Untitled

Write the worst fucking version you possibly can and stick it in a folder and forget it for a month or two before you look at it again. You know what you have now?

A first draft. And with enough time to think some new thoughts about it, you'll soon end up with a better, second draft! And eventually, you'll end up with something you'd be perfectly okay with letting other people read!

You'll never believe this process works no matter how many times you do it, but it totally does. You just have to drag your brain kicking and screaming to that blank page and get the bones down first.

Here’s our masterlist of 97 character motivations that you can use in your novel to spark an idea for a character arc!

Saving a family member from capture

Saving a sibling from disease

Saving a pet from danger

Saving the world from ruin

Saving a friend from heartbreak

Saving the town from financial ruin

Saving friends from dangerous deadly situations

Saving a love interest from dying

Saving themselves in a dangerous world

Saving a community from falling apart

Saving a child from a potentially dangerous circumstance

Saving a place or location from evil forces

Saving a ghost from limbo

Overcoming a phobia

Overcoming an addiction

Overcoming marital struggles

Moving on from loss

Finding a significant other

Finding a new family (not blood-related)

Finding true biological family

Finding out an old secret

Finding a way home

Reconnecting with long-lost friends

Getting out of a dark state of mind

Finding peace in life

Beating a disease

Beating an arch nemesis

Forming a peaceful community

Transforming a location

Bringing someone back to life

Winning a competition

Going on an adventure

Getting a dream job

Keeping a secret

Escaping a location of capture

Proving a moral point

Proving a political point

Winning a political campaign

Betray someone

Ruin someone’s life

Find a suspect or killer

Find the answer to a mystery

Discover ancient sites & secret histories

Perform a successful ritual

Summon the dead

Save a country from dictatorship

Become the most powerful in a community

Outshine a family member in business success

Prove someone wrong

Win prize money to help someone in need

Get revenge on someone who wronged them

Find the person who wronged them

Develop significant scientific progress

Gain respect from family

Get over an ex-lover

Move on from a painful death

Keep their community alive

Lead their community

Heal people in need

Preserve a species (animal, alien, plant…)

Discover new world

Get recognition for hard work

Become famous

Get rich to prove themselves to people who doubted them

Break a long tradition

Challenge the status quo of a community

Defeat a magical nemesis

Take over a location to rule

Find out truth behind old legends

Help someone get over their struggles

Prove their moral values

Prove their worth to an external party

Become a supernatural creature

Keep something from falling into the wrong hands

Protect the only person they care about

Start a revolution

Invent new technology

Invent a new weapon

Win a war

Fit in with a community

Atone for past sins

Give top-secret information to an enemy as revenge

Kill an ex-lovers current partner

Reinvent themselves

Raise a strong child

Make it to a location in a strict time period

Find faith

Find enlightenment

Find out more about the afterlife

Confess love to a friend

Solve a moral dilemma

Have a child of their own

Avoid being alone

Run away from past struggles

Reinvent themselves as a new person

Impress a colleague or boss

Avoid a fight or war breaking out

If you need a hand getting started on your novel, we have 3 coaches at The Plottery who can work with you intensively for 4 month to skill up your writing and help you finish your first draft.

Apply through the [link here] or below!

If someone has something, either an object or an attribute, that your character covets, they may show signs of envy. You can show envy through associated emotions and your characters' behaviours and expressions.

How do they behave?

Compare themselves to others

A dismissive attitude

Downplay the achievements of others

Frustration or disbelief at others’ success

Show signs of longing or desire

Show grudging admiration

Exhibit copycat behaviour

Show signs of low self-esteem

Be excessively competitive

How do they interact?

Mock and belittle the person they envy

Be overly critical

Be passive aggressive

Be insincerely complimentary

Use sarcasm when talking about the achievements of others

Be obsessive or hyperfocused

Use manipulation to get what they want

Forget about personal boundaries

Rude or short in conversation

Describe their body language

Closed off and arms crossed

Frequently roll their eyes

Avoid direct eye contact

Tensed muscles

Biting lips or pouting

Disapproving facial expression

Red cheeks through anger or embarrassment

Leaning closer to the object of their desire

False smiles

Genuine joy when they’re in the presence of what they desire

Positive outcomes

Envious characters can become motivated to improve themselves to make them worthy of what they desire. If their envy becomes uncontrollable, they may also find personal growth in removing themselves from the situation and finding a new direction in life. It also allows characters the chance to develop empathy toward the person whom they envy or who possesses something that they covet, letting them finally appreciate what they already have.

