Writing Passionates discussion

As a first-year member of our school magazine, I'm not a very seasoned writer. A lot of the feedback I have been getting mostly centers around developing my characters more. After all, a short story is driven by its characters, not its plot.

I was wondering if anyone had ideas or exercises to help develop characters. How do you develop him/her without just telling some his/her characteristics?

Thanks!

I'm having the same problem. my characters all seem to have the same personality. Try letting it show wether they are hot headed or think things through before they speak/act. Also do they talk a lot or not much? Do they not talk a lot because they are shy? when they do talk do they use correct grammer, do they use nicknames for people, do they swear? Asking those kinds of questions has helped me some.

example There was a knock at the door, her mother answered and from the den i could hear a large ecstatic voiice say Howdy Maam You must be jon younger sister.Why no sir im Jons wife as she blushed.Well then how did jon get such a beautiful angel as yourself.Oh stop she says,Anyway Jon is gone for the rest of the week. Well shoot i was gonna surprise him,but I Guess ill just head back into town do recomend a good hotel in town. Well how do you know jon the over flattered trusting wife ask?Oh we spent summers down at possums creek as youngins ya see our grand mothers were close friends. well you will spend no money at a hotel you can stay in our guest room.he had all manners of snake oil salesman charming as the devil in the garden.he was tall slender with quick smooht gestures as he spoke.As he came in and introduced himself to the rest of us it was apparent to me he was here on a mission. and i was going to get to the bottom of it i couldnt be fooled by a few flattering compliments and handsome southern charm.



i just wrote out of my head so spelling is wrong and grammar but im not going to writeperfect for a quick example

Matt,

I hope you are continuing with this story of the man with the snake-oil salesman manner. It's a good start and definitely intriguing. I would love to read more of it.

Kritika wrote: "As a first-year member of our school magazine, I'm not a very seasoned writer. A lot of the feedback I have been getting mostly centers around developing my characters more. After all, a short stor..."

Play the Get to Know Your Character Game. (It's in the groups "Writers Who Are Children" and "Ink In My Veins") In case you don't know what that is, you basically write down a conversation between you and your character(s). That's a good way to figure out what type of things they say and whatnot.

Some other ways you might go about developing characters are:
a) give them a past (mother ran off when he/she was young, had a near-death experience, etc.)
b) give them a unique quirk of some sort (random obsession with the color orange, OCD, perfectionist, clean freak, etc.)
c) give them a fear (zebras, snakes, horses, heights, death, germs, etc.)
d) give them likes and dislikes. (dislikes technology, likes rain, etc.)
e) give them a flaw* (impatient, curious, stupid, too quiet, etc.)

I hope that helps you out. If you want more help with your characters, I'd suggest joining this group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/2...

*This one is a very good way to round out a character!

the get to know your characrter game is in this group too! it's a really old topic... there are probably a thousand posts in it. But you don't have to read them all.

I have THOUSANDS of character development sheets that are really good. Literally. Like, fifteen pages of just questions!! I've answered all of them, and it really helped! I'll give you a 45 question one that I thought was particularly helpful (BTW, it really helps to answer them in depth, like little paragraphs). :D

What do you know about this character now that s/he doesn’t yet know?
What is this character’s greatest flaw?
What do you know about this character that s/he would never admit?
What is this character’s greatest asset? (Useful or valuable quality)
If this character could choose a different identity, who would s/he be?
What music does this character sing to when no one else is around?
In what or whom does this character have the greatest faith?
What is this character’s favorite movie?
Does this character have a favorite article of clothing? Favorite shoes?
Does this character have a vice?(Moral weakness) Name it.
Name this character’s favorite person (living or dead).
What is this character’s secret wish?
What is this character’s proudest achievement?
Describe this character’s most embarrassing moment.
What is this character’s deepest regret?
What is this character’s greatest fear?
Describe this character’s most devastating moment.
What is this character’s greatest achievement?
What is this character’s greatest hope?
Does this character have an obsession? Name it.
What is this character’s greatest disappointment?
What is this character’s worst nightmare?
Whom does this character most wish to please? Why?
Describe this character’s mother.
Describe this character’s father.
If s/he had to choose, with whom would this character prefer to live?
Where does this character fall in birth order? What effect does this have?
Describe this character’s siblings or other close relatives.
Describe this character’s bedroom. Include three cherished items.
What is this character’s birth date? How does this character manifest traits of his/her astrological sign?
If this character had to live in seclusion for six months, what six items would s/he bring?
Why is this character angry?
What calms this character?
Describe a recurring dream or nightmare this character might have.
List the choices (not circumstances) that led this character to his/her current predicament.
List the circumstances over which this character has no control.
What wakes this character in the middle of the night?
How would a stranger describe this character?
What does this character resolve to do differently every morning?
Who depends on this character? Why?
If this character knew s/he had exactly one month to live, what would s/he do?
How would a dear friend or relative describe this character?
What is this character’s most noticeable physical attribute?
What is this character hiding from him/herself?
Write one additional thing about your character.

Also, it's good to have original characters. There's almost always the know-it-all, the goof/spaz, the hotheaded powerful one, etc. So, when developing your character, try to give them an original spice. Hope I helped! :D

Wow, Lindsay, that's a great Character Dev. Sheet.
Thanks for sharing. I'm using it now.