I've been working on my characters today, so no new content. But in case you're interested: here's how I develop my characters. As the author, you should know each character better than anybody else. The characters should be completely predictable to you. You need to know what you want them to do, think, say, how you want them to react; and how to make them be that way. Here are 16 questions that are vitally important for turning your characters into well rounded puppets.
What does this character look like physically? How old are they?
I suppose it's not the most vital information, but it helps create a clear image of the person you are creating.
How is this character related to the plot and how do they
move it along?
Here's the real meat-and-potatoes of the character. What are they doing here and what makes them worth the reader's while. Knowing why the character is here will help you decide where to put them in the story and what to make them do.
How is this character related to the protagonist and what
does s/he learn from them?
This is another meat-and-potatoes question. Figure out what you wan't them to do, then how to make them do that.
What secrets is this character keeping and what are they
doing to hide them?
The story I'm writing is all about secrets and hiding things, but this is a priceless aspect of any character. What is something that this character doesn't want the other characters to know? This information can be used to make the character act out unexpectedly, which can have a number of effects on the other characters in the story. This, as well as the next question, create the unpredictability
What is something that the reader will never know about this
character?
This question is all about really knowing who your character is. Here's a hint: imagine yourself in the future at a big press conference discussing your book, maybe even years after it was published. What is something that you could tell them that would completely turn their view of this character upside-down? Shock them out of their pants, but do it in a way that makes a lot of foggy things suddenly make sense.
What is this character’s spirit animal and why?
I know this is a major cliche question, but it helps you to find all of the dimensions of your character. This also gives you an immediate comparison for your character. If you need some quick wit and wordplay, bring this out.
What motivates this character? What do they really want?
This is a way to make your characters actions realistic. Give them something that the reader knows they want, that way there are predictable to the reader. But remember the secrets that you aren't telling the reader. You don't want the characters to be too predictable, but you want their actions to make sense.
What makes this character happy, sad, angry, afraid, calm?
This information can be used as the figurative "strings" on your puppet. After the previous questions, you should know what you want your character to do and what role they are supposed to play. You know how they are going to affect the story. This question allows you to make them do that. You know what they will do; figure out why they would do that.
What subplots hang around this character? Will they be
manifest in the story?
This question helps to make your character's unpredictable to you, but unpredictable to your reader. If the subplots are manifest in the story, they will also add a depth and realism to your story.
What stereotype comes with this character and what are they
doing to break it?
Put them in a box, label them, do exactly what a critic will do to your characters. Now undo that. Make it so they don't fit in the box anymore. This is how you avoid stock characters.
What is something the other characters could never believe
about this character?
This is all about how to make this character affect the other characters. If you want one character to do something, you might just have to make them do that via this character.
What is one internal and one external conflict this
character is dealing with right now? How do they affect this character’s
choices?
This is another question that relates to predictability. Again, the characters should be 100% predictable to you. But the reader shouldn't be able to predict everything that the characters do. Depending on what you tell the reader and the characters, you can make this character predictable and unpredictable to both the people in the book and the people reading the book. This is what makes a character realistic.
Is there anything that this character couldn’t live without?
Motives, motives, motives.
What makes this character good?
Even the most villainous villains think that they are doing the right thing. What morals guide your character and what are they doing to fulfill those morals? Where are they falling short of other people's morals?
What is something you will never understand about this character?
This is a trick question, actually. Use this one to check your work. If you really know your character and have molded them into the perfect puppet, you won't be able to answer this question.
Here's the truth about character development: You are the writer. As such, you have ultimate power over your story. Depending on how you wield that power, you can develop it into the power to control your audience. You want to make the reader experience something, feel something. You do that by playing with their thoughts, morals, and emotions. You do that by playing with the characters' thoughts, morals, and emotions. You can only do that when you know every little thing about your characters. So get to know them perfectly. Once they are predictable to you, you can do anything with them. Depending on what information you give the readers, you can do anything with them too. Becoming a good writer consists making both (a) the characters and (b) the audience into your puppets. B by way of A.
Writing is the art of manipulating people through words.