Negative Outcomes

Long-term envy can lead to lots of negative emotions like resentment, anger, and low self-esteem. This will affect relationships with those around them, leading them to break down or require conflict resolution in order to overcome.

Useful Synonyms

Jealous

Covetous

Resentful

Grudging

Begrudging

Green-eyed

Yearning

Desirous

Longing

Grasping

Greedy

Hungering

Thirsting

Avaricious

Craving

Malcontent

Dissatisfied

Lustful

Wistful

Bee begins the show fired from her job, in a studio apartment, unsure what she wants to do in her life, taking temp jobs

Puppycat is scolded as a child that if he doesn’t learn to do *something* he’ll end up as a candy collector. Which he does, and fails to do that too when his relationship wrecks his life.

Violet was pulled down along with him. She can’t even live, she’s in a coma!

Deckard is flunking out of cooking school because he can’t bake (yet).

Cas was at the bottom of her boxing league, then forces herself to do software coding, which she doesn’t enjoy.

Toast has now been degraded to the bottom of the league, due to Cas leaving.

Crispin ran away to the circus, and it looks like he’s trying to make art now?

Howell can’t cook like Deckard, so he struggles to keep the cat café in business.

When Tim was flipping through his notebook, it’s revealed that Merlin did not graduate from medical school after all!

some book tropes to choose from so you can have inspiration for the plot of your story !!

ROMANCE:

amnesia/forgetting your actual lover and remembering another person

stuck together: elevator/locked together in a room

forbidden love

housemates/roommates

immortal x mortal

the older brother gets the girl

the villain gets the girl

bodyguard crush x stubborn (or not) girl

love triangle turned into a reverse harem instead

time travel/lover from the past

supernatural creature x human

MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR:

cannibalism

main character is the actual killer

accidentally summoning evil

infection/apocalypse

villains that do not die

secret government facilities/secrets you weren't supposed to know

creepy children

cosmic horror/fear of the unknown

psychological/hallucinations/delusions/brainwashing/"am i going crazy?"

stalker that can follow you ANYWHERE

red herring (fooling/tricking the audience to dislike/feel suspicious about a certain character as a distraction)

final girl

failed human experiments/mad scientist

kidnapped by a cult

nobody actually killed anyone, the victim killed (or accidentally) killed their self

clever serial killer

FANTASY/SCI-FI:

acquiring superpowers from a successful experiment or other ways

parallel/multi-universe

humans are the actual aliens

dystopian/post-apocalyptic

higher celestial power

a portal to another/magical world

badass female main characters

being a descendant of a powerful clan

discovering hidden supernatural powers

villain and hero teaming up to defeat a bigger threat

misunderstood prophecy

Antagonists are one of the most important characters in your book. Without an antagonist, writers wouldn’t have a story to write in the first place. They bring the action, drama, trauma and many other factors that are often the reason for a book’s success. However, their pivotal role in the book is often why antagonists can come across as poorly-written one-dimensional characters. 

From stereotypical backstories to a lack of humanisation, authors often make simple mistakes that can result in a cliche or boring antagonist. Are you struggling to create a compelling antagonist for your WIP? Here are some tips to help you get started. 

Give Your Antagonist A Clear Motive 

People don’t just wake up one day and decide they want to fundamentally alter society and possibly end the world. Or, maybe they do, but their idealogy starts somewhere. Voldemort wanted to change the wizarding world because he loathed muggles due to his parents, Hannibal’s tragic past triggered his cannibalistic tendencies. 

Every antagonist has a reason for their crimes, and it's important to understand your antagonist’s motives and goals in order to create a compelling villain. Start with your antagonist’s backstory. 

Did they have a tragic childhood? Did they desperately want to achieve a certain goal but failed and were driven insane? Are they following someone? Are they being manipulated? There is an endless list of possible reasons you can choose from in order to create a compelling motive for your antagonist. 

Make Your Antagonist Multi-Dimensional 

Once you have established their initial reasoning it’s time to go into more detail. I would start by taking their dynamic with the other characters into consideration. Why do they despise the protagonist? Do they want to simply remove the obstacles in their way or do they have a personal vendetta? 

