Character development within the story

[mikoli5763]

I am having trouble with how to develop the main characters in my stories. In my earlier stories I was accused of not doing enough character development. In my last few, I've been too wordy, unfocused, or all over the place. For example in "Why...? 1" I thought I was showing how Martin thought and the reasons he did things by bringing up the dead son. I didn't think I needed to go into any great detail. so fellow authors how do you develop characters without being accused of everything I mentioned above? I want to get better as a writer and hopefully be able to publish something that my wife can be "proud to brag about" to family and friends, especially her very religious mom and step-father. Thanks before hand for any and all help!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Develop a character profile. Not something you would necessarily include in the store, but follow as you write what the character does, thinks, acts and talks about with other characters.

e.g. An example from my book Walker Brigade - Book of Incidents

Max Jones – Chief Warrant Officer
Squad Leader Echo Squad Call Sign: Echo One

Bio: Maximillian Q. Jones Jr.

Max is a military brat whose father is a Fleet Rear Admiral in charge of the 2nd TechCom unit on Pacifica.

He has made it on his own without his father's help, but given opportunities by his father in order to advance his career. Although Max doesn't appreciate the opportunities, he does carry out any mission he is assigned to the best of his abilities.

Max believes in honor above all else. He believes in what he is doing for the Federated Union of Planets. He is proud to be a member of the Walker Brigade. He is a master tactician and strategist and should be at least four grades higher but does not want to give up his squad or take on the responsibilities of the promotion.

Max was born on Pacifica but moved around to many different planets due to his father’s duty assignments.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

Unify the conflicts. For easy narrative storytelling, have one external conflict in need of resolution (marriage on the rocks, save the cheerleader, escape from control of overbearing father), and any internal conflict in need of resolution (need to overcome guilt, suspicion, inhibitions, insecurities, etc.)

Structure your story in a way that the external conflict is resolved by the resolution of the internal conflict (daughter declares independence from daddy by sleeping with his hated business rival, woman overcomes confidence problem at a sales meeting by sleeping with sympathetic bartender and nails the sales pitch the next day, etc.).

The conflicts can be superficial or deep. The above ones are all shallow, because when I think of a deep one I keep it for myself.

Once you have your conflicts, development becomes pretty easy: how to move character from point A to point B and what do they think and feel along the way? Does it happen all at once or are there setbacks? Do they need help? What are the obstacles they need to overcome?

This also helps write sex scenes with lots of emotion and drama instead of just tab-a-slot-b descriptions. Is that why she was so drawn to him? she thought. Was he right that she had found an excuse to visit him after hours because she knew her father wouldn't approve? She remembered admiring Jack's body when she saw him walking up to her father outside their beach house, but she hadn't begun imagining those strong arms wrapped around her until they had begun arguing and she recognized he was the first person in her life she had seen who could stand up to her father...

 

[JessikaN135]

For me it is easier to develop the background story for my series because it's taking place in a well-known fantasy universe which naturally provides ideas for the characters' personalities and possible conflicts (conflicts always enrich and deepen a story imo; and erotic writing offers a lot of nice possibilities to solve those conflicts ).

Nevertheless, there seems to be a thin line between a story so straightforward that people call it boring, and another one which burdens the impatient reader with too many details to keep him interested long enough to reach the naughty parts he was looking for in the first place.

I try to keep a subliminal sexual tension up during the character-building parts with regularly explicit innuendos to keep everybody interested. After all, I think this intensifies the atmosphere when the real stuff starts eventually.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I read their horoscopes, and go from there.

Its simple. Almost every famous person or celebrity has an online horoscope, and the horoscope has plenty of the real deal embedded in it.

So who does the character remind you of? Look them up.


http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Alec_Guinness


http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Meryl_Streep

 

[RoyceConnors]

Read my first chapter of Redwood Nine. It gives a perfect example of character development for the main characters within the first third of the chapter and blends right into the story line.
I feel characters need to be introduced as soon as possible in the story, without going into specifics like it's a menu of them. Some of the character's traits don't even appear until chapters later, but it all depends on how they're introduced.

 

[HeyAll]

It's like I always say, write the characters as if you're watching your favorite tv show.

Read your dialogue and imagine that they're the characters of a new HBO or Showtime series. If it comes across as wooden or stiff, rewrite it with more personality to it. Try adding some humor and small talk.