Creating Fictional Characters
lillieammann.comby Lillie
Several years ago, I taught classes in fiction-writing at a continuing education program for senior citizens. I’ve decided to turn my outlines and notes on these classes into several series about writing fiction.
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 1: Characters Are Story People
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 2: Finding and Creating Characters
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 3: Revealing Characters and Point of View
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 4: Fleshing Out Characters with Tags, Traits, and Relationships
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 5: Developing Background and Traits Using a Character Chart, Bio, Diary, or Interview
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 6: Putting the Right Words in Their Mouths
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 7: Giving Characters Goals and Motivation
- Creating Fictional Characters—Part 8: Developing Characters throughout Your Story
This Is a Towel: Character Traits
Anonymous asked: Could you make or link to lists of good character assets and flaws, and how to balance them?
Okay, pay attention because this is unnecessarily complicated:
In the Character Section of our Toolbox, we have a page titled Adding Depth to a Character. On that page is a link to another page called Adding Virtues and Vices.
(We call a character’s positive traits virtues and their negative traits vices. Yes, we know that virtues and vices do not necessarily equate to positive and negative character traits. That’s just what we call them.)
Anyway, from the Adding Virtues and Vices page you can find the page for Virtues where our Huge List of Virtues is located, and the page for Vices where our Huge List of Vices may be found.
We talk about how to balance positive and negative character traits on these pages:
Other links you may find useful:
- Character Quirks
- Why Those Seemingly Random Character Traits Matter
- List of Positive Personality Traits
- Character Flaws: The Master Post
- Character Balance Sheet
- Six Reasons to Write Flawed Characters
- The Basics of Creating a Likeable Character
- Help with Character Development
- How to Create a Good Character
- 25 Things You Should Know About Character (AKA, “Anatomy of a Character”)
- How to Create Good Personalities for Your Character: 6 Steps
- How to Create and Develop an Original Character
- How to Create a Character
- Character Development: P.O.V and Background
Thank you for your question!
-C
VICTORIAN ERA NAMES: Circa 1840's-1890's
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.comA large part of creating a good set of characters in fiction writing is giving your imaginary populace good names. The right name resonates on the tongue and lingers in the mind, as just the right “fit” for who that heroic - or despicable - person was. Who can forget “Captain Ahab” and his manic pursuit of the Great White Whale, or the plain-spoken, earthy spirit of “Tom Sawyer,” or the stern lyricism of “Sherlock Holmes?”