It’s also important to consider the other characters. Is there a mentor figure in your book who the antagonist has a personal vendetta against? What about their allies and henchmen? How did they meet them? Did the antagonist start off alone or have they worked with the same group of people since the start? 

Your readers don’t necessarily need to know every single detail of your antagonist’s past, but having a clear understanding of their motives and dynamics can help you create a clear image of the antagonist. For example, they could be particularly spiteful towards the protagonist’s best friend because she is the daughter of the antagonist’s ex-ally. This could make for an easy subplot or come in handy if you need to distract the antagonist in a fight scene. 

Make Your Readers Empathise With Them 

When developing a motive authors should always look for a way to make their readers empathise with the antagonist. Show us why we should feel sorry for them, tell us they could have had a promising future if it weren’t for an unjust moment in their lives. When you make your readers feel conflicted about your antagonist they become more than just a character on the page. 

Your readers begin to question whether their tragic past justifies their actions, some might root for them, others might dislike them more and regard them as apathetic. However, the goal is to make your readers view your antagonist as more than just the person causing issues for your protagonist. 

Give Them Strengths And Weaknesses 

Everyone hates a Mary Sue protagonist, but the same can be said for an antagonist. Think of it this way—if your antagonist is an all-powerful flawless villain who could destroy the world if they wanted to, then why haven’t they already won? Why do they have to fight the protagonist? 

The good vs bad, protagonist vs antagonist dynamic only entices readers if they can’t tell who is going to come on top at the end of it all. This is why it’s essential to give your antagonist appropriate strengths and weaknesses. 

Here’s an example of an antagonist with appropriate strengths and weaknesses: a main antagonist is an all-powerful witch who wants to destroy the protagonist’s home country but she lost most of her power in a fight against the mentor and can’t gain them back without a special artefact. 

This example shows your readers how big of a threat the antagonist is while also providing her with appropriate strengths and shortcomings. This can look a little different depending on the genre you write for. Maybe the antagonist in a romcom wants to get the love interest married off to a side character and has the leverage to do so but the main character is introduced to the love interest’s family to try and sway the antagonist’s plans.  

You don’t need to create a comprehensive list of all of your antagonist’s strengths and weaknesses, but it’s important to have a proper understanding of what puts them in a position to easily combat your protagonist and what stops them from outright winning. 

Showcase Their (Negative) Impact On The Story 

An antagonist can only be labelled as such if they actively do things to hinder or harm the protagonist. Simply saying your antagonist is a bad person isn’t enough, you need to show your readers this too. 

When you start reading Harry Potter it is made clear that Voldemort was an all-powerful wizard who severely damaged the wizarding world during the first war, however, his bad deeds aren’t only reserved for the past. He was also just as evil in the present and was out to harm Harry from the first book itself. 

From small confrontations with the protagonists to entire fights, it’s important to create a range of situations and chapters that can showcase your antagonist’s ‘true colours’. 

Keep Their Personality Consistent 

Just like every other character, it is important to ensure you have a consistent personality type for your antagonist. An antagonist regularly spotted in a suit known for their professional and calculative plans wouldn’t casually joke around with the protagonists during a showdown. The way they contradict the protagonist should also be reflective of their personality. 

You should also take their personal history into consideration and how that could impact their dynamics with certain characters. For example, a character like Tom Riddle who despised both of his parents would likely be spiteful whenever they see the protagonist with their mentor figure and could even target the mentor out of spite. 

The only time an antagonist’s personality should change is during a pivotal point in the book’s plot. Maybe the put-together antagonist shows off their frustrated side when the protagonist outwits them, maybe they let out maniacal laughter when the protagonist asks them about their motives. 

It’s important to treat your antagonists like humans and consider how a person with that personality would realistically react to the situations they are in. 

Avoid Creating A Stereotypical Antagonist 

Nobody likes an overdone cliche. When writing your antagonist try to avoid creating stereotypical villains. Here are a few examples of stereotypical antagonists and how to avoid them: 

The Evil Mastermind: Instead of making the antagonist an all-powerful villain with no weaknesses, give them flaws and limitations that can be exploited by the protagonist. Make the antagonist's motives more complex than just wanting to take over the world, and consider giving them a personal connection to the protagonist or a sympathetic backstory.

