Tag: writing resources

The 5 Absolute Dimensions of Character Personality

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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.

 

Original article:
Writing geekery

Story telling essentials

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STEP 1: PLOT

PLOTTING RESOURCES

  1. CHOOSE YOUR GENRE
  2. STEAL A STORY IDEA
  3. THE ONE PAGE NOVEL PLOT FORMULA
  4. THE FOOL’S JOURNEY 
  5. HOW TO USE A PLOT FORMULA

TROUBLESHOOTING

  1. STOP UP A PLOT HOLE
  2. CREATE A SURPRISE PLOT TWIST

STEP 2: CHARACTER

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES

  1. NAME YOUR CHARACTER
  2. CHOOSE YOUR NARRATOR AND DECIDE HOW TO USE THEM
  3. DECIDE ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW CHARACTER
  4. Find your character’s inner voice

These 2 worksheets guide you through discovering how your character sounds in               their own head:

  1. EXPRESSING THOUGHTS
  2. EXPRESSING EMOTIONS
  1. DECIDE ON YOUR CHARACTER’S CAREER
  2. GIVE YOUR CHARACTER A QUIRK
  3. DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTER

TROUBLESHOOTING

  1. DISCOVER YOUR CHARACTER’S MOTIVATION
  2. LOVE YOUR ANTAGONIST

STEP 3: WORLD

WORLDBUILDING RESOURCES

  1. CHOOSE A SCENE SETTING
  2. TRAVERSE YOUR WORLD’S GEOGRAPHY
  3. EXPLORE YOUR WORLD’S POLITICAL SITUATION

TROUBLESHOOTING

  1. CREATING THE RIGHT MOOD
  2. IMAGINE BETTER

 

Original article:
Eadeverell dot com

Writing vivid setting

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Writing vivid setting: Mastering ‘place’

Day 1: The core elements of setting

 

Understanding the core elements of setting

Setting is the fascinating ‘where’ of stories. The magical forests, bustling cities, towering fortresses, and interstellar voyages. It’s also the ‘when’. You might want to write a regency romance set in the early 19th Century, or a futuristic dystopian epic set in another galaxy. The core elements of setting, then, are:

  • Place (geography, i.e. planets, continents, countries, cities, streets, mountains, caves, rivers, etc.)
  • Time (past, present and future, i.e. historical eras, seasons, days of the week, times of day)
  • Description: The unique elements (colours, sounds, textures, smells, atmospheres) that give settings their individual character
  • Mood: The overarching feeling evoked by a setting (for example the doom and gloom of Tolkien’s dark, sulfurous Mordor)

Both place and time include, besides the natural or built environment, society. The social rules and customs in a place and time contribute to how a setting affects characters.

In the most evocative and memorable settings, setting itself is almost a character. Like a person it might be bright and cheery, or glum and melancholic. In the next few days, we’ll explore ways to make your settings have these individual, intriguing qualities.

Continue reading “Writing vivid setting” →