Strengths and Weaknesses

[Burst]

Okay, so I am making a character profile for my main protagonist and I'm having trouble thinking of strengths and weaknesses for her. How do you guys come up with these? I really want to get to know my character.

[ThinkerX]

Take her shopping. Write a short piece where she goes to the store or market or where-ever. Throw in all the stock stuff - street side entertainers, crooked merchants, guys giving her catcalls, evaluating produce and other items, all that and then some, and write her reactions to it all. How she reacts will tell you a great deal about what she can handle.

[Queshire]

yeah, I find the best way to learn about your characters is to just write them. It doesn't have to be part of your story or a seperate short story, just write a couple scenes with your character to get a feel for 'em.

[Caged Maiden]

Sometimes my characters evolve as I go. There's no rule that you ought to know every detail of your character before you start it.

[T.Allen.Smith]

Instead of thinking of them in terms of strengths & weaknesses, consider looking at them as virtues and fears.

I like to know what my characters fear the most. A mother that fears losing her child & will do anything (even destroy whole villages) to prevent that? Fear is a powerful motivator for action.

Also, where do they shine? Courage under pressure, standing up for the innocent, or a master manipulator?

Strengths & weaknesses, in my opinion, don't provide as much motivation for action as much as fears/virtues. The why behind character motivation is very important.

Hope that helps some.

[Androxine Vortex]

You don't have to know your characters 100% before you begin to write but it does help to have a vague idea when you start. Is this character evil? Is he funny? Wise? Aggressive? Having some sort of base direction will help you mold that character into exactly what you want or maybe he/she will change and is dynamic.

I really like ThinkerXs idea and would suggest trying that.

[Brian Scott Allen]

I personally am a fan of looking at their strengths and finding issues that those strengths cannot resolve on their own. From their I think what trait will resolve this beyond the already known strengths. Depending on the answer that is their weakness.

[Lawfire]

Vices could fall into the category of weaknesses. Some characters have drinking or "drug" problems. Others might enjoy gambling or houses of ill repute a bit more than they should. Others may simply be ill-mannered and unable to grasp the concept of acting like a proper gentleman.

[TWErvin2]

A character is a 'person' even though created. Think of them along those lines, and less like a chart of statistics and facts. And also realize, like Anihow said, you don't need to know everything about them before you begin writing.