Developing A Character

Created by: Mrs. RossInfluenced by several online searches

Getting To Know Your Character

O A good author needs to know their character well enough to “speak” for them throughout the story

O An Author needs to know the character’s strengths and weaknesses, attitudes, fears, obsessions, special talents and hobbies. Think about whether the character might have a favorite phrase, like “go for it,” or a habit of running her fingers through her hair whenever she’s bored.

O A good Author can hear their character’s voice.

Let’s See How Well We Know Some Popular Characters…

Think about their…O strengths and weaknessesO attitudesO fearsO obsessionsO special talents and

hobbiesO favorite phrase

Knowing what you know about the character, could you predict what he

or she might do in any given situations? Let’s share some examples with our group…

Can you name a character that you disliked in a story? What can you

share about that character?

Let’s listen to an excerpt from Inkheart. Let’s listen to how well the Author

knows their character!

http://www.scholastic.com/inkheart/

On your white board, keep track of things you learn about your character and we’ll share and compare at

the end.

Character SketchWho is your character? Let’s develop him/her and get to know them!

For now, just think and sketch… you will be given a character builder sheet soon to help you organize who they are

O name and nicknameO age

O physical descriptionO place you’d find this person at three in the afternoonO place you’d find this person at nine at night

O employmentO socio-economic statusO beliefs and values

O interestsO obsession

O long term ambitionO favorite hangout—or place this person feels most secure

O where this person livesO favorite food

O kind of music this person listens toO favorite phrase or saying (reflect how this person talks)

O talent(s)O weaknesses, character flawO important relationships

O pets (if any)

What’s going to happen to the character…?!?

Readers love character driven stories. They want to care enough about a character to find out what happens to them. Do they get what they want in the end? Do they grow through the problem or conflict they face? Can people relate to your character. This is a very powerful thing to accomplish. So what does your character need?

Emotional needs: learn to love again, trust others…

Physical needs: find a lost family member, learn how to walk again…

We need to give our character their needs and wants before we start their story – the story you write will be an attempt to meet those goals.

Let’s create a class chart of emotional and physical needs that we might want to “borrow” for our

story!

What kind of conflict will your character need to overcome?

What do you want your reader to learn or take away from your story?

Let’s jot down as many ideas as we can think of in 5 minutes and then pick from the list we created!

Ready…Set…Go…!

External vs. InternalExternal

External Conflict takes place

outside of the body

InternalInternal Conflict takes place inside of the body/mind

What is your character’s conflict?

Man vs. SelfSome literary conflicts take the form of a

character struggling to overcome fear, emotional damage or other crippling personal issue.

Internal Conflict is called Man vs. Self

There are 3 types of External Conflict…

Man vs. ManThe most straightforward type of conflict pits the protagonist directly

against another character with apparently opposing aims.

Man vs. NatureThis type of conflict pits a story's main

character or characters against a natural force such as a flood, predatory animal, or disease

epidemic.

Man Against Society

In many stories, the protagonist battles an unjust element of

government or culture.

Stay in Character!O You know your character by now and

should know how they would respond in a situation.

O Your character shouldn’t suddenly act “out of character” – in order for your character to be believable and someone your reader cares about, they need to be consistent in their reactions, responses and attitudes.

A good author reveals information about the character little by little as the story goes, or it would be boring. This technique is called

Direct or Indirect Characterization.

Lets practice one together…