A confident character, how would they react?
A funny character how would they react?
Now put them in a context.
Say
Teacher vs Student
Boss vs employee etc
A shy character on a stage would act differently from one who is as bold as a lion.
The stakes would be the character feeling she would flop. So the character focus or motive is her fear and trying hard to avoid being laughed at and then your readers get to see that.
However, what if your character hives a good heart?
Place the character in a situation that demands sacrifice and watch how the character makes choices.
In a scenario where robbers are done attacking a grocery store leaving behind victims lying on concrete floors, your character may chase after the robbers or stop to care for the wounded shoppers.
The Chase is always about the characters and then the actions and settings that aid them along their way.
Movies like John wick, Game of thrones explore wonderful and dynamic characters. Providing us here and there with explanations for each character quests and actions.
Our WRITER INTERVIEW does justice to character formations.
THE CHARACTER RECIPE
You may need these tantalizers to further spice up your characters:
- Adaptation – Trying to adapt a character to a scene shouldn’t be the problem but the main issue is fixing the character up first to fit any scene you avail for them.
- Dynamism – Creating dynamic and multidimensional characters that add to local colour is amazingly still a worthwhile goal.
- Differences – Making characters distinguishable is another side to the story.
- Appearances – Shedding more light on other concrete parts other than physical descriptions.
- Mannerisms – They also add up to creating character depths.
- Break – Taking Relevant Breaks to come out better on your character work outs is worthwhile when chaos arises.
THE CHARACTER MENU
While your characters are still FINDING their feet, this menu can come in handy:
CAREER and VOCATION TEST
Bisi is a teacher but her vocabulary replicates one who didn’t see pass the four walls of college. Wipe this clean by displaying how being a teacher enriches her vocabulary, insights, relationships and actions.
GROWTH TEST
At the end of the day, growth must happen. good characters can make or break your book. And the best characters are those who relate convincingly not just to their world, but to one another and who also learn from the world around them.
SUSPENSE TEST
The most exciting thing is when you find a character doing something surprising or unplanned. Character development plays a big role in generating suspense; for example, if a character’s desire is not fulfilled by the end of the book, the story will not feel complete for the reader.
INTROSPECTION TEST
Introspection is the easiest and clearest way to develop your characters’ relationships. Make your characters think about their bonds; make them challenge their own thoughts and feelings. I love him, but why? What’s the real reason I hate her? What needs to happen so I can get over this?
OPINION TEST
Do not seem reluctant to give your characters strong opinion. Even if they are wrong and others are pointing at it. Make them raise their head high with their views of life.
FLAW TEST
True, being overbearing may be a flaw, but in fiction, flaws are good. Give your characters flaws that can be fatal. Fear not. If they fail, they either come out or lose something.
SACRIFICE TEST
Make your character sacrifice or risk something for another. Countless spiritual scriptures, myths, classics and modern tales exploit the heart-clutching moment of a character dying to save others, or for a cause. But equally compelling can be a character merely risking his life for another.
What other tests did we miss in this recipe? Can you tell us?
You may also love to read other writing posts to aid your character formation.
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