Characters - Stage One

To begin plotting characters it's useful to take the same advise as Outlining/Planning your story.

Use post its or memo cards to draft characters. With this you can move characters around, add snippets of information or take it away without anything feeling definite. Then pin them to your planning board. (Or as mine is named Robyn's Brain Fart.)

If you are a Pantser, you will make up your characters as you write your story. This can make the editing process a lot longer. (Some people are this.)

If you are a Plotter, you will plan your characters out thoroughly. This means your editing stage will be a lot shorter but you sometimes risk losing the air of excitement in your story. (Some people are this.) Most people are in-between and will do as much planning as they feel is needed.

I advise never going ahead with characters who're not planned. If part way through you think the story needs a new character, then add them, but take a little time to research that character before moving too far ahead. If you need to add something to a character as you write, go for it, but make sure this new information does not clash with what you have already written. (I.e. Your character discovers they can read a foreign language but prior to this there is no foreshadowing or language skills of any kind.)

Whilst plotting your characters you need to consider many things.

Appearance

Age

Gender

Sexuality

Intelligence

Education

Background

Likes

Dislikes

Wants

Job

Etc

Once you think you have these characteristics mapped out and you have pinned your ideas to your board, it's time to type them up.

Stage Two:

https://robynweightman32.wixsite.com/robynweightman/single-post/2018/08/15/Characters---Stage-Two?fbclid=IwAR0MozaxPJ-WK0P2tCY2V-sscusAraFl-fFYzdz3Qg3iIZiGt91oUMABKos

#writingtips #writing #author #Author #Characters #CharacterDevelopment #Planning #Outlining