character development essay writing

Writing a Character Analysis Essay | Step-by-Step Guide

I’m also going to give you a ton of examples.

This post is split into four parts for easy navigation:

What is a Character Analysis Essay?
What is the best Format to Use?
11 Character Analysis Example Ideas
Template, Checklist and Outline for Your own Piece

In this post, I’m going to explain to you clearly and in a step-by-step way how to conduct a character analysis.

1. What is a Character Analysis Essay?

Let’s get you started with some really simple details about what a character analysis is:

A Quick Definition: A character analysis essay zooms-in on a character in a book, movie or even real life. It provides what we sometimes call a ‘sketch’ of a character.
The Purpose of a Character Analysis: The purpose of a character analysis is to reveal interesting details about the character that might contain a broader moral message about the human condition. For example, Atticus Finch is not just a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird. Rather, he provides us with a moral message about the importance of doing what you believe is right even though you know you will likely fail.

2. What is the best Character Analysis Essay Format?

Character analysis essays do not have just one format.

However, let me offer some advice that might act as a character analysis essay outline or ‘checklist’ of possible things you could discuss:

1. Start with the Simple Details.

You can start a character analysis by providing a simple, clear description of who your character is. Look at some basic identity traits such as:

Race (if relevant)
Social class (if relevant)
Protagonist or Antagonist? A protagonist is the character who is our central character in the plot; the antagonist is often the protagonist’s opponent or challenger.
Major or minor character?

2. What are the character’s distinctive personality features?

Your character might have some really clearly identifiable character traits. It’s best to highlight in your character analysis the exact traits that this character possesses. Some common character traits include:

I recommend you take a moment to write down what you think the top 3 to 5 words are that you’d use to explain your character’s personality traits. These will be important to discuss throughout your character analysis.

Sometimes a character may start out with some personality traits, but change over the course of the text. This is quite common; and one clear example of this is Lady Macbeth she deteriorates from a cutthroat power player to a guilt ridden shell of a person roaming the halls of the castle. This dramatic character change is something that makes her very interesting, and is worthy of discussion!

3. What are the character’s key relationships?

Does your character have a close relationship with a certain person in the storyline?

You might want to discuss the character’s relationships as a part of your character analysis. These relationships may reveal some key personality traits of your character.

For example, in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Horatio is the loyal offsider to Hamlet. Through his actions in staying by Hamlet through thick and thin, we learn that he is a deeply loyal character.

Examining the character’s relationships with their friends and foes therefore is very useful for digging deeper into who this character actually is, and what personality traits they have when they are put to the test within the narrative.

4. What are the character’s motivations?

Another thing you might want to examine are the character’s motivations . What do they desire most in the world? Some common motivations for characters in stories are:

A simple life
To serve others

This list really could be endless, but I hope the above examples give you a bit of an idea of the sorts of traits to look out for. By mentioning and examining the motivations of the character, we will come closer and closer to learning exactly what moral message this character might be able to tell us.

5. What are the character’s key conflicts?

Stories tend to have a beginning, a complication, and a resolution.

The complication involves conflicts and challenges that need to be overcome. For Edmund in Narnia, it’s cowardice. For Romeo and Juliet, it’s the conflict between love and family loyalty. Here’s some other common conflicts for characters:

Whether to stay loyal to a friend;
To overcome obstacles to love;
To seek a way out of a challenging situation;
To escape war or poverty;
To persevere through imprisonment;
To overcome personal fear

Again, this list is endless.

Knowing the character’s core conflict gets us even closer to knowing the moral that the character is trying to teach us.

For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the challenge of Romeo and Juliet being together despite their families’ objections teaches us something. Personally, I believe it teaches us the importance of letting go of old grudges in order to let love bloom.

This moral lesson was taught to us through conflict: namely, the conflict that Romeo and Juliet were right in the center of.

6. What are the character’s epiphanies?

Sometimes a character has an epiphany. This often happens towards the end of the story and helps the character overcome the challenge or conflict that we discussed in the point above.

Here’s an example of an epiphany:

In the Lion King, Simba runs away from his tribe to live in exile. After a chance encounter with his childhood friend Nala, he has an epiphany that he has a duty to his tribe. This leads him back home to fight Scar and return freedom to Pride Rock.

Not all characters have an epiphany. But, if they do, I strongly encourage you to write about it in your character analysis.

7. Examine the moral message the character teaches us.

Finally, conclude by examining the moral message behind the character. Nearly every character has something to teach the reader. Authors put a lot of thought into creating complex characters with whom we can relate. We relate to the character and say “wow, they taught me a lesson about something!”