The Brainwashed Henchman: Rather than having the antagonist control their minions through brainwashing or mind control, make the henchman have agency and free will. Consider making the henchman conflicted about their role, or have them question the antagonist's motives and methods.

The Vengeful Ex-Lover: Instead of making the antagonist a scorned lover seeking revenge, consider giving them a different motivation for their actions. For example, the antagonist might be seeking revenge for a perceived betrayal, or they might be trying to protect someone they care about.

The Unfeeling Machine: Rather than making the antagonist a cold, calculating machine with no emotions, consider giving them a personal stake in the conflict. The antagonist might be acting out of fear or desperation, or they might be struggling with moral dilemmas related to their actions.

The Crazy Cult Leader: Instead of making the antagonist a stereotypical cult leader with a group of brainwashed followers, consider giving them a more nuanced personality. The antagonist might genuinely believe in their cause and be able to convince others to follow them, or they might be struggling with doubts and conflicts within their own ideology.

Avoid ‘One Man Armies’ 

Let’s be honest, one evil wizard cannot destroy your protagonist’s entire world by themselves. Just like protagonists have mentors, allies, coworkers, friends and sidekicks your antagonists need to have allies too. Voldemort didn’t conquer the entire wizarding world by himself right after graduating from Hogwarts, he instead built his troops and only fought Dumbledore once he was ready. 

When worldbuilding for your novel it’s important to create some semblance of character development for background antagonists as well as the lead antagonists. 

I hope this blog on how to develop a memorable antagonist will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.  

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

So you want to make an OC?: A Masterpost of Ways to Create, Develop, and Make Good OCs!

i made this masterpost in hopes that it helps you in making your own OCs ah;; it can also apply to developing RP characters i suppose! if you’d like to add more resources then go for it sugar pea (´ヮ`)!

How to Write Better OCs:

basic tips on how to make your oc even better

tragic backstory? learn how to write one/make yours great

writing specific characters

a wordier, great guide on how to develop your character

kick out those vague descriptions and make them AWESOME

Character Development:

how to actually make an OC

Q&A (to develop characters)

more Q&As

giving your character a backstory

how to write an attractive character

Diversity

adding more racial diversity

avoiding tokenism, AKA, how to add diversity to your cast not just because you “need” it

writing sexuality and gender expression (doesnt include non binary, if you have a good ref to that, please add on!)

masterpost on writing more diversity into your story

cultures of the world

guides to drawing different ethnicities (not just a great art reference, but also really helpful in appearance descriptions!)

Villains

villain generator

need an evil sounding name for your evil character? bam

villain archetypes

what’s your villain’s motive for being a villain?

Relationships

character perceptions (What your character thinks of themselves and what others think of them)

how to write strong relationships between two characters

8 ways to write better characters and develop their relationships with others

OCxLove Interest Handbook 

develop your couple with good ol’ Q&A!

how to write realistic relationships

how to write relatives for your characters (this is more OC related to a canon character, but will help in writing family members in general)

ARCHETYPES

12 common archetypes

8 archetypes for male/female characters

female archetypes (goes pretty indepth from two main categories)

a list of archetypes

NAMES

how to name your character

random name generator

most common surnames

surnames by ethnicity

APPEARANCE

tips for better design

basic appearance generator

pinterest board for character design (includes NSFW and images of skeletons/exposed muscle (?) so tread carefully!)

clothing ref masterpost

DETAILS

give your character better powers

a list of professions

proactive vs reactive characters

positive and negative traits

interest generator

skills generator

motivation generator

123 ideas for character flaws

list of phobias

Writing a chapter for the first time can be overwhelming, because well… what actually makes a chapter?

Really, it’s entirely up to you. But I know that’s useless advice, so here are some steps I personally use to help you structure your chapter effectively

📌 Step 1 - Determine the main point of your chapter What is a singular plot point, event, character arc point, or relationship progression/regression that you would like to dedicate this chapter to?

📌 Step 2 - Determine the change What changes in this chapter? Whatever event you decided to tackle, it should show a different situation at the beginning of your chapter from the end. What happened that changed that initial situation you opened with?

