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August 21, 2017

8 Character Development

Exercises to Help You Nail Your

Character

Contents

([Link]

Exercise #1: The truth shall set your characters free

([Link]
 the-truth-shall-set-your-characters-free)

Exercise #2: Put them through the wringer

([Link]

put-them-through-the-wringer)

Exercise #3: Do the unexpected ([Link]

development-exercises/#exercise-3-do-the-unexpected)

Exercise #4: #TBT ([Link]

Exercise #5: The Gatsby method ([Link]

development-exercises/#exercise-5-the-gatsby-method)

Exercise #6: Break the ice ([Link]

development-exercises/#exercise-6-break-the-ice)

Exercise #7: A little less conversation, a little more action

([Link]

a-little-less-conversation-a-little-more-action)

Exercise #8: Take them on a test-drive

([Link]

take-them-on-a-test-drive)

Even the most fast-paced, action-driven novels need compelling

characters ([Link] to keep
readers engaged. Of course, readers will never “get to know” a
character if the author doesn’t have a thorough understanding of
who they are and what is driving them rst. To this end, we’re
about to get real close and personal with a few character
development exercises.

Character development exercises are a great way to give yourself

a better understanding of the person you are creating with pen
and paper (or “ ngers and keyboard,” more likely). They also help
you create resources that you can pull from during the writing
process. In order to help bring your character to life, we are
breaking character development
([Link] down into
three stages:

1. Establish your character’s current emotional motivations

2. Put your character into context
3. Bring your character to life

Even the most fast-paced, action-driven novels need

compelling characters to keep readers engaged.
([Link]
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driven+novels+need+compelling+characters+to+keep+readers
+engaged.&via=ReedsyHQ&related=ReedsyHQ&url=[Link]
[Link]/character-development-exercises/)
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Establishing your character’s internal motivations

Nailing down your character's fundamental goal — the thing that

is truly important to them — will help you see what is driving
them right now and why their story is worth telling at this
moment in their lives. Without an internal goal to achieve, your
story will lack a narrative arc ([Link]
arc/). Perhaps even worse, your characters will come off as at
([Link] at-character/).

Here are a few character development exercises that will help you
get into the nitty-gritty of your character and strengthen the
conviction of their internal goals.

PRO-TIP: If you're at the beginning stages of building a character

and haven't picked a name yet, this character name generator
([Link] may come in
handy. Or, if you want some further inspiration, you can use our
plot generator ([Link] which will
randomly assign basic motivations for your character.

Exercise #1: The truth shall set your characters

free

Most of us remember the game “truth or dare” from childhood

sleepovers. Some would bravely declare “DARE!” and wait for the
inevitably embarrassing challenge. Others would hazard a
“truth…?” and wait nervously in their sleeping bags while the
challenger mulled over which deeply provoking and juicy question
to ask.

In order to dive deeper into your character’s emotional depths,

ask a round of questions — both probing and seemingly innocuous
alike. (Hey, you never know when your character’s favorite choice
of ice cream topping might come in handy!) We recommend
downloading this free character pro le template
([Link] le/) to get a headstart.
And if you need additional help, these questionnaires will provide
solid inspiration for now:

Arthur Aron’s 36 Questions That Lead to Love

([Link]
[Link]?_r=0dialogue/speech)
“Your house, containing everything you own, catches re. After
saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a
nal dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?”
“Would you like to be famous? In what way?”
“What is your most treasured memory?”

The Proust Questionnaire

([Link]
questionnaire)“What is your idea of perfect happiness?”
“What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?”
“What do you consider your greatest achievement?”

Exercise #2: Put them through the wringer

How a person reacts to a dif cult situation can be very revealing

— and your character’s fundamental goal
([Link] will inform how
they respond to challenges.
Develop your characters further by placing them in a situation
where they are faced with a challenge. For con ict inspiration,
look no further than these classic moral dilemmas (and, of course,
analyze them from the perspective of your character):

The Robin Hood Problem

Your character is an eyewitness to a crime.

A man has robbed a bank, but instead of keeping the money for
himself, he donates it to an orphanage that can now afford to
feed, clothe, and care for its children. You know who committed
the crime. If you go to the authorities with the information,
there's a good chance the money will be returned to the bank,
leaving a lot of kids in need. What does your character do?

1. Turn the robber in. Stealing is wrong, end of story.

2. Keep the information to yourself because the money is going to a
good cause.

The Trolley Problem

There is a trolley running down a track. In its path are ve people

who have been tied to the track and cannot move. Next to your
character is a lever with the power to lead the trolley down a
different track. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that
one. What does your character do?

