WRITING HELP. TIPS

⋆ character development

o. writing help!
( WAYS TO DEVELOP YOUR CHARCTER! )

' to help you create
a realistic and
successful
character. '

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1. EMPTY THEIR POCKETS

pretty simple. think of what your characters would have in their pockets on a day-to-day basis. it doesn't have to be anything super extraordinary, of course. just start writing some everyday items down and think about whether your character would have these items in their pockets.

let's take a look at one i did for my characters earlier. (sorry that just sounded like something from blue peter)

FOR EXAMPLE:

character a's pockets contained:

pack of gum, empty pack of cigarettes, library card, NOKIA brick phone

so, here a few things you can tell about character a simply through the items in their pockets. they visit the library often, meaning that they probably have a high interest in reading (this also could be a sign of intelligence). judging by the fact character a has both a pack of gum and cigarettes this could indicate a potential smoking habit, chewing gum is a known way for helping people quit smoking. the pack of cigarettes could show that they are not very good at restricting themselves and could in fact be addicted and finding it hard to cope with smoking.

finally, the NOKIA brick phone shows how they may want to feel connected to people or want to allow their friends/family members/whoever to be able to contact them but have no desire to get the latest model of phone or perhaps believe that having such a device would distract them unnecessarily.

when doing this exercise, think about key objects which portray certain details about your character! try not to overthink it too much, write whatever comes to mind and put it down on the page! after writing down a couple objects, go back through them and feel free to edit out items you think are unnecessary or add items which you think would suit the character.

2. GO THROUGH THEIR DAILY ROUTINE

again, another easily explained exercise. go through a regular day in your character's life, try and do this exercise as if it was happening before whatever events occur in your story or novel. this way it makes it easier to understand your character before they met a secondary character in the novel or before whatever events happened in your writing which may affect their routine. you don't need to include every single detail in your description, just brief notes or key events which occur during their day would be fine. you can make it as short or as long as you wish, maybe don't just do it for one day in your character's week perhaps do it for multiple days.

does their routine change during the week? what time do they wake up? what time do they go to sleep? are they punctual with going to work? do they do any other activities outside their day-job? these are the kind of things you may want to ask yourself when writing it.

3. GIVE THEM FEARS OR PHOBIAS

everyone fears something: whether it be a phobia of spiders or oblivion, everyone has a fear. giving your character a phobia makes them seem more realistic, it allows your reader to easily relate to your character.