# Your characters



## Burst (Sep 13, 2012)

Do you complete a profile for them before jumping into your story or do you create them as you write your story?


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## Centerfield97 (Sep 13, 2012)

Personally I create them as I write my story.  First I lay out generally who they are; perhaps they're a girl who lives on a farm, or a noble with a drug problem.  Then I just start writing, and more importantly, rewriting.  As I go I find my character grows organically, developing their thoughts, opinions, mannerisms, etc as the story progresses.

Some people prefer the character profile approach.  I personally hate feeling restricted and avoid outlining any way I can, but this way works for a lot of people.  I say try both and see which works for you.


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## Vidar (Sep 13, 2012)

I personally feel it is easier to form the character gradually over time, it feels more natural to me and they seem to take on a life of their own. As Centerfield97 suggests try both methods and see which one fits you best!


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## T.Allen.Smith (Sep 13, 2012)

For POV characters, I have them pretty well fleshed out. As with any of my outlines though, nothing is set in stone & they're easy to change. 

For secondary or tertiary characters, I develop them as the story progresses for the most part. I often realize I need an entirely new character for the scene I'm writing & I have to create that one on the spot.

With all characters (and setting) I spend a lot of time trying to make them "real" in second revision.


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## Vale (Sep 13, 2012)

I've approached this in two very different ways in the past.
In one of my shorts I knew various personality features of the character, a thief thrust into heroism, but didn't reveal a name or age. Instead the theme of an unknown hero in an unmarked grave drove it forward.
However with my current WIP I'm diving in completely, they have names now! 

It all depends on the them you are working with.


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## writeshiek33 (Sep 13, 2012)

i have do it as i go otherwise i havev writers block


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## Penpilot (Sep 13, 2012)

At the minimum I sketch out the basics first. All I need to know is the kind of character they are and the answer to this question, what do you want and why? After that, everything else just sprouts organically. Sometimes I fill in the blanks while I'm writing, other times when I'm away from the keyboard but just thinking about the story.


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## Steerpike (Sep 13, 2012)

I have a rough basic sketch as well. Then I let the characters grow from there as I am writing.


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## Androxine Vortex (Sep 13, 2012)

Steerpike said:


> I have a rough basic sketch as well. Then I let the characters grow from there as I am writing.



Same here. I have a character that I know is going to be X or Y and then build as I go.


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## J. S. Elliot (Sep 17, 2012)

Well, I alternate, admittedly. Sometimes I do behemoth profiles (my standing record is 12 pages for one character), while at others I jot down only the utmost important facts and let the rest come as I write. Mostly, it depends on my mood, but when I stumble across an important development, I can always open the smaller file and add onto it for future reference.


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## BWFoster78 (Sep 17, 2012)

I don't do much outlining, and I don't create character profiles.  Instead, I think of a broad sketch of a character and put that character into a sticky situation.  My story develops organically from there.  

The positives to my approach:

You can jump right into writing.  I find that wanting to find out what happens next is great motivation to keep writing.

Your don't have to stress about how to show character traits.  Instead, you show how your character acts and that becomes the definition of your character.

The biggest negative to this procedure:

You don't truly learn your character until you've done a lot of writing.  With my second draft nearly complete, I feel I'm still learning.  This means a lot of revision.


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## Helen (Sep 17, 2012)

Burst said:


> Do you complete a profile for them before jumping into your story or do you create them as you write your story?



I outline.

Figure out each one's arc from beginning to end.

"who they are" is only important in relation to how they'll change; their function in the story.


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## J V O A (Aug 15, 2014)

if you use qoutes in your book interpreted from someone else could they sue


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## Bearman1 (Aug 15, 2014)

I make a really brief profile for each of my characters, listing appearance and who/what they are. Then I like to add and add and add to their profiles as I write the story. 
For instance I have a militia captain who has grown from a simple gruff man, to someone who has real commitment issues due to losing those close to him. That growth literally formed itself in my story. I had no idea it was a part of his character until his story unfolded.


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## Addison (Aug 15, 2014)

When I start writing my characters are at least paper cut out. I can see their arms, legs, if they're wearing a dress or pants. As I write they tell me more about themselves, giving themselves color, features etc. Rarely, like lightning striking my house, does a character present them-self entirely to me on day one. 

Remember when writing a story you're not telling characters what's happening, they're telling you.


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## Legendary Sidekick (Aug 15, 2014)

I like to draw my characters then add personality. One fun thing I did a long time ago was draw characters, then based on their racial features, I looked up names—Celtic, German, Japanese, etc.

My current MC's name is Addison, which means "awesome." I try to have her live up to her name, so she's pretty extreme, though when I drew her she was kind of average in the physical sense. I love that about her because she's not break-through-walls awesome. She needs to improvise and use whatever weapons, tools, surroundings she can to meet challenges that my more physically powerful characters handle with brute force or skill.


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## Guy (Aug 17, 2014)

I can only learn my characters as I write the story. Sometimes they end up being quite different from how I originally envisioned them.


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## Svrtnsse (Aug 17, 2014)

When I started on my WIP I only had a pretty vague idea of who my main character was. As I wrote he evolved and changed and I got a much better feel for him.
When it became time to introduce the Other character into the story I didn't want the same thing to happen with her. What I did was I wrote a few short stories with her as the main character. The purpose of this wasn't to actually tell a story, but for me to get into the head of the character and get familiar with her. It forced me to think from her perspective and I got to know her a little better.
I believe that helped me make her a better, more well rounded, character right off the bat when I introduced her into the story.


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## SM-Dreamer (Aug 17, 2014)

When I start a story, I have a concept idea of the main character. An impression, an image, either them doing something or feeling something. So when I write, I try hard to maintain that image, either working towards it, keeping it, or falling from it.

I do, after a bit of writing to shape up more of the story, start making sketchy character profiles. I'll add information as the story goes along. I always make sure that the concept is written down, so I can look back to it when I need to.


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## Bruce McKnight (Aug 17, 2014)

I start with really generic characters, my idea of them is usually pretty shallow. Maybe one or two events shaped them, but mostly the characters start as cardboard plot devices. Towards the end of the first draft, their personalities start to emerge. I'll do character sketches after the first draft and my first revision is pretty much all about making changes based on the personalities of the characters.


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## Chessie (Aug 17, 2014)

I also like to write with a vague idea/cardboard cut out of who the characters in my story are. The one exception to this is the protagonist. I need to be familiar with that character a bit more, since the story revolves around them. But I don't do character profiles. I just ask a lot of "why" and "what if" questions, trying to get a better sense of who this person is and why they are important to the story (are they the right fit).

I do also like to know what all of my characters look like, their names, and 1-2 things about them that give me an idea of who they are. Then I can start writing. The characters jump out of at me as I write, then revision is all about tweaking the story so that it fits who the characters are and the decisions they make are realistic, as Bruce McKnight said.


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## skip.knox (Aug 17, 2014)

As with most others here, my characters change as the story progresses. 

One issue I have with making 'character sheets' relates to this changing during writing; specifically, if I spend a lot of time sketching out character attributes, characteristics, background, while it does create a clearer image of them in my mind, the sketch becomes one more document I have to keep updated.

As the story progresses, and I change this or that about a character, I now have to update the character sketch file, to cross out this, or add that. I've done that, but I found it became unnecessary overhead. Whatever I gained by investing in character imagining up front was outweighed by the overhead down the road.

FWIW, I'd say the same applies to rules of magic, setting, details of fantasy races, and so on. 

I'll go a bit further. To me, adding a great deal of detail about characters, world, and so on, tips the balance the wrong way. It forces the story to serve the character, rather than having the character serve the story. Admittedly, some stories are character studies, but I've never written one of those. Your Story May Vary.

I've never had my characters jump out at me as I write. Sounds nerve-wracking.

And finally, I can envision a down side to not keeping character sheets: one risks lapses in continuity. If one has a character sheet, then when I say my elf has gray eyes then I don't have to worry about him turning up with blue eyes.  (sneaky shout out to the Summoner geeks clip)


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## ThinkerX (Aug 18, 2014)

My gaming days still influence me despite being decades past.

With some exceptions, very first thing I think of with a new character is 'character class,' followed by 'stats.'  A not so strong warrior?  A foolish mage?  I use both AD&D and WFRP for this; the latter, being career based, makes for a broader range of characters.  

