Showing A Character's True Nature

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." James D. Miles

Image courtesy of Dave Robinette / flickr.com

This is a great quote to bear in mind when you are trying to show the the true nature of one of your characters, whether it's your protagonist selflessly helping other's, or your antagonist killing someone he no longer has need of.

That being said, be careful not to make it cliched. How about switching it around? No-one is truly bad all the way through, or good and selfless all the time. Give your characters more depth by having you antagonist save a child or help the homeless. Maybe your protagonist bumped into someone and knocked coffee all over them but didn't even stop to say sorry, that someone could have been the antagonist and is the spark that sets him on a path of revenge. Ok, a revenge story based on a spilt coffee may be stretching credibility a little but you get what I mean; everyone has their flaws and their saving graces, it's your job to find them in your characters and then exploit them.

Now over to you - how do you show the different facets of your characters personalities? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.

C is for Character Worksheets

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / freedigitalphotos.net

Crafting three-dimensial characters is a must in this business, but how do you go about it?

A lot of people swear by using character worksheets to help them get a better understanding of their characters. I have never stuck to one list in particular, but take bits from different worksheets that I think are relevant to the character and story that I am writing. I have included the links to five of the best worksheets that I have found below.

http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.co.uk/p/character-worksheet.html

http://www.the-writers-craft.com/support-files/character.pdf

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/lazy2.htm

http://www.jennymeyerhoff.com/CharacterWorksheet.pdf

http://www.tarakharper.com/k_char2.htm

I find it really useful to put my characters in the hot seat. I have a couple of basic questions written down to get me started and then I just let the interview go where it will. I've often been amazed at what has come out of this exercise and how much more depth it has given to my characters. I don't just do this at the start of a project though. If I am stuck on a particular scene and I can't figure out why it isn't working, I take out a notebook and ask my characters. Try it, you may be surprised.

Another useful resource that I reference all the time is The Bookshelf Muse website. They have a character trait thesaurus that is second to none, as well physical attributes and a whole host of really interesting posts. Seriously, you need to bookmark their blog.

Do you ever use character worksheets? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.