30 Scene Ideas for Character Development

by Eva, in category Characters, Ideas, NaNoWriMo

Character Development

You may like to develop your character in detail before you begin writing your story, or you may just start writing and see where the story takes you.

Either way, you need narrative opportunities to show the reader what stuff your character is made of, and these scene ideas can fit almost anywhere in your story.

They’re also perfect for NaNoWriMo! Pick one to write about every day, and mix them up with upcoming plot and subplot scene ideas!

What develops character?

  1. CONFLICT, TESTS & TRIALS – any time the character faces resistance in their world, there is an opportunity to reveal something new about them, or to reinforce an existing trait. The more pressure the character is under, the more you will need to develop them to meet their difficulties.
  2. REACTION – meaningful and consistent reactions to the events around them are what create characters. This might take the form of action, reflection, interaction, decision-making, or even inaction.
  3. REFLECTION, SELF-ASSESSMENT – character doesn’t always have to be developed through action. Sometimes solitary reflection and assessment can be a great way to slow down and delve deeper.
  4. INTERACTION, RELATIONSHIPS – in many ways, the character is defined through contrast and correlation to the other characters in the story. Relationships apply push and pull forces on the character that cause them to react, make decisions, and re-assess their own identity.
  5. CHANGE, PROGRESS – one of the main differences between a flat character and a round one is that a round character changes, whereas a flat character stays static. A character’s reaction to change is one of their most defining traits and will often influence their other characteristics.
  6. DECISIONS, CHOICES – decisions are where the plot intersects the character’s mind most clearly. The sorts of decisions characters are faced with can be as telling as their later reactions to the path they chose.

Scene Ideas

  1. The character has a heart-to-heart with a Helper.
  2. The character trains with a Mentor.
  3. The character completes a mini quest to get past a Threshold Guardian.
  4. The character questions their relationship to the Antagonist.
  5. The character receives bad news from a Herald.
  6. The character realises that they were deceived by a Shapeshifter.
  7. The character recognises an aspect of themselves in another character.
  8. The character is forced to wait for someone or something.
  9. The character is forced to ask for help from a character they dislike.
  10. The character confesses their deepest fear or secret to another character.
  11. The character must negotiate with a character or group of characters.
  12. The character loses or sacrifices something they value greatly.
  13. The character sees or hears something they weren’t supposed to.
  14. The character tries to understand the motivation behind another character’s actions.
  15. The character tries to evade or escape another character.
  16. The character is forced to make a difficult decision that will affect others.
  17. The character is abandoned by someone they love or value.
  18. The character tries to convince another character to act.
  19. The character reacts to mental or physical pain.
  20. The character needs to work together with another character.
  21. The character is rejected by another character or group of characters.
  22. The character looks back at how far they’ve come.
  23. The character undergoes a rite of passage.
  24. The character becomes responsible for other characters.
  25. The character learns their true name and origin.
  26. The character tries to master or conceal their thoughts or emotions.
  27. The character faces their own, or another character’s death.
  28. The character questions a belief that has shaped their personality.
  29. The character loses all hope that they will succeed.
  30. The character contemplates their future.

Need more help developing your character?

How to Be the Heroine of Your Own Story is an online course that teaches you how to develop your character on just one page. Click here to learn more.

Character development course

Writing a Pep Talk

by Eva, in category Writing Worksheets

Writing a Pep Talk - NaNoWriMo Worksheet

If you’ve fallen behind on your NaNoWriMo novel, you might be in need of a pep talk right about now! Your characters may need one too, whether in a private conversation with a mentor, or on a crowded sports pitch, or on a field before battle. Or perhaps it’s your readers who await encouragement, motivation, incentive, impetus, ignition…

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

Writing a Pep Talk

Here are a few quick tips for writing a pep talk, from my favourite film, Gladiator. General Maximus is addressing the cavalry before battle:

“Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line. Stay with me. If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled, for you are in Elysium, and you’re already dead! Brothers! What we do in life, echoes in eternity.”

  1. Address your audience’s desires, and if possible, show how yours align with them (especially if you’re working together towards a common goal).
  2. Furthermore, offer them a vision of themselves in possession of their desired outcome.
  3. Give them specific instructions or tactics to employ.
  4. Throw in a joke to lighten the mood, and (if possible) the audience’s fears.
  5. Comfort the audience and show that you’re beside them to support, protect, and guide them. Demonstrate that you’re worthy of their trust.
  6. Offer a metaphor that gives the audience greater perspective on the challenge.
  7. Remind the audience of the reasons why.
  8. Make the speech timely, succinct, and to-the-point. Also, if possible, deliver it in a place that supports the message, or makes it more memorable.

Good Luck!

