Character Development Resource Round-Up
Hey writers. I come today bearing a gift: A collection of resources to help out with character development. I’ve sorted it into categories so that you can easily find what you’re looking for (or just easily sort out what’s what), and I’ve collected here many of the posts I’ve found over the years and saved to my Pinterest boards (you can find my account here if you’d like to see some of the other articles I’ve saved on other aspects of writing, or if you’d like to see my storyboards/character boards/etc., and here are my Writing Tips: Characters and Characters: Creation boards if you’d like even more tips on character development).
General character development
The Art of Transmogrifying Character Notes by Victoria at Something Delicious
How to Craft Positive Character Arcs for Your Novel by Kristen at Well-Storied (formerly known as She’s Novel)
Novel Characters: 15 top character creation tips by Now Novel
8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character by Reedsy
Dynamic vs Static Characters: Definition and Examples by Reedsy
One Frightful Characterization Tip That Will Transform Your Stories by Ruthanne at The Write Practice
Tips To Keep Your Characters In Perspective & Make The Right Impressions With Them by springhole.net
11 Things to Consider if You Want Distinct, Unique Characters by Alyssa at The Honeydrop Post
3 Key Ways To Create Characters That Grip Readers’ Hearts by Jody at Jody Hedlund
8 Necessary Tips for How To Write Child Characters by K.M. Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors
Main Character: Who Is Your Protagonist? by Darcy at Fiction Notes
5 Tips for Developing Character Quirks by R.M. Archer at Scribes & Archers (along with all of the posts following in this section)
Building an Authentic Character Voice
5 Traits of Realistic Characters
Character Profiles – Help or Waste?
Roleplaying and Character Development
Character Motivation – Connecting the Past to the Present
Villains/Antagonists
Creating villain motivations: Writing real adversaries by Now Novel
The Four Main Types of Epic Antagonists by Kristen at Well-Storied
5 Ways to Hide Your Villain in Plain Sight by Kaitlin at Ink and Quills (I love this because I love hiding my villains in plain sight. ;) )
6 Simple Steps to Superbad Villains by Sacha at Sachablack.co
Three Reasons to Make Your Villain Sympathetic (And Two Dangers to Avoid) by Brandon at The Kingdom Pen
5 Traits Every Good Antagonist Should Have by R.M. Archer at Scribes & Archers
Casts
How To Create a Strong Cast of Characters by Stephanie at Go Teen Writers
How to Write an Ensemble Cast by The Author Studio
How to Utilize the Extra Characters In Your Novel by Abigail at Writing Abby
3 Tips for Writing an Ensemble Cast by R.M. Archer (me) at Masterful Manuscripts
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THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I have useless character development sheets, with like 300 random questions and favorites and stuff, and I filled out, like, all of those, but I haven’t the faintest clue for several of the characters’ goals, fears, habits, good and bad traits, etc. Basically everything HELPFUL. So, thank you! :)
Happy to help. :)
Great! This helped me so much!