The Process of Writing: Part Five

Now that we’re done with chapter one of DRT – that was the pre-edited form by the way, we’ll talk about the editing process later – we can turn our attention completely toward character development.

The key to having believable characters is having real characters.  To quote another teacher, who told me, “Fiction is just truth that hasn’t happened yet.”  So just like you, your characters have to have a history. Just as your history has made you who you are the same is true of your characters.

Your character’s back-story is where his history is made. The Back-story is everything that has happened to your character before the story begins and that has an impact on your character or the story’s development.

The better you know your character the better you can write your character’s life and events.  To help you know your character better, I have included the worksheet I created - again based on ideas shared with me by many others who have helped me along the way - to log your character's identity. 

 

Character Development Worksheet:

I. Book One: _In this space write the title of your manuscript so that you can keep in mind which piece this character goes with._

Synopsis:  Create a short story summary so that you are kept aware of which story you are creating the character for, and how that character will fit into the overall storyline.

Note: Not all this information will make it into your story, but it is integral to your character’s history and will aid you in writing realistic fiction for that character. i.e. If your character had a two inch ragged scar on his cheek, that will mandate some event in his history that caused the scar, but it also gives you a launching point for how he/she might react to edge weapons.

Name:	i.e. John Doe Everest
Age:	i.e. 23 years six months
Height:
Weight
Birthplace
Hair Color
Eye Color
Scars or handicaps  – how obtained
Educational Background
Work Experience
Friends
Enemies and why
Parents
Present Problems
How will problem get worse
Strongest Character trait
Weakest Character Trait
How see’s self
How seen by others
Sense of humor
Basic nature
Ambitions
Fears
Life philosophy
Hobbies
Music preference
Dress style
Favorite color
Past times
Description of home
Most important thing to know about character
One line characterization
What trait will make character  come alive
Why is character worth writing about
What makes him different
Why I like him
Why readers will like him
Why and how is he strong
Siblings
Badge Number
Car
Married