A Few of My Favourite NaNoWriMo Pep Talks

  1. Chuck Wendig’s Pep Talk – “Imagine being allowed to do something you’re not supposed to do.”
  2. Jim Butcher’s Pep Talk – “NaNoWriMo participants are being deceived into thinking that being an author is a good thing.”
  3. Brian Jacques’s Pep Talk – “You know, you’ll disappoint me, if in a few years time, I’m not standing on line at a bookstore, waiting for you to sign my copy of your book.”
  4. Neil Gaiman’s Pep Talk – “Like a shark, you have to keep moving forward or you die.”
  5. Jasper Fforde’s Pep Talk – “I once wrote a novel in 22 days.”
  6. Philip Pullman’s Pep Talk (I remember my excitement when this landed in my inbox!) – “This is a strange thing, but I’ve noticed it many times: a bad day’s work is a lot better than no day’s work at all.”
  7. Lemony Snicket’s Pep Talk (my absolute favourite) – “You should probably give up.”
  8. Meg Cabot’s Pep Talk – “Think about what made you fall in love with your work-in-progress in the first place.”

Neil Gaiman Writing Masterclass

The Character at Home

by Eva, in category Writing Worksheets

The Ordinary World - Household

The character’s home is often the main setting of the Ordinary World, and the environment in which the reader first encounters them. The people the character lives with at the beginning of the story not only help shape the character, they also help create the Stasis (beginning) state and the Resolution (end) state that define the character’s development arc, and also set the story in motion.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

The character’s cohabitants may be their family, a team, a crew, or any other group of people they’ve fallen in with. For more guidance on this subject, you may like to read the sections titled, ‘How to Generate the Supporting Cast’, and ‘How to Create Character Groups: Teams, Crews, Families & Pantheons’ in How to Be the Heroine of Your Own Story.

Tips for Using this Worksheet

  1. As with last week’s Protagonist / Antagonist worksheet, you can use the character to brainstorm the rest of the household, or vice versa.
  2. When answering the questions, try to keep in mind what the plot requires of the character and of the people they live with. For example, to answer a question like, “What do they need to allow each other to do?” consider what actions the character needs to perform in the story…
    1. Do they need to be allowed to miss meals?
    2. Do they need to be allowed to bring strangers home?
    3. Do they need to be allowed privacy?
  3. You may want to consider the household as a whole, or to choose one or two representatives to study.
  4. If the character lives alone, you may nevertheless like to consider their neighbours, or a part of their backstory during which they did live with others.

How to Create a Difficult Antagonist with Ease

Protagonist / Antagonist Worksheet

by Eva, in category Characters, Writing Worksheets

How to Create an Antagonist Fast

Antagonists are a simple way to introduce conflict into a story, and the quickest way to create an antagonist who will fit in with the protagonist’s plot, is to consider their relationship.

What makes the antagonist difficult for the protagonist to deal with (and vice versa)?

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

How to Use This Worksheet

Antagonists who bear similarities to the protagonist are more difficult for the protagonist to deal with, because the character can’t completely distance themselves from them, and can’t knowingly treat them as “other” or “bad”.

Giving the antagonist both positive and negative qualities can also make them more difficult for the protagonist to overcome, because it makes them more human and more likeable.

To use this worksheet…

  1. Note down your story title at the top.
  2. Write down the character names in the shaded boxes on either side. Remember, protagonist and antagonist are relative terms; the antagonist is the protagonist of their own (life) story.
  3. List the negative and positive characteristics that each character possesses.
  4. Note down the conflicts that might arise from the differences or similarities between the characters.
  5. Create specific scene examples that demonstrate the conflict.

Example

Protagonist

Positive characteristics they don’t share (with the antagonist): protective of those who are weaker

Negative characteristics they don’t share (with the antagonist): over-analysing other people’s actions

Conflict caused by their difference (to the antagonist): the protagonist tries to defend someone that the antagonist doesn’t believe needs protection

Specific examples of conflict: a scene in which P steps in to defend a co-worker who is being criticised by their boss for breaking equipment, and A argues that the co-worker ought to have done their job better.

Antagonist

Positive characteristics they don’t share (with the protagonist): able to learn fast

Negative characteristics they don’t share (with the protagonist): too eager to please

Conflict caused by their difference (to the protagonist): the antagonist is eager to please the boss by making the co-worker look bad.

Specific examples of conflict: a scene in which A tells the boss that they did extra research and learned not only how to mend the broken equipment, but also how to operate it more efficiently.

Both

Positive characteristics they share: love the work they do

Negative characteristics they share: workaholics

Conflict caused by their similarities: they compete to get more done, and work longer shifts, but their family life suffers

Specific examples of conflict: P’s parent arrives at their workplace to confront them about putting work first, and embarrasses them in front of A.

Further Study

If you’re working with The One Page Novel & Heroine Frame methods, you might like to pick the Positive characteristics from Stasis ARTs that are to be Transferred, and the Negative characteristics from Stasis ARTs to be Abandoned or Repurposed.

