Learning From Others: Character Development Tools

I’ve always felt comfortable with my fictional characters. Some of them come to me full blown, others take time to visualize. But I’ve always felt they were more than two-dimensional, more than cardboard cut outs of heroes and villains.

However, as I started this journey of crafting A+ fiction, I knew I’d be working on character. While this aspect of fiction is not a weakness for me, it’s not a strength either.

Therefore I’ve been on the lookout for ideas to develop characters. Most of what I’ve seen are charts and forms. I like charts and forms so I’ve used a few of these. However, I find myself bored with filling in the blanks about someone: birthday, home town, wedding anniversary/divorce, favorite color/car/shoes. I guess for me this feels more like a census report than the development of an actual fictional character. (Can there be an “actual” fictional character?!?)

Then one day I was reading about Elizabeth George on her website. She said that her stories develop from character. She makes notes about characters and then when she has enough, she puts the notes together into a story. Her novels are rich in eccentric characters, which makes them enjoyable for me. Some of those folks I still think about and wonder how they’re doing. Now that’s character development!

I liked the idea of sketching about a character and just collecting those notes. I can see those notes piling up in cardboard moving boxes labeled “Irina, the laundress” or “Scaffold Cat”. Then one day I’m walking past one of these boxes and glance in and there’s a character, mostly formed, waiting patiently or impatiently for the action to begin.

If the character is described well enough, then I write quickly on the story about them. If not, I struggle and usually want to put them back in the box, or on the back burner of the stove (depending on the creative metaphor of the moment).

Sometimes, when I’m really stuck, I find other fictional characters who can help me with my main character. For example, in the stories about the Constitutional Convention Kids, I turned to the mother of Israel and Jordan to learn more about them. She’s very proud of her kids and very willing to share with me. I’ve learned a lot about them from their mom.

What I’m discovering is that these character sketches and notes help fill in the story in wonderful unexpected ways. Who would have guessed that Elena was so in love with her husband and so immature about their son? I’d never have discovered that Mama Rosa’s husband has an old, painful wound.

Of course, as I write the main story, I’m now able to review these notes, add the sketches to the larger work, and maintain consistency for the character.

I am able to use this technique for character development because I was looking for tools to improve my fiction. I was willing to practice with different tools, and to use the tools in the best way for myself.

Have you found a creative “tool” that helped with your work? How many other tools did you try along the way?