📌 Step 3 - Determine the scenes Now that you’ve got the main idea of your chapter down, and you know it showcases a change, you can get a bit more detailed with it. Separate it into scenes by thinking of the locations where this change takes place. Each new location = a new scene.

📌 Step 4 - Determine the beats Beats are an even smaller story structure element than scenes. It’s anything important that happens within a scene, it’s anything worth noting down. Here's an example of a simple chapter breakdown →

Chapter 1 Annie’s first day at school after a car accident she was involved in the previous week. She goes from accepting help to proving she doesn’t need it.

Scene 1 (bus)

Annie is hesitant to get on the bus

With the help of her best friend, she manages the trip to school

Scene 2 (class)

teacher is shocked to see Annie back so quickly

Annie feels annoyed by the extra attention on her

Scene 3 (lunch)

Annie’s friends treat her as if she’s going to break

the drama teacher comes by to announce a new play, but tells Annie she’s excused under the circumstances

Scene 4 (hallway)

Annie signs up for the lead of the project to prove she’s fine

By the way...

Plotter’s Almanac is dropping in just 4 days! This book will guide you in outlining your project from beginning to end, and shine light on the things you should focus on when you actually start to write!

Here’s a quick cheat-sheet to some common terms you may run into during your writing career!

Alpha reader: A person that reads the manuscript with the knowledge it is unfinished and provides content feedback & support (like a coach, mentor or friend).

Beta reader: A person that reads the manuscript for the purpose of finding plot holes, sensitivity issues, and provide feedback, pre-publication.

Back matter or End matter: Additional content at the end of a book, such as acknowledgements, author bio, afterword, etc.

Front matter: Content preceeding the beginning of a book, such as publication information, dedication, title page, table of contents etc.

House: A publishing house.

Developmental editing: Editing that helps develop the content of a book, point out logic, inconsistencies, and focus the idea.

Line editing: Editing that helps the consistency and concision of the author’s style, finds redundancies, and fixes grammar.

Copy editing: Editing that focuses on grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.

Passive voice: In passive voice, the subject is the person or thing being acted upon.

Active voice: In active voice, the person or thing performing the action serves as the subject of the sentence.

Flash fiction: Extremely short stories, usually of up to 1,000 words.

In medias res: Starting the narrative from the middle of the story.

Deus ex machina: Term for a common trope where all issues are resolved by a god-like force, typically when one writes themselves into a corner and cannot resolve the conflict in any other way.

Head hopping: A common error in narrative perspective, where the writer gives access to internal thoughts of two or more characters within a scene.

Dialogue tags: Sentences that frame dialogue to let the reader know who’s speaking.

Story beat: A structural element of narrative that signals a shift in tone, plot, or character. Can be used for chapters, scenes, and outlines.

Pacing: The rate at which a story progresses.

Pinch point: An event in the plot that adds pressure to the characters.

Plot point: A major turning point in a story structure.

Logline: The story summary in one single sentence, much like a premise or an elevator pitch.

Synopsis: A detailed description of a story’s plot, for the purpose of sharing with literary agents.

R&R: Revise & resend: A changed or revised manuscript requested by agents or editors.

Manuscript: The main body of an unpublished book.

Shelf time: The time during which you set aside your project to come back to it with a fresh perspective.

Zero draft or vomit draft: A draft written by the author solely for themselves, used to get the story out on the page without external pressure.

Exposition: Where background explanation about the story, world, or characters is provided.

Subtext: The meaning behind the text, the dialogue, the plot, or the characters.

MC: Main character.

Motif: An image, phrase, or symbol repeated throughout the book for thematic significance.

Theme: The moral statement, argument, or question at the heart of a story.

Trope: A cliched story element, particular to certain genres.

Creating unique and interesting characters is essential to any good story. Here are some ideas for character personalities to help you develop your own characters:

The Rebel: A character who defies authority and rules, often causing conflict but also inspiring change. Stubborn, working for a greater cause, but often ignores those closest to them.

The Optimist: A character who always sees the bright side of things, even in the darkest of situations. They might be the comic relief, and they’ll tend to be naive in dangerous situations and often put themselves at risk of heartbreak because they see the best in people.

The Pessimist: A character who always expects the worst, often bringing down the mood of those around them. They might be very sarcastic, witty, and grumpy, and they can only be handled well by certain characters - they match well with softer, laidback personalities.

