Asgardian Thunder. How to Craft Compelling Characters. The source and exact nature of the curious phenomena we refer to as characters remains something of a mystery, but the craft of characterization is not. Although it’s clearly a cause for celebration—or at least relief—when a character appears in the mind’s eye fully formed, the reality is that for most of us, this is a rare occurrence. Certain techniques are required to will our characters to life. We need to draw on the unconscious, memory, the imagination and the Muse until our characters quicken, assume clear form and, with hope, begin to act of their own accord. Can this process—so inherent to the success of any novel—really be condensed into a single method? In my experience as both writer and writing instructor, the answer is, to some extent, yes. The most compelling characters are those who appear internally consistent and yet are capable of surprise.
A Driving Need, Desire, Ambition or Goal A Secret We are our own best source for understanding secrets. A Contradiction Vulnerability. We found each other hungry. Moriarty. Dark World RPG - Character Flaws List. All people have flaws; it is a fact of life. When it comes to writing having a character with viable flaws makes them believable and real. Yet many often have trouble finding the right way to present their characters when creating/writing for them.
That’s why we decided to write this, to help encourage writers, and role-players, to dig deeper into character flaws. Yet, what exactly is a character flaw? "A character flaw is a limitation, imperfection, problem, phobia, or deficiency present in a character that may be otherwise very functional. As an example, look at the image above. Well, for starters, their writers had to look at their flaws and determine why they have them in the first place. Using the list below can help you find flaws to build your character – but your work is not done yet. A common misconception in character building is that players feel they have to use the 'exact' flaw listed, or that the flaws are just 'black and white' no shades of gray. Moriarty. Karen & the babes. Karen & the babes. Character Development Questionnaire - novelwritingsite. Developing fictional characters for novels can be helped by devising a questionnaire in order to create fictional biographies.
Detail such as the protagonist’s past and even a name has vast implications upon the sort of person the character might be. Devising Characters' Pasts A well-researched novel is likely to result in a story that feels authentic to the reader. It follows that the author needs to know more about their characters than what will be revealed in the novel. The questionnaire below and opposite might help the writer consider the direction in which to go. Character Profile Questions Various questions are essential for the author in getting to know their characters more intimately after their initial conception and take them forward to the next step of breathing life into their characters. Character Details Childhood Place of birthFather’s backgroundMother’s backgroundIf no parents, why? Biography Present Situation Private Life Developing a Character Profile. Karen & the babes.
Karen & the babes. Karen & the babes. Karen & the babes. Karen & the babes. Karen & the babes. Karen & the babes. Aether's Travel Blog. 100 Character Development Questions for Writers. Behind the Name: Meaning of Names, Baby Name Meanings. Family Echo - Free Online Family Tree Maker. Art. Medieval Names Archive. This collection of articles on medieval and Renaissance names is intended to help historical re-creators to choose authentic names. These articles were gathered from various places, and some of them appear elsewhere. In all cases, the copyright on each article belongs to its authors. For frequent users, we offer a compact index; but please read the following introduction at least once.
What's New Choosing a Medieval Name Choosing a medieval name is easy: Open any book on any aspect of medieval history, and there will be some names. Choose one. To be honest, it isn't that easy. at least not if you truly want an authentic name. Good and Bad Sources It's also easy to get led astray by bad sources. Many people in the Society have written articles to help you choose an authentic name. The Problem Names Project Some names that many people think of as common to the Middle Ages or Renaissance are either purely modern or otherwise problematic. You can help! Table of Contents Recently updated articles. All Your Characters Talk The Same — And They're Not A Hivemind! How to Write a Character Bible. Character Chart for Fiction Writers - EpiGuide.com.
If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience. The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique. Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create.
IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing. Fill in only as much info as you choose. Have fun getting to know your character! If this character chart is helpful, please let us know! To join our community, which focuses on online writing, visit -- and feel free to show off your character charts. Looking for more character questionnaires / charts? Char. Writers' Village University - Writing Courses. Character Chart. FAVORITES Color: Music: Food: Literature: Expressions: Book: Quote: Expletive(s) (swears): Mode of transportation: HABITS Smokes: What?
How often? Drinks: What? How often? Worst bad habit? Quirks: BACKGROUND Hometown: Type of childhood: First memory: Most important childhood event that still affects him/her: Why? Lower education: Higher education: Booksmart or streetsmart? SELF-PERCEPTION One word character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how character would describe self: What does character consider best physical characteristic?
Immediate goal(s): Long range goal(s): How does character plan to accomplish goal(s)? How character react in a crisis (calm/panic/etc.)? Jewelry? Owns a computer? © (c ) copyright 1990-2011 Rebecca Sinclair ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Authors Note: I worked hard on this. Building Fictional Characters. Web Resources for Developing Characters. When developing characters, many writers use personality traits that they see in themselves and in others, such as friends, family and celebrities. A new source of material and information that can help you develop characters is the Internet. The Internet offers some unique resources for character development, such as psychological testing websites, baby name databases and other reference sites and databases. These websites certainly weren't created for writers developing characters; nevertheless, these site are extremely useful for writers.
