01/bullet-journal-writers-novel-character.html. She is talking about how to add characters to a bullet journal (which I love bullet journals) but you could add this to your notebook for your book or in a word document to save in your writing folder.
If you need some help with traits for your character here is a graphic with an extensive list. Happy character building and I will be back next week with a short story! ?
