Resources for developing character
This post is in support of a MasterClass workshop I gave on Developing Character at the Kingston WritersFest, September 2018. (My apologies to those of you who are subscribed to my blog and got this post by accident.)
Books
Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) by Lisa Cron
Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams by Laurie Schnebly
The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, by Christopher Vogler
The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws and The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes, both by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Writer’s Guide to Character Traits by Linda N. Edelstein
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski
The Book of Costume by Millia Davenport
Working; People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkle
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
Online
Worthwhile Google searches: “writing about characters worksheet,” “character development,” etc.
Unsplash (an excellent database for looking for characters)
Astrology (my go-to astrology site)
Name generators (fun!)
Gotham Writers’ Workshop Character Profile Worksheet
Creating a believable character
The Ultimate Character Questionnaire (over 150 questions)
33 Ways to Write Stronger Characters
Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers
Dynamic Character: How to Write a Compelling Protagonist (Note: most everything at reedsy.com is worthwhile.)
The Basic Anatomy of a Developed Character
Writing a character sketch on Scrivener
A basic character sketch template
33 Ways to Write Stronger Characters
This Book will Change your Writing Life (about the book Story Genius)
Character mannerisms: Describing character quirks and tics
Creating character: How to make characters come alive
500 Character Quirks and Traits
Character flaw list: 30 intriguing character flaws
How to Create and Use a Character Bible for your Novel
8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character
The Ultimate Character Questionnaire
Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers
How to Write Flashback: 7 Key Steps
7 dialogue rules for writing fantastic conversations
The Perfect Way to Create Fictional Characters
When Your Characters Lack Depth, Interview Them
The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (highly recommended)
Your Ultimate Guide to Character Development: 9 Steps to Creating Memorable Heroes
