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Hi everyone!

I like to know everything about my characters–even if it’s their favorite ice cream flavor. 🙂  So, if there are any of you out there who are like me, I was thinking you could share some of the things you do to develop your characters.  I’ll go first (btw, y’all are free to use any of my ideas if you haven’t thought of them before):

Step 1:  figure out who they are and the basics of their character.  (I like to listen to music to get my gears turning.  Here is my playlist on Spotify that I like to use–it’s only 7 songs, but it helps, if you’re writing action of any kind:  )  If you want, you can give your MC a “theme song”.

Step 2:  take the Myers-Briggs personality test for your MC.  Personally, I use 16personalities.com, which has all the same answers as MB, and, in my opinion, is easier to use.  They also have the strengths and weaknesses, plus additional info, of any personality type, which helps to develop your MC even more.

https://www.16personalities.com/

Step 3:  list off all the things you want to have in your MC.  You can use Pinterest, a computer, or a plain old notebook (which I prefer).  Carve out a chunk of time during the day, bring sustenance, and hunker down for a long period of time. 😉  Include fears, quirks, personality traits, fav things, etc.–anything that comes to mind.

Step 4:  sketch your character.  Or, if you’re like me, find a similar one on Pinterest. 🙂  I think it’s helpful to have an idea of what your MC looks like.

Step 5:  fill out a character questionnaire.  (I like to use Story Embers’ free questionnaire in their resources.)  This takes me multiple days to finish, and even still, I go back and tweak it often.  Note:  make sure you save it!  It’s super frustrating to finish the whole thing then lose it all…

Step 6:  create a sticky note/window list of the things that you want your readers to know about your about your MC.  When writing my first draft, I find it super helpful to keep a list of important info.

Anyway, y’all are probably already familiar with doing that.  That’s just my method (not necessarily in that order, of course).

I’d love it if y’all shared what you do to familiarize yourselves with your MC! 🙂

-Ella