Next, a few words - six or eight tops - about the characters appearance and personality.

Everything else comes out in the story.


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## The Blue Lotus (Aug 18, 2014)

I've done both ways, but I prefer to do a work up on them and change things along the way as needed. 
Just helps me get into their head a bit better.


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## Fyle (Aug 18, 2014)

I do both. Sometimes the whole thing hits me at once, sometimes I just plant a seed and let it grow.


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## Sheilawisz (Aug 18, 2014)

When I start to write a story I already have certain knowledge about who the characters are, what they want, what troubles they face in their lives and how they interact with each other.

I follow a very natural and instinctive approach to Storytelling, so I do not have detailed guides and sketches about the characters. It feels like I am writing about their lives and adventures instead of directing everything, so the characters evolve, change out of my control and many times they do unexpected things that surprise me a lot...

That's what makes telling a story an adventure: Even though I know what the end of the story will be, I can never know everything that will happen during the way to get to the end =)


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## Penpilot (Aug 18, 2014)

For the most part, I don't need too much before I can start writing a character. I just need to know the answers to the following questions.

What do they want physically?
What do they want emotionally?
And Why?

The first two questions I definitely have to know before I write. The "Why" I sometimes know but usually figure out along the way. The "Why" is usually what unlocks the character for me. If I can't find the "Why" the character remains kind of flat in my eyes. Knowing why, for me,  opens up the third dimension of a character.


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## DaFlaminUnicorn (Aug 18, 2014)

Guy said:


> I can only learn my characters as I write the story. Sometimes they end up being quite different from how I originally envisioned them.



Same here. I recently had this happen with lelani in my q & a. I intended for her to be a bit rude but reasonable. then later after Ireth's character met her and they talked and interacted she became kind and understanding. also curious. she seems very agreeable and I like her now. at first, I wanted people to not like her. but now she's completely different.


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## Guy (Aug 19, 2014)

DaFlaminUnicorn said:


> Same here. I recently had this happen with lelani in my q & a. I intended for her to be a bit rude but reasonable. then later after Ireth's character met her and they talked and interacted she became kind and understanding. also curious. she seems very agreeable and I like her now. at first, I wanted people to not like her. but now she's completely different.


Yeah, I have kind of the same thing going on. I started a character intending him to be an obnoxious, god's-greatest-gift type, but as I wrote him he became more of an amusing wise ass who, despite his wise assery, is a decent guy, and the fate I have in store for him has started to seem a bit unkind.

My two flagship characters, though, popped into my head almost fully formed.


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## Aspasia (Aug 19, 2014)

Svrtnsse said:


> When I started on my WIP I only had a pretty vague idea of who my main character was. As I wrote he evolved and changed and I got a much better feel for him.
> When it became time to introduce the Other character into the story I didn't want the same thing to happen with her. What I did was I wrote a few short stories with her as the main character. The purpose of this wasn't to actually tell a story, but for me to get into the head of the character and get familiar with her. It forced me to think from her perspective and I got to know her a little better.
> I believe that helped me make her a better, more well rounded, character right off the bat when I introduced her into the story.




I think this is a great idea, one which I will be trying  For longer projects, I try to plan everything out in a file, have character profiles, etc but I find that I often have great difficulty giving each character their "voice" for about 5k words -- despite my planning and profiling, they don't seem "real" to me until I've actually written them. On the other hand, characters I just spontaneously make up for short flash pieces / stuff without planning seem far more "real". Yet I need to have things written down / planned out or else I start forgetting stuff about my character for longer works. 

I found that the character who is the clearest to me, who I feel the most comfortable with, is a character I hadn't touched for a LONG time, and randomly decided to throw into a fun, very silly RP with a few friends. That helped a LOT. I was pretty surprised. It forced me to put her into rather strange situations she'd never face in the story, and find out a bit more how she reacts in a "safe" setting that I know will never enter the story, and therefore won't "ruin" it. Kind of like a "fork" of the character, an experimental tangent. It was very freeing, something I wish I could do with more WIP MCs! 

I might try to write short flash pieces with each MC in a situation that's not important to the main story, just to get a feel for them. I often have a problem with my characters being flat and cardboard in longer works, but this sounds like a great idea to try and change that!


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