What does the character look like? What is the character’s name? What type of personality does the character have? Where is the character from? Does the character have any special powers or abilities? Is the character a hero or a villain? What is the nature of the character’s relationships with other characters? For example, you might choose to write a story about a young boy named Charles who has light brown skin, dark brown eyes, and a wiry body. Perhaps Charles is an orphan who is smart, streetwise, and funny. Charles, who lives in a foster home in Boston with his gray cat, Charcoal, is the hero of the story.
Our character, Charles and his cat, Charcoal, want to be adopted into a loving family. This is the goal that motivates all of the actions that Charles and Charcoal undertake.
Put your characters into opposition with the natural progression of the story Let your characters wander off the path of least resistance Put your characters into conflicts or dangerous situations Let your characters struggle, and in turn, let them learn from their struggles Introduce characters who are emotional or messy Give your characters plenty of action to undertake Create characters who are contradictions of themselves. For example, Charles has a meet and greet with a potential adopter, but he gets anxiety and runs away from his foster home with Charcoal. By running away, Charles doesn’t get to meet the adopter and prolongs his time in foster care, which puts his goals in opposition with the plot. His action also creates tension and conflict between characters because the foster family is worried about Charles and they are out with the police looking for him.
What type of story do you want to tell? How do you want to tell the story? Where will the story take place? What is the main conflict? In this example, we want to tell the story of how Charles and Charcoal find their forever home. We plan to tell the story in a linear fashion and the story will take place in Boston. The main conflict in our story is finding an adopter who works well with Charles.
Create a sense of urgency at the opening of your story. Introduce all of your minor characters at the same time to avoid confusion or lengthy introductions. Once everything has settled, introduce something new, whether it’s a conflict or a new relationship. Allow your characters to struggle to resolve their conflicts. When your characters solve the main problem, allow them to celebrate their victory. Perhaps our story begins with Charles and Charcoal running away from the foster home to abate Charles’s anxiety over meeting the potential adopter. Charles and Charcoal have an adventure along the way, but they are eventually found by a police officer and returned to the foster home. The adopter thinks that Charles is too much trouble and chooses not to adopt him, but the police officer who found Charles shows interest in Charles. The police officer stops by often to talk with Charles and they eventually become friends. The police officer ends up adopting Charles and everyone lives happily ever after.
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