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JoshRaed
Oct '24

I do several things.

I give them an interest, and a few character flaws, and several traits.

But thats kind of limited, and sometimes results in characters that do things purely because it’s a trait on their list, so sometimes instead of listing traits, I just find a list of questions and answer them. This doesn’t work quite as well because I keep giving answers that fit the underdeveloped established personalities of my characters.

What methods do you all use?

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ArtGremlin
Oct '24

It’s kinda hard to explain, but I’m gonna try. For an example I’ll use a main character of one of my story ideas, Victor.

I started with the vague idea/concept of him. A nervous looking guy who works minimum wage. But on top of that I add the physical characteristics that affect him in his story, like being short or being able to transform into a fire demon. Those are what the character development can be affected by. Character development is how the character changes throughout their story. Why are they the way they are at the start? What makes them change? What is this character’s goal? Do they achieve this goal? Is the goal what they really wanted? Do they find a new goal?

Victor’s main difficulty in his life is being unable to express his emotions without setting himself on fire. While this problem never goes away, by the end of his story he finds a way to live his life with his emotions.
Character development is all about the problems the characters face and how they overcome or try to solve them. Making these problems and how they deal with them interesting is how you make an interesting character.

Developing a character isn’t a step-by-step process. It’s more of an amalgamation of factors that make the character unique. Not all of the factors are visible to the viewer at once, and some come into the picture later in the story.

remiquise
Oct '24

Depends on the character. Main characters usually start with a drawing. I design a lot of characters, and if one calls to me I will start developing a story idea around them and that's when I really start to flesh them out.
I sketch scene ideas, just letting my hand paint who they are. What expressions I feel fit them best in specific situations, slowly build other characters that fill roles I foresee needing filled, figure out character dynamics via more sketching until I just have this whole page of doodles and by the end I have a pretty good idea of what I got going on for them all. I do the same for both my comics and written work, but its definitely a hold over from comic creation.
If I don't absolutely love the main character I know I will give up on my work, I know building a world around one character is usually frowned upon, though.

sophialyncoleman
Oct '24

Give them what they want, take it away, then make it nearly impossible for them to get it back.
Bonus points if they conclude with getting what they never knew they needed rather than what they wanted in the first place🥰

BoomerZ
Oct '24

I have a story to tell and the characters are there to make it interesting. I never understand people saying characters "just start doing stuff." They serve one purpose, to further the story. If it doesn't serve the story, you are wasting your readers time. It's also a way to write yourself into a corner that you can't come out of.

For my story I'm working on now I need a protagonist that will grow with the story. So young and new to the situation she is in. She has to be interesting to look at and different than everyone else so she stands out. Second to that, she needs a mentor or guide to the world. Some one that has been around for a while. Hence he has to be older, a veteran to the situation. She also need comrades, people to play off of. As of now I don't have plans for a love interest, but the people around her are going to be a mix of younger male and female characters. As I think of situations that I will include in my story, they get fleshed out as needed. This is done before the story is even started. The characters are created for situations or just background noise. There really is no in-between. The background characters just need to be real enough to pass, they don't need to be detailed.

I understand this is a story first way of writing. But I think this is the best way to keep your story on track, and to one day finish it.

Vassia
Oct '24

Usually I start with writing them and getting a vibe for their voice and personality. Usually it just pops out while I'm writing the first few chapters. then I figure out where I want the story to go from there and I develope the background of the charaters more so I can weave that in throughout. It's kind of a backwards way to do it now that I think about it but I think this has been the way I've done it since I first started writing. I guess I usually have a rough enough idea of the character in my head to start writing, but I can't really place where that came from. I don't know if the story comes first or the character sometimes.

When I am developing the background though I go as deep as running though their entire life till this point sometimes or as breif as just spending a day in their head to get how they think and relate to things.

vfaqvrf
Oct '24
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Leyelle
Oct '24

My method is pretty long winded, but I do it two ways. As I mentioned in another thread, one is to daydream as my ocs constantly. I think of random scenarios, or maybe common scenarios, and imagine how my character would react in that situation. This could be a scene i see in someone else's movie (like an impromptu kiss) it could be something I learn about in a video or an article (like the struggles of life in a wheelchair AND caring for children alone as a father).

Spending all this time imagining the character mindsets help me to develope consistencies for them, and even inconsistencies that make them more complex (why would a character who borders on a germaphobe use his shirt to clean something? because he cares more about getting the sand off his toddler's face than the mess)

The other way I go about it is by making a character design sheet. I find that the more questions I answer for each character, the more about their personalities I discover, and I can go back and edit/ answer other questions to make the character more consistent and complex step by step. Some of these questions are random (like how do they feel about pineapple on pizza and mint chocolate chip ice cream) but it helps me know where the characters stand in little nuanced ways. Others are more specific, like what is their favorite song. Oftentimes a "what" question will lead into a "why" I have to find an answer to, and that prompts me to build backstory, and sometimes inspires the backstory.

kyupol
Oct '24

They develop themselves. I don't do any of that logical left brain stuff in char development. 🤣

2DLenzy
Oct '24

I don't develop them much at the start, kinda vague traits and personalities. I often just throw random plot at them and see how they respond/develop, like a twisted science experiment. Sometimes they act like they're expected to, but sometimes they surprise me.

Also, I'm not great at backstory, takes me months to figure that stuff out at least in a logical sense. I plan to do flashback scenes for some chars, but the trick is figuring out what triggers it in the present. Or just stick it where it makes sense.

Mohini9000
Oct '24

I don't think I could explain it quite simply. Usually, for the purposes of a storyline, I come up with a character, and give them a few characteristics or something. Then I put them in various situations and see how they develop. Since I came up with the idea for "Haru and Tsukasa" over 5 years ago, I had the time to flesh out all my characters. For example, Tsukasa's flamboyant and stereotypically feminine, and Haru's shy and tomboyish.




Cheekybee07
Oct '24

I do the cliche way of trying to think in their perspective and I add just enough personality from different people I know to make it feel even more real :slight_smile:

If anyone is interested, I have some fun characters in my latest novel: