I'm currently working on a second draft of Moonlight Jasmine but (like all writers) I hit a brick wall this week. To get through the wall I decided to take a break and go back to basics, so I've been working on some character development for Jasmine to see if I can find her voice and make it come across in the story.
I thought I'd give you some tips on how I approach character development. Personally I think the best way through it is to create a character questionnaire. This questionnaire should include important information about your character. Here's a few things that I include:
For each main character apply the following profile:
Name (and maiden name /previous names /aliases if applicable)
Date of birth
Birth sign
Marital status
Religion
A detailed physical description; height & weight, eyes; hair; special abilities
Parents; names and histories (jobs, education, religion, ethnicity, etc.)
Siblings – names, ages, relationships etc.
Relationship with immediate family members
Education
Job (and previous work history)
Salary
Interests/hobbies
Fears
Prejudices
Desires
Attitudes
Friends
Enemies
Pets
Passions
Disposition (temperament, character, mentality etc.)
Mannerisms
Likes
Dislikes
Any other traits you might want to add
I find that by doing a simple exercise like this, I can find a way through the story again. The idea is not necessarily that you make use of every single detail from the questionnaire in the story, more that you get to know your character(s) in greater depth, and can draw inspiration from the details of their life.
I'm now looking forward to getting stuck into my second draft and finishing the story ready for submission. I hope this blog has helped you out if you're struggling with developing your characters. I always find this exercise very useful.
Good luck and keep chasing your dreams!
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