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How to have characters with distinctive personalities

I don't want every character to have the same dialogue or same reaction to events, I want every character to stand out from each other. I also would like some tips on working with my main character because I want to portray her as a very innocent in the midst of a very harsh world but am not sure how to pull that off.
 

Addison

Auror
Innocent in a harsh world? Might I recommend watching "Mirror Mirror", or the original Disney Princess movies. They're innocent maidens in a harsh world.

As to making distinctive dialogue and such between characters, flesh them out. Write their bio, their background, ask yourself questions about them as you go. A physical trait could help, maybe one of them squints a lot, another one could suck on his cheeks.
 

ndmellen

Minstrel
Something that helped me out quite a bit was picturing my mc's as a "Famous Character." For example, one of my characters is visualized as Mickey Rourke in "Iron Man 2". The mc's character has no similarities to Rourke's, but seeing him in that fashion made it much easier to give him his unique voice, attitude, quirks, and body language.

Hope this helps.
 

ecdavis

Troubadour
One idea is to think of family and friends that you know, and find the person who best matches your characters, then try to imagine how this friend or family member would react and respond to this specific situation.
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
To me character voices become unique when I understand simply what a character's wants are and what shaped those wants. Usually I need two wants, a personal want, and a plot want. Eg Luke Skywalker. Personal want, to be a jedi like his father. Plot want, rescue princess and destroy Deathstar. Han Solo. Personal want, the princess/respect. Plot want, money to pay off debts.

When you understand what shaped these wants, IMHO you have the engine for the character. Think about some of your favorite characters in fiction and I think you'll find their voices come out best when driven by their wants, subtly or overtly.
 
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