character development

5 Dimensions of Personality

This is an overarching framework, and encompasses every aspect of personality. Each category houses immense opportunities for color and texture, stemming from a wide variety of personality paradigms (nearly a dozen!) to give a full and nuanced view of your character.

I use this system in my Forensic Character Sketch sessions to pull characters from fuzzy beginnings into vibrant, distinct being.

Presence is how your character comes across to other characters, how he presents himself, holds himself, comports himself. It is the attitude he carries and the energy he exudes. Think stage presence turned page presence.

Does your character have his own mien?

Motivation is everything that moves him. It’s the “why” behind actions, reactions, and emotions.

What prompts your character to act? To react?

Method is the pattern of of choices made in acting on a motivation. It indirectly reveals how he thinks, and can be a clear path to understanding the deeper workings of the mind.

What approach does your character take?

Interaction is how he handles different relationships, how he communicates, what he needs, what he gives, and how close he gets.

How does your character relate to others?

Underpinning is how the character’s mind works at the deepest levels. It is the seat of personality. As such, it houses mental systems that, whether determined by nature or nurture, are the unconscious core of who he is.

Who is your character if you strip away agenda and persona? What is his basic personality?

Pro Tip: Make sure you define a bit in each dimension to round out the character.

You can create hundreds of unique characters, voice and all, using this system of understanding. You are not limited to casting and recasting a few personalities. You are more insightful and inventive than that.

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Writing geekery