Characters - Stage Two
- Robyn Weightman
- Aug 15, 2018
- 3 min read
You believe you've got all of your characters post it noted to the best of your abilities.
Now, like the outlining stage, it's time to move these ideas onto an excel or computer programme of your choosing.
As shown above, you need to break your characters down into various categories to make it easier for you to find the information you need whilst you write. What these categories are is your choice but I have categorized them thusly.
Appearance.
What does your character look like? What colour is their hair? Eyes? Skin? Are they tall? Fat? Or thin?
Make sure what you choose makes sense to the world you have created and the story you have planned.
Details
Here you get to the nitty gritty. How old are they? What is their job? Gender? Sexual preference? This will all go together to ultimately shape their personality and appearance, so make sure you know them well. Also, think about how these things will interact with the world you've created. Does your world care who sleeps with who? Do they care how old someone is? Where they were educated?
Think, think, think.
Backstory
This can make a difference between how your character speaks to others, their reaction to certain stimulus and many other aspects of their character. Make sure you know what happened to them.
If they had a terrible event with a feather when they were young, this could make them afraid of feathers or birds when they're older. They could prefer men to women due to a past trauma. Or they could really love a certain town because they have fond memories of spending a summer there.
Personality
Are they sassy? Shy? Angry? Make sure whatever you choose to be one of their defining features has a reason, somewhere it came from. And remember, everyone has a flaw.
Other
Any miscellaneous things you think will be important for you to reference whilst writing about your character. Little things that make them tick. Elements which must be shown to foreshadow an upcoming event.
And finally, growth.
How will your characters grow or fall in your novel? People are never constant, they change and grow depending on the environment they're put in. What would the environment do to your characters?
You can use your excel in anyway you choose. For example, all of my characters are colour coded with their favourite colour. Just to remind me at a glance of something that they like, something that defines them. You could draw small illustrations, or make a pin-interest in your characters name just to keep all of their thoughts and feelings in one place.
Once you have done this and you think your excel is ready, I recommend short stories. Get properly inside each of your characters and write something from their past. It could be something to do with your upcoming novel, or something entirely different, it is your choice. As long as it suites your character and gets you inside their mind further.
This can continue on even as you're writing your actual novel, you never know, you might discover something new about them.
I aim to write a new short story every month, and as each month goes by I write from another character of my novels perspective. It is upto you how do it. Just get stuck inside their minds.
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