There are a lot of linear and formulaic ways to build character. Can a writer find their characters through story discovery? Check out our video and please share your experiences of building unforgettable characters.
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Re: Your great comments about Character, please comment on how a great hero can also be an anti- hero.
Good idea!
Completely agree – I find it better to develop plot and character together once you have the initial premise set out. The character will grow as you put them in different parts of the story, and likewise the plot can go in a different direction as the character reacts to what’s happening to them. All part of the joy of writing (rather than planning….)
Thank you!
This is a huge topic. Creating a character should be a utility to your story. Not a person who fulfills a random and complex checklist that in the end may not service your theme. I find many films and series are filled with scenes plastered with blabbering I struggle to pay attention to. Dialogue is NOT character. The work of character is far deeper. It is a life viewpoint forged in the fires of a particular life. Dialogue is an expression of character. And of course, there’s relationship. How one relates to another and their environment. It seems character is more about behavior and choice. So hard to do. But it seems dialogue is a passenger on a character’s train. Not the other way around. I suppose the more open we are about ourselves the more we can reveal. I think on some level the only compelling and unique things we can create are extensions of ourselves. All you really have is you. Making contact with ones self is so very difficult in writing. Hope I can improve this in my work.