Unlock Your Character: an exercise to develop your character

 When it comes to developing characters it's easy to get distracted with the outward design and aesthetic. As fun as this is for everyone involved, this is only one part of your character and to purely focus on the aesthetic will leave your character 2D. 

Sure, your character may appear intimidating because they have a battle scar on their face but how did they get it? They may appear intimidating but that scar tells a story in itself and by revealing the small detail (this could be through diaogue or a flashback) we can learn that this intimidating character coould be the complete opposite. 

For example, say we have Character Awho is muscular, constantly scowls and has a scar that goes through their eyebrow. They look like they could snap anyone who comes near them and who knows, they probably know their way around in a fight. But we don't know anything else about them so this is only an assumption. Character A goes on a date with Character B who asks where the scar came from which leads to Character A telling the embarrasing story of how they injured themselves as a child while learning to ride a bicycle and never ventured near a bike ever again. This can change our opinion of the character and reveal aspects of their personality - making them more human. 

I enjoy creating the aesthetics of my characters and I (guilty as charged) spend way too long on their looks. Personality can write itself, but sometimes it's difficult to go deeper into their mind. I find it easier to create a backstory to a character first before creating their looks or the structure of the story. Quite often the story in general since I believe that a character writes the story, not the writer.

One way of unlocking the inner aspects of a character is through this exercise which I use when it comes to my own characters. 

• List the character’s major actions. Start from the end and work backwards. (Don’t analyse how or why; just create a list of actions.)

• Analyse the list to reveal the character’s wants and needs. Is the character aware of what they want?

• Describe how the character thinks and look at his or her basic psychology. Intelligent? Intellectually engaged? Cognitive Biases? Impulsive? Cautious?

• Describe the character’s superficial affect. How might a casual acquaintance describe them?

• List any important physical characteristics

This is just an outline, so stick to that format and make lists; avoid long prose descriptions.