The Perfectionist: A character who strives for perfection in everything they do, often to the point of obsession. They’ll never really be satisfied with anything they achieve, no matter how good it is, and they have trouble with friendships and relationships.

The Joker: A character who uses humor to cope with difficult situations, but may also use it to mask their true feelings. They often feel a lot worse than they let on, and they put others ahead of themselves.

The Loner: A quiet character who prefers solitude and may struggle with forming connections with others, though they tend to be quite emotionally smart and observant.

The Leader: A character who takes charge and inspires others to follow them, but they can get carried away with the power in their hands. They’re confident and they know it, and they often end up hurting people with their behavior.

The Follower: A character who prefers to take direction from others and may struggle with making decisions on their own. These are often very passive characters who rely on help from others - typically from one specific protector.

The Nurturer: A character who is caring and compassionate, often putting others' needs before their own, and making sure that everybody else is happy. They have people-pleasing tendencies and will hide their own opinions if they find it might upset others.

The Adventurer: A character who is always seeking out new experiences and challenges. They may be impulsive and thrill-seeking, but also courageous and resourceful.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Remember, the key to creating memorable characters is to make them unique and multi-dimensional, beyond the archetype of personality that they fit into!

The Character Bible and my two other Writer’s Toolboox are dropping in just 8 days! They’ll have masses of resources, materials, character theory and even customizable character sheets.

Struggling to sit down and write? You're not alone! Embrace the messiness of your first draft and focus on making sense of it in the second. Let’s dedicate ourselves to healing our writer mindsets this year! It's all about finding your own little methods of getting the words out.

Writing is a daunting task! It is easy to put off writing because it can be a time-consuming and challenging task. Accept the simple fact that WRITING IS HARD.

You may be worrying that your writing won't be good enough, which can be a paralyzing fear that keeps you from even starting. It is natural to want your writing to be the best it can be, but striving for perfection can lead to procrastination and self-doubt.

Embrace the fact that your first draft is going to be sh*t.

The second draft is where you actually want to aim for your story to start making sense and clicking together, NOT the first.

So what do I recommend?

Dedicate yourself to heal your mindset as a writer by:

Blocking in time to write and respect it as a plan

Treating off-page work & prewriting as productive work on your novel

Eliminating distractions while you’re writing

When you run into a wall, figure out why (go back to your off-page work and figure out what isn’t working!)

Accepting that the first draft can be a mess (it will be!)

Keeping notes of changes you want to make for your second draft

Finding a method of writing that keeps the words flowing (by hand, typewriter, freewriter, screen off, etc.)

Despite the plethora of advice that tells us our first draft doesn’t have to be perfect, we still fall into that trap because we think - well, that doesn’t apply to me, right? I’m capable, so it has to work first time.

It doesn’t. It won’t.

Even multiple-times published authors struggle with their first drafts, but they’ve all got their own little methods of getting the words out!

People contradict themselves—and so do characters. In fact, in the last alternative character creation I shared with you all, a prime step to creating your character is to come up with their contradiction. What could cause them to completely go back on their core characteristic?

This is an important step to creating any character because it’s a super easy way to create depth in characters. The fact is, people are never truly just what they seem on the surface, people contradict themselves. The super nice person gets touchy around mention of their family, the outgoing person never talks about their secret insecurity. It’s in-line with creating a secret for every character, but think of something that seems nothing like them—and yet still makes sense.

When contradictions come to me, they come as additional character traits. It’s an of course! Moment. Don’t try to force it. When I was younger I intentionally added lots of different contradictions, but all it did was create the sense of a wish-washy character that couldn’t really be known. So a contradiction—contradicts... but it still makes sense, you should feel it lines up with your character, it just adds a bit of layering.

Some examples:

1. A socially anxious character speaks up for their best friend.

2. A confident character breaks when people dislike them

3. A mean character is really kind and fun with their younger nieces and nephews

4. An isolated character loves thrills

5. Two characters directly contradict each other and yet get along perfectly

Guide: Character Back Stories

What is a Character Back Story?