1. Nothing. The ve people die.

2. Pull the lever, saving ve people, but killing the single person.
Jot down what might be going through your character's head as
they consider the potential consequences of their actions. For
instance, if your character decides not to pull the lever in the
trolley example, they might imagine explaining to people that
there wasn't enough time to reach the lever, and pretend the
outcome was out of their hands. If they are leaning towards
pulling the lever, they might be swayed by the idea of dealing with
one set of grieving family members as opposed to ve.

And for an extra twist, try putting your character into a different
role in the dilemma (i.e. in the trolley problem, have your
character be the train driver or stuck on the track.) You can read
this post to learn more about types of character con ict
([Link] ict-in- ction/) — and if
you'd like more con ict-ripe situations, head here
([Link]
will-break-your-brain?utm_term=.wyAvOOQmP#.fgwQnn9NA).

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Exercise #3: Do the unexpected

Humans are highly resistant to change — for a character to

believably undergo a personal journey that substantially alters
them, something HUGE and speci c must happen to them. This
event doesn't have to happen in your story, but once you can
identify your character’s limits, you can determine what is
required to create a potential change in their fundamental nature
([Link]
change).
 Ghost of Christmas-Present (image: John Leech)

At the start of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is a self-

involved miser. He has alienated himself from those around him
and lacks empathy, even for his poor clerk, Bob Cratchit, who can
barely feed own children. However, at the end of the novel,
Scrooge is redeemed as a generous, lively friend. What event
inspired this total one-eighty in his character? The visit from the
ghosts of past, present, and future, and the rst-hand knowledge
of how his actions have negatively impacted not only those
around him, but his own life.
For this exercise, determine what this catalyst for change might
be by considering situations or attributes that feel
counterintuitive. For instance, if your character is a Good
Samaritan, it is unlikely they would commit a crime. What would
have to be at stake for this unlikely situation to happen — and for
a core part of your character to change?

A fundamental goal is what drives your character, it's why

their story is worth telling right now.
([Link]
text=A+fundamental+goal+is+what+drives+your+character%
2C+it%27s+why+their+story+is+worth+telling+right+now.&vi
a=ReedsyHQ&related=ReedsyHQ&url=[Link]
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Putting your character into context

When we crack open a novel, the main character’s current,

overarching goal is the reason the story exists for us to read.
However, a believable character is not one that has burst into
being on Page 1. A compelling character will have external
in uences and a past that informs their present and the crux of
their internal journey.

Consider Magneto of the X-Men series. He is a “villain” who

believes that mutants are superior to humankind and should
therefore dominate. However, a look into Magneto’s past reveals
that he was born into a German-Jewish family during the
holocaust, and that their abhorrent treatment by the Nazis lead
him to believe that humankind and con ict are inseparable.
Therefore, in response, it becomes his goal to protect the mutant
race from experiencing similar atrocities “at all costs.”

The following character development exercises will allow you to

not only get a more thorough picture of your character’s life, but
also to zero in on the signi cant in uences that have shaped who
your character is, at this moment in time.

Exercise #4: #TBT

Create a timeline of the signi cant moments of your character’s

life. Like many authors, you can use post-it notes or a big
whiteboard to visualize your character’s life. You can easily move
or add events until you feel your character has a well-developed
history.

After you’ve nished the timeline, distill it into the top 5-10
moments that have shaped your character. For instance, if loss is a
thematically important part of your book, perhaps a signi cant
part of your character’s past is when they lost a grandparent as a
child.

Exercise #5: The Gatsby method

In The Great Gatsby, before we meet the novel’s eponymous
character, we hear of him. When Nick Carraway, the narrator, rst
attends one of Gatsby’s famous parties in the hopes of meeting
the mysterious millionaire, it takes a while for Nick to nd him.
During this time, Nick becomes privy to a host of information
about Gatsby. And while it is unclear what is fact or ction — such
as the rumor that Gatsby once killed a man — we get a sense of
what other characters think of him.

Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby (image: Warner Bros)

Establishing how your character is perceived by others is a great

way to give them greater context. It can provide the author with
expectations to subvert for the reader and add an interesting
mystique to the character. In the case of Gatsby, it gives him
almost a mythical sense. And as the novel continues, it is revealed
that this “mythology” is intentional, as Gatsby himself lives life as a
character of his own creation.

To give the Gatsby Method a go, write a scene in which your

character is only present through the candid descriptions of
him/her by others.