This article will help you locate some of these useful resources, and give you some tips about how you can use them to develop your own characters. Psychological Resources Psychological websites can help writers learn the underlying principles of behavior that motivate or cause people to act as they do. Reading psychology books can be a valuable use of your time, but why not take your character through psychological tests over the Internet? Handling a Cast of Thousands - Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters. By Will Greenway Few writing challenges are greater than doing justice to a large cast of characters in a novel or story. In fact, the difference between simply doing them justice and handling them well is a significant level of effort in itself. Sadly, this is one of those writer conundrums that is often best resolved with a "Don't do that if it hurts" solution. If having too many characters is causing a headache -- then don't have so many characters!
For the obstinate and stalwart ready to strike into turbulent seas, however, read on! Getting a grip on your cast Cast members are reoccurring characters who are pivotal to your story. Aside from your main cast, there will be supporting roles, and often dozens of walk-on or cameo characters. Least significant, but always necessary, are walk-ons and cameos. Because of the limited time these characters spend in the frame, writers tend to make them more exotic, giving them odd quirks or ticks in order to make them interesting. Unique names. Seven Common Character Types. Seven Common Character Types by Terry W. Ervin II Fiction writers employ a variety of characters while weaving their tales. Beyond the standard definitions of protagonist (the main character in a literary work) and antagonist (the main character or force that opposes the protagonist in a literary work), recognizing the types of characters and the parts they play while reading an interesting story can add to the experience.
In addition, a fuller understanding of the character types and their uses can increase a writer’s effectiveness in weaving his own fictional tales. Confidante- someone in whom the central character confides, thus revealing the main character’s personality, thoughts, and intentions. Example: In a story, Melvin Sanders is a detective on the trail of a serial killer. In this example Chops is a confidante. Dynamic Character - a character which changes during the course of a story or novel. In this example Ebenezer Scrooge is a dynamic character. Copyright © Terry W. The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test. Stuck with a case of massive writer's block? Has your muse gone on indefinite hiatus?
Or are you just bored? Check out the random generators - with a click of a button, you can create characters, names, settings, items, and more for your creative works! The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test How to use this test: First, if you're unsure of what a Mary Sue is, please read this page. Answer all questions for which the answer is 'yes' or 'technically yes' unless the item mentioned is so commonplace in the universe you are writing for that it doesn't really make your character remarkable or unusual.
If your character is a role-playing character and the only reason you can answer 'yes' is because of other players acting of their own free wills (IE, everyone has their characters throwing themselves at your character's feet and you've done nothing to force this) do not answer yes to the corresponding question. Part 1 - All Characters Questions that pertain to all characters everywhere. NamePlayground.com - the playground of first names - New! 2006 Name Statistics! NAME GENERATORS for your dog or pet from Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia - HILLBILLY NAME GENERATOR Well, mine was Billie Jane Winchester CHARACTER NAME GENERATOR Produce names for all sorts of characters EVANGELIST NAME GENERATOR The first thing to realize is that an evangelist is a performer, and as such his name is his calling card.
DARTH MAKER NAME GENERATOR When you absolutely need a villain for the Star Wars universe. ROCKET NAME GENERATOR Yes that's right, you too can get your own official Rocketname MECHA NAMER Generates "Super Robot" style names for robots, including their models. TREE-BEING NAMER Call them Ents, Treants, Treemen, what you will, this generator gives you something specific to call individuals.
WORD & NAME GENERATORS The generated names are fairly good, and very useable for role-playing fantasy games and such DRAGON NAME GENERATOR Can't think of a dragon name? ELF NAME GENERATOR This random name generator will output random names of a specified style DEMON NAME GENERATOR Angel or Demon names. MIDDLE-EARTH NAME GENERATORSimply wonderful! U.S. How to Create Fictional Characters. Character Bio Sheets A bio sheet is a way of keeping track of a character’s physical description, traits and attributes.
This method is familiar to anyone who enjoys role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Using a Bio Sheet gives you an excellent reference point to go back to when you need to remember key information about your character. Defining Characters By Their Roles There are specific roles that characters fall into when you are writing a story. Building a Character Using Multiple Perspectives This technique helps you to build relationships. Key Questions This is a simple list of questions that provide insight into your character and how your character fits into your story. Basing Characters on Real People We often draw inspiration for fictional characters from people we know in real life.
A Day in the Life Once the events of a story kick into motion, main characters are pushed outside of their boundaries and comfort zones. Interview Biography Possessions Brainstorming.