Welcome back to Day 4 of my 14-day Creative Writing Journey! If you’ve been following along, you’ve already learned how to generate story ideas from a title prompt, how to shape those ideas into a plot, and how to outline a beginning, middle, and end for your story. Now that we’ve established the basics, it’s time to dive into something a little juicier: character development.
See my YouTube version below:
Why Character Development is Crucial
Character development is one of the most important aspects of storytelling. Whether your characters are heroes, villains, or something in between, it’s essential to craft them thoughtfully. This isn’t just about describing what they look like — it’s about understanding their motivations, their behavior, their relationships, and how they change throughout the story.
You want to create characters that feel real and resonate with your readers. You want them to care about what happens to these characters, whether they love them, hate them, or feel conflicted about them. A well-developed character can drive your plot forward and give your story depth and meaning.
The Importance of Character Profiles
When I first started writing, I didn’t think character profiles were necessary. But then I made a mistake in my first novel that taught me a valuable lesson. I got a reference wrong about one of my characters — specifically, I mixed up the character’s age and the date that was crucial to the storyline. I had to go back and rewrite a whole section because of that small mistake.
If I had a character profile in place, I would have easily caught that error and saved myself a lot of trouble. That’s why creating detailed character profiles early on is incredibly helpful. It might seem like an extra step, but it will save you from making big mistakes later and help you keep your characters consistent.
Building Your Character Profile
So, what should go into a character profile? Here’s what I recommend:
Physical Attributes – This is the easy part. What does your character look like? What’s their age, gender, hair color, and height? Do they have any distinguishing features or scars? These details are important, but remember, physical traits are just the surface.
Relational Aspects – Who are they connected to? Who are their family members, friends, and allies? What relationships are important to them, and how do those relationships shape their actions and motivations?
Behavioral Traits – How does your character behave in different situations? Are they impulsive or careful? Do they have a short temper, or are they patient? Are they shy, extroverted, or somewhere in between? Knowing how your character reacts in different situations will make them feel more real to your readers.
Background Information – Where does your character live? Where did they grow up? What are their experiences and personal history? This kind of backstory gives you clues about why your character behaves the way they do.
Psychological and Emotional Traits – This is where you can really dive deep. What are your character's fears, desires, insecurities, and internal struggles? What makes them tick on a psychological level? The more you understand these aspects, the more your readers will connect with the character.
Antagonists and Protagonists
While we’re on the topic of character development, let’s talk about your protagonist (the “good guy”) and antagonist (the “bad guy”). Do you need these characters already fleshed out at this point? Not necessarily, but it’s helpful to start thinking about them early on.
Having a clear antagonist and protagonist can help shape the conflict in your story. It’s these characters’ goals, motivations, and actions that will drive the drama and tension. The protagonist is trying to achieve something, and the antagonist is standing in their way — simple as that.
That being said, your antagonist doesn’t always have to be evil from the start. They could begin as a sympathetic character, only to turn against the protagonist later on. Or perhaps a seemingly “good” character becomes an antagonist as they evolve. The possibilities are endless, but having a basic idea of who your protagonist and antagonist are will give you a solid foundation to build the rest of your plot.
Creating and Using Your Character Template
To make sure you’re consistent, I recommend creating a template for each character. Whether it’s on your laptop, in a notebook, or on index cards, keep track of each character’s key traits in a way that’s easy for you to reference.
You don’t have to have every detail figured out at the start — just begin with 10 key things about your character, including both the practical (e.g., birth date, job, location) and the psychological (e.g., personality traits, desires). This template will give you something to work from as you continue to develop your story. It will also make it easier when new characters are introduced — you can refer back to your template and fill in the details for the new person, ensuring they fit into the world you’ve created.
Now, don’t feel like you’re locked into these profiles forever. Characters evolve, and that’s a good thing! If you decide halfway through that a character is different from how you initially envisioned them, that’s fine. Just update your profile to reflect those changes. The key is to have something to work with so that your characters remain consistent and believable throughout your story.
A Word About Character Names
One thing I’ve learned the hard way is to be careful with character names. If two characters have very similar names, it can be easy to confuse them — both for you as the writer and for your readers. For example, if you have two characters with names that sound alike (like Steve and Steven), you risk mixing them up. Consider how easy it would be for your reader to get confused as well. You don’t want them flipping back to figure out which character is which!
Example: Building Characters for My Story
To illustrate how character development works, let me introduce you to a few of the characters in my story.
I’m going to introduce Steve, who, as you might remember, is presumed dead. He’s the central figure around which the story revolves, and the plot unfolds with mediums trying to contact him. However, the twist is that Steve is very much alive, and the story builds from there.
I’ve also introduced Pam, the character searching for Steve. Pam is a regular person who seeks out a medium to find Steve, believing he’s still out there. Finally, I’ve added an antagonist in the form of a dishonest medium who claims to have the ability to communicate with Steve — but, in reality, they are just making it all up.
These are three characters I can begin to work with, creating detailed profiles to understand how they fit into the story and how they will interact with one another.
Wrapping Up
By now, you should have a clearer understanding of how important character development is to your writing. Crafting detailed character profiles early on can help you avoid mistakes, ensure consistency, and keep your characters feeling authentic. Remember, your characters are the heart of your story — they’re the ones your readers will connect with, root for, or even love to hate. Take the time to get to know them, and your story will be all the richer for it.
That’s it for Day 4! I hope these tips help you shape and craft your characters as you continue on your creative writing journey. I’ll be back tomorrow with Day 5. Keep writing, and remember — every great story starts with well-crafted characters!
Until then!
Comments