A believable character doesn't burst into being on Page 1 —

they have a past. ([Link]
text=A+believable+character+doesn%27t+burst+into+being+o
n+Page+1+%E2%80%94+they+have+a+past.&via=ReedsyHQ&
 related=ReedsyHQ&url=[Link]
development-exercises/)
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development-exercises/)

Bringing your character to life

Once you’ve developed the internal motivations and external

in uences that drive your character's arc
([Link] you need to gure out
how you’re going to convey this information. For your protagonist
to shine through the page with subtlety, and without the need for
long-winded exposition, they need to have their own voice and
distinctive physicality, regardless of which narration perspective
([Link] your novel
includes. Try the following character development exercise to get
a better idea of your character’s voice.

Exercise #6: Break the ice

Think about it: how many times have you been asked in one form
or another, “So, tell me about yourself?” It’s a classic ice-breaker
question, and, these days, with social media and the
overwhelming variety of ways for us to “present ourselves” to the
world, the stakes of “tell me about yourself” have never been
higher. Of course, we change the way we answer this question
based on who we’re talking to.

Further chip away at your character and establish how they

present themselves to others by imagining how they would brie y
describe themselves in the following situations:

In a job interview
On a rst date
Catching up with an old friend
Flirting with someone at a party
In their Twitter bio
At the border between the US and Mexico

Exercise #7: A little less conversation, a little

more action

When you meet someone, you do not start by announcing your

height, weight, hair, and eye color, so please do not introduce
your character to readers like this. But how to avoid describing
looks and physicality without chunks of exposition?

Consider this line from James Joyce’s Ulysses: “He looked in

Stephen's face as he spoke. A light wind passed his brow, fanning
softly his fair uncombed hair and stirring silver points of anxiety
in his eyes.”

Joyce takes advantage of a moment of action to shed light on

Stephen’s looks and his anxious demeanor.

Try your hand at conveying your character through action by rst

writing a list of physical traits that apply to your character. Next,
with that list at hand, write a scene where something is
happening — whether it’s a conversation, laundry-folding,
cooking, etc. Weave references to your character’s physicality into
the action.

Exercise #8: Take them on a test-drive

Sometimes a bad case of writer’s block boils down to a broken

connection between you and your protagonist, and the solution
can be a change of scenery. Not for you — for your character!
Writing prompts are a good way to get the creative juices owing
and can help you clear out the block so your character can
continue down your story’s path.

For a weekly supply of fresh writing prompts, head here

([Link]

For your protagonist to shine through the page, they need to

have their own voice. ([Link]
text=For+your+protagonist+to+shine+through+the+page%2C
+they+need+to+have+their+own+voice.&via=ReedsyHQ&relat
ed=ReedsyHQ&url=[Link]
development-exercises/)
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exercises/)

It’s only once you have acquired a thorough understanding of your

protagonist, that a compelling and realistic character will shine
through the page. However, there is disagreement in the world of
writing communities regarding what information is or is not
relevant for an author to know about a character. While we
believe it’s probably unnecessary for an author know the number
of hairs on their character’s head, we also believe you can never
know too much about your protagonist. What’s important is
discerning what information is signi cant to the current story
you’re writing.

As Ray Bradbury wrote in Zen in the Art of Writing

([Link]
Creativity/dp/1877741094?
SubscriptionId=AKIAJJIX76K7CKA7Q6TA&tag=reedwebs-
20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1877741094):
“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your
characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”

If you’ve tried any of our suggested character development

exercises, or if you have favorite tricks of your own, let us know
in the comments!
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3 Responses to “8 Character Development Exercises to

Help You Nail Your Character”

1. Lady Adellandra Dratianos ([Link] says:

August 25, 2017 at 4:28 am ([Link]

rcises/#comment-875)

I have one trick I use when I'm really desperate for answers. I

interview my characters. By asking them questions, I can get to

the bottom of the problem, and hopefully answer and solve

anything I'm having trouble with.

Tay says:

February 9, 2020 at 5:10 am ([Link]

ercises/#comment-7562)

Lol, i tried that once. It went like this:

Me: so jax, do you have any siblings?

Jax: maybe I do. Maybe I don't. I'm not telling you

Me: why not?!

Jax: well you SHOT my in the last chapter!

Me: if you don't tell me I'm going to kill Blaze

Jax: I don't negotiate with terrorists

Me: YES YOU DO! You have literally done it on multiple accaisions!

Jax: I am a gment of your imagination and therefore not

responsible for my own actions

Me: what? How are you more witty then I am? HOW IS THAT EVEN

POSSIBLE?!

Me: wait, what where we talking about?

2. Katlyn Grow says:

May 8, 2019 at 12:28 pm ([Link]

These are really helpful! I recently heard an author say to picture

your character in a car. What are they listening too? Music, an

audio book, nothing at all? Where are they going, where are they

coming from. This helps me to get to know their personality a little

better.

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