No, I’m not talking the sort of character building that has you talking to a therapist. This is for your imaginary friends you’ve been writing about.
I find it helpful to actually buy a small notebook (Moleskine makes a good one) for each of your main characters. Inside, write the answers to all these questions you’re going to be developing. The object is to build a solid backstory and personality for the characters, so you can write about them more convincingly. Your characters will also be far more believable the more you know about what makes them tick.
You’ve all read books where the characters suddenly veer away from a personality the author has built up chapter by chapter. They’ll make a decision that makes no sense, or take action that is contrary to what you’ve come to expect from them. That’s not only a huge turn-off, but it’s a sign that the author doesn’t really know their own characters and hasn’t put in the time to bother learning about them.
Inside your notebook, start jotting down personal details about your character, in whatever order you wish. You’ll probably start with their physical characteristics: height, weight, body shape, skin color, eye color, hair color, etc. Add in anything different, like tattoos, scars, handedness, and inheritable conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, or color-blindness). Start on the inner character next: personality traits (verbal tics, outlook on life, etc.). Add in things like childhood experiences that may have formed this personality, family members and their relationships, and/or anything else you can think of.
If you’d like some great ideas, my alter ego has a wonderful booklet called The Only Character Chart You’ll Ever Need. It’s got questions you’ve never thought about asking your character, and by the time you’re through asking, you will know your creations inside and out.
I recently attended a virtual talk by author Karen Odden about this subject and her idea is to form a personal myth for your character. Here’s her take on a character chart:
(Fill this out for your character) “Because I was born ________________ and grew up with/without _________________ and because this happened ____________________ and this happened _____________________ and the world was like this ______________________ I came to believe _________________________ about myself and _______________________ about the world and _________________________ about other people, and I came to desire ___________________________. But then ____________________________ happened, which forced me to question my ideas about ____________________________. And although I initially clung to my original Problematic Story, eventually I had to give it up and _________________________________.”
