🎭 Crafting Characters

Characters are the heart of any story. Practice crafting complex, relatable individuals which ensures readers are emotionally invested from start to finish. The following exercises are designed to help you breathe life into your characters, making them leap off the page.

• 1. 🗣️ The Interview

  Prompt: Conduct a mock interview with your character, asking them about their fears, dreams, and past experiences.

  Example: "What was your most embarrassing moment?"

  Resource: Character Development Exercises: Master CharacterizationMyStoryDoctor.com+2The Obsidian Tavern+2Mill City Press+2

• 2. 📖 Backstory Journaling

  Prompt: Write a diary entry from your character's perspective, focusing on a pivotal life event.

  Example: A journal entry detailing the day they lost their first love.

  Resource: Character Development Exercises for Writing Complex CharactersMasterClass

• 3. 🎭 Role Reversal

  Prompt: Place your character in an unfamiliar role or situation and explore their reactions.

  Example: A pacifist forced into a leadership role during a rebellion.

  Resource: How to Make Any Character ComplexMyStoryDoctor.com+1MyStoryDo

• 4. 🧩 Contradiction Mapping

  Prompt: List your character's traits and identify contradictions to add depth.

  Example: A brave soldier who fears emotional intimacy.rthunter.net+4MyStoryDoctor.com+4E.M. Welsh+4

  Resource: How to Write Complex CharactersRead to Write Stories

• 5. 🧠 Moral Dilemmas

  Prompt: Present your character with a moral dilemma and write their decision-making process.

  Example: Choosing between saving a friend or completing a critical mission.

  Resource: 5 Writing Exercises for Creating Compelling CharactersNicole Bianchi

• 6. 🎨 Character Collage

  Prompt: Create a visual collage representing your character's personality, interests, and background.

  Example: Images of stormy seas, classical music notes, and vintage clocks for a time-traveling sailor.

  Resource: Character Development Exercises: Master CharacterizationThe Obsidian Tavern+1Reedsy+1

• 7. 🧬 Family Tree Exploration

  Prompt: Develop a family tree for your character, noting significant relationships and inherited traits.

  Example: A lineage of healers, with your character being the first to reject the tradition.

  Resource: 17 Character Development Exercises for WritersKindlepreneur+1Writing Peers+1

• 8. 🕵️ Secret Keeping

  Prompt: Determine a secret your character keeps and explore how it affects their behavior.

  Example: Hiding a forbidden romance in a society that outlaws such relationships.

  Resource: How to Create Complex Characters in Your NovelsMary Kole Editorial

• 9. 🎯 Goal Setting

  Prompt: Define your character's short-term and long-term goals, and the obstacles they face.

  Example: Short-term: Find a missing sibling. Long-term: Reunite their fractured family.

  Resource: Character Development Exercises: From Blank Page to UnforgettableShy Editor

• 10. 🧭 Value System Analysis

  Prompt: Outline your character's core values and how they influence their decisions.

  Example: A commitment to honesty that leads to personal loss.

  Resource: Writing Complex Characters Isn't Confusing