If you’re enrolled in How to Be the Heroine of Your Own Story, be sure to (re)read the following sections for more guidance:

  1. How to Create Difficult Villains & Antagonists;
  2. The Simple Trick to Three-Dimensional Characters;
  3. and How to Create Relationships.


Writing Class with R.L. Stine

How to Create a Difficult Antagonist with Ease

Character Introductions

by Eva, in category Characters, Writing Worksheets

How to Introduce a Character

If you’re getting ready to begin your NaNoWriMo novel, chances are you’ll be introducing a character or two very soon. This worksheet offers a simple formula to help you decide how your character will meet your audience.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

The worksheet has room for 3 characters. You might want to use the pink rows to write down:

  1. The story title
  2. The character’s name
  3. The chapter or section in which the character is introduced
  4. Any further notes you need

Examples

  1. When we meet Lyra, she is being characteristically curious, rebellious, and brave, and struggling to evade authority somewhere she isn’t supposed to be, while trying to deal with Lord Asriel.
  2. Bilbo is preoccupied with avoiding adventures, and maintaining a comfortable, orderly life in his hobbit-hole, which Gandalf tries to disrupt.
  3. Harry’s challenge, as he struggles with everyday life with the Dursleys, is being different in a very ordinary setting.

Tips for Introducing Your Character

  1. The main challenge the character faces will usually be internal, although this may unfold and become clearer over time, and at the beginning of the story only appear as a small glimpse of the symptoms of the larger problem.
  2. The character may be mentioned or may appear in the story before their introduction.
  3. You can bend chronology, especially if your character is too young to be doing much at the beginning of the story. Introduce the character in a flashforward, through foreshadowing, or in a prologue.
  4. It may help you to imagine introducing your character to the reader as though you were introducing two people at a party. What would you want the reader to know about your character, and how could you communicate this information for best effect?

P.S. If you enjoy this worksheet, you’ll love the fill-in-the-blanks scenes of The One Page Novel templates.

Don’t forget to check the worksheet index for over 150 writing worksheets…

A Year of Story WorksheetsA Year of Creative Writing WorksheetsA Year of Creative Writer WorksheetsA Year of Writing Journal WorksheetsThe Productivity PagesRomance Worksheet Bundle

How to Keep Track of Characters in Your Novel

Character Log

by Eva, in category Characters, Writing Worksheets

Character Log - How to Keep Track of Characters

When writing long stories, novels and series, it’s easy to lose track of characters and introduce inconsistencies, discrepancies, contradictions, and even plot holes. For general plot action I would recommend creating a story spreadsheet, and for keeping track of characters’ minds, you might want to log who knows what when, but for remembering things like physical descriptors, relationships, and mentions of likes and dislikes, a character log is a really simple solution.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

How to Keep a Character Log

  1. Before or after each writing session, read through the last section you wrote. When you come across mention of a character that includes details that you would like to track, make an entry in your log…
  2. In the first column, note down the date and/or the story section where the character is mentioned.
  3. In the second column, note down the character’s name.
  4. In the third column, write any details that you think are important to remember. If your manuscript includes a long description with many particulars, you may want to note down a general category – such as “family”, “appearance”, “clothing”, or “favourite food” – instead.
  5. In the final column, note down the last place the character appeared. Depending on your requirements, this could be the last location in the story, or the last chapter/paragraph in your manuscript. If the character was headed somewhere, mention that too. For example: “last seen… leaving for school.”

Tips

  1. The character log isn’t for every mention of a character. Rather, it’s to help remember those small details that aren’t vital to the plot, but that need to stay consistent throughout.
  2. You may want to colour code the characters to help you spot relevant entries in the log. You could also colour code mentions of a specific category.
  3. When you’re beginning a writing session, quickly check the last log entry for each character to see where you left them. This will help you avoid unintentional teleportations, and can ease your way back into writing the story.
  4. You’ll probably need more than one page for longer stories. Use the numbers at the bottom of the worksheet to mark the order in which you fill out each copy.
  5. I recommend logging repeat mentions because…
    1. It can show you if you’re being too repetitive or “over-informative”.
    2. It can help you emphasise certain points or characteristics.
    3. It can help you when you come to edit, especially if you decide to change or omit a detail.
  6. When it’s time to edit your story, go through each entry in your character log for each character, and check that all of the details are consistent and cohesive.

I hope you found this worksheet helpful! Don’t forget to check the worksheet index for over 150 writing worksheets…

A Year of Story WorksheetsA Year of Creative Writing WorksheetsA Year of Creative Writer WorksheetsA Year of Writing Journal WorksheetsThe Productivity PagesRomance Worksheet Bundle

How to Keep Track of Characters in Your Novel