character building

[chonkiechilli]

I'm wondering if this is a necessary process, if it really helps. If you have ever written a story, did most of your character building come in useful?

Well, there’s no story without characters. Or is what you’re asking whether people write out endless lists of traits for characters, or answer personality questionnaires for them etc?

I think a certain amount of character building before starting to write is inevitable because how can you write about someone without knowing a bit about what makes them tick, their background is going to be making them react or act in certain ways. I don't do a big character biog before I start writing because it takes me about 25k words to really understand them and then it's easier to do a biog.

I don't sit down and build a character before writing about them. For me, the best way to get to know them is by writing about them. As you write you discover their backstory, and think "oh, that's why they did that".

I often start with a real person in mind for the basic character, but very quickly they develop their own ideas and separate out.

If I'm introducing 3 separate side characters at the same time, then I'll pick on something distinctive for them all to begin with.
For example one I had recently it was:

1. Responsible
2. Quiet
3. Hates what they're doing.

Fairly quickly it was clear that the responsible one was responsible because he felt he had to try and protect the others. He was bossing them around and telling them what to do to try and keep them out of trouble.
The quiet one seemed to wanted to just get it done with the smallest amount of hassle. However he was quiet because he was undermining what was happening, and trying to fix what he saw as wrong without causing more trouble and without involving anyone else, he didn't really trust people.
The one who hated what they were doing was scared. He was only going through with it because he was scared to do anything else.

Once I'd written a couple of pages they were distinct characters, and what one said/did couldn't be given to another.

If I start having to think about which one said/did which action then I have to look further at the characters.

Hope that makes sense!