From the day you’re born, you begin racking up experiences that are a result of your environment, the people around you, and the things that happen to you. These experiences, and how they affected you, play a huge role in who you are at every stage of your life by influencing things like: personality, likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, pet peeves and fears, wants and needs, skills and career, hobbies and interests, knowledge and the choices you make are all affected by your previous experiences. All of those things can be transformed over and over again throughout life, especially when we go through “life-changing” experiences.

We want our characters to feel as real as possible to our reader, so a part of creating a realistic character is understanding their personal history and the effect their past experiences have had on who they are when the story begins. In fact, part of the point of stories about people (both fiction and non-fiction) is to examine how their experiences (or, more importantly, a life-changing event) changes who they are. That’s what we call a “character arc” in fiction.

How Do You Figure Out a Character’s Back Story?

Different writers have different processes for figuring out a character’s back story. Some writers like to create a fully fleshed out character and then figure out how that back story affects how they move through the plot. Other writers like to plot out how the character will move through the plot, then figure out what experiences might have led to those beliefs, desires, experiences, etc. And some people (like me) do a combination of the two, creating a basic framework for the back story, but tweaking and adding things as they become necessary throughout the story.

Cause and Effect: Experiences and Impact on Choices

Since your character’s experiences affect who they become and the choices they make, it’s important to consider the cause and effect relationship between experiences and choices. First, let’s look at a possible experience and see if we can brainstorm some possibilities for how it might affect the character’s traits:

Let’s say your character survived a bad flood as a child. How might that experience impact the following traits?

Personality - they might be a little high strung and panicky because they never feel truly safe in their environment.

Likes and Dislikes - they might like things that feel safe and secure. They probably dislike things that involve being on or near water.

Hopes and Dreams - they may dream of living someplace inland where there aren’t a lot of lakes and rivers. Or, maybe they dream of a career where they can prevent future floods.

Pet Peeves and Fears - they might be annoyed by people who enjoy water-related activities like fishing and boating. They might be afraid of big bodies of water and avoid being near it at all cost.

Wants and Needs - they might want or even need things that keep them away from bodies of water, like if they have to visit a place normally accessed by boat, they might need to find an alternate route, like flying or taking the long way by road.

Skills and Career - they may have acquired any number of survival skills during the flood, such as performing first aid and CPR. They may have enjoyed administering first aid during the flood, so they might choose a career as a first responder or medical personnel.

Hobbies and Interests - probably none of their interests and hobbies involve being on or near water. But maybe they have a strange fascination with painting bodies of water, or with reading about shipwrecks.

Knowledge and Choices - they may have a lot of knowledge about floods, why they happen, how things go wrong, what to do and not to do in a flood, laws and regulations meant to prevent flooding, knowing how water impacts the body, etc. And they may make choices that lead them to any of the above or away from them, as necessary.

These are all things you can brainstorm with a little thought, imagination, and research. But, if you can get a hold of The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, do it… because these handy writing reference books not only walk you through potential causes of various traits, they also provide the behaviors and attitudes that commonly result from them. Knowing that helps you understand how your character’s cynicism affects their choices and moves them through the story.

How to Implement Back Story as You Write

Since you have fleshed out the cause and effect of your character’s experiences, you can start to look at things that happen in the story, then figure out how that resulting trait impacts any particular thing they have to say or do. You can do this systematically during the planning process, or you can do it as you write, always keeping in mind how these traits impact their choices.

How to Flesh Out/Organize Back Story Details

Your character’s back story should be a part of the overall character development you do when you create your character, so how you flesh out and organize those details will depend on your planning process. You may want to include back story details in an overall character summary, or you might include them in a character profile. You can find templates for these all over online, just be cautious of templates that are too detailed. No one cares what your character’s favorite gum flavor is, or whether they prefer glue or tape. Try to stick to fleshing out details that matter in the story, and the same is true of back story details.

Good luck with your story!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Visit my FAQ

See my Master List of Top Posts

by HEY, Writers!

How to End Dialogue

How to Tell if a Scene has Too Much Dialogue

Writing Banter

by other Tumblrs

Writing Dialogue in Stories: Some Tips and Advice | skysplitter

Insults and Banter Among Friends | writingquestionsanswered

Breaking Your Mold to Write Character Voice | radicalrevisions

from other Sites

‘Nodded’: Ditching Dialogue Crutches

Writing Hints: Attributives, Modifiers, Scenes and Looking in the Mirror

Fiction: Attributive Clauses