The lesson might be something like:

Money doesn’t buy happiness;
Loyalty to family comes above all else;
Love gives life meaning;
Honesty is always the best policy

This is the core of your character analysis essay. If you can pick out exactly what moral message the character teaches you, you’ll be well on your way to writing a strong character analysis.

Below I’m going to give you some examples to help you out. I know it can be hard to really get your head around a character, so sometimes the best thing is to look at some samples!

3. Here’s 13 Example Character Analysis Essay Ideas.

Most times when we create a character analysis, we’re exploring the deeper moral stories / aspects of humanity. Here’s some example ideas. I’ve tried to outline in less than a paragraph exactly what your key point will be about each character:

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird: A character who teaches us a lesson about standing up for what’s right, even if you know you’re likely to lose.
Huckleberry Finn from Huckleberry Finn: A character who reveals our inner desire for freedom from the elements of society that constrain us.
Dudley from Harry Potter: A character whose personality tells us a cautionary tale of the perils of middle-class narcissism, parents’ desire to wrap their children in cotton wool, and the lack of discipline we perceive in contemporary childhoods.
Jack from Lord of the Flies: A character who represents the innate desire for power that seems to lurk not too far from the surface of the human condition. When social structures are stripped away, he quickly reverts to violence and superstition to assert control over his peers.
Lady Macbeth from Macbeth: Lady Macbeth teaches us a valuable lesson about the perils of contravening our own morality. She starts out a cutthroat killer but is increasingly consumed by the guilt of her own actions. While we may be able to escape full punishment from outside forces, it is the inner guilt that might eat us away to our last.
The Boy who Cried Wolf: The boy who cried wolf is a character whose fatal flaw is his desire for attention and adulation. His repeated attempts at gaining the attention of others leads the townspeople to no longer take him seriously, which causes him harm when he actually needs the villagers to take him seriously to save his life. He teaches us the virtue of honest and humility.
Nick Carraway from the Great Gatsby: Nick shows us all the inner conflict between the trappings of wealth, glamor and spectacle; and the desire for simplicity, honesty and community. He is drawn by the dazzling world of East Egg, New York, but by the end of the novel sees live in East Egg as shallow and lacking the moral depth of his former life in small town Minnesota.
Alice from Alice in Wonderland: In many ways, Alice represents the child within all of us. She is a character of goodwill to all and who looks upon the world (or, rather, Wonderland) with awe. Travelling with a cadre of flawed characters, she learns with them the importance of seeking strength from within.
The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet: Like many Shakespearian characters, the nurse’s role is both as loyal confidante to a central character and comic relief. Shakespeare uses minor characters to regale his crowd and sustain viewer interest between scenes.
Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Lucy represents a surprising character whose youthfulness and small stature make her an underrated character by all around her. Nonetheless, she possesses within the bravery and loyalty necessary to carry out the quest for Aslan. Lucy represents the goodness in children and, by extension, all of mankind.
Anne in Anne of Green Gables: Anne occupies the typical literary role of young girls in many classical novels: she represents innocence and wonder, and her contraventions of rules are seen through a prism of childhood innocence. This frames Anne not as a deviant but as a precious soul.
Simba from The Lion King: Simba’s story follows his struggle with growing up, embracing his destiny and duty to his family, or fleeing towards freedom and a ‘no worries’ lifestyle. Simba flees Pride Rock and goes through an existential crisis with his existentialist friends Timon and Pumba. When he runs into an old childhood friend, he realizes how shallow his new carefree life has become and reflects upon his obligation to his community back home.
Woody from Toy Story: Woody starts out Andy’s favorite toy, but when Andy gets a new flashier toy, Woody’s status amongst the toys falls apart. Woody’s key character challenge is to learn to be humble and inclusive living within the group. By the end of the movie, Woody realizes his duty to love and serve Andy is more important than his own status within the group.

4. Here’s an Example Template for your own Character Analysis Essay

Feel free to use this brainstorming template to get you started with your character analysis essay. I recommend filling out as many of these key points as you can, but remember sometimes you might have to skip some of these points if they’re not relevant to your character.

Once you’ve brainstormed the ideas in Table 1, follow the character analysis essay outline in Table 2 to stay on track for your character analysis essay. Do remember though that each assignment will be different and you should adjust it based on your teacher’s requirements.

Here’s Table 1, which is a brainstorming template for your character analysis essay:

And here’s Table 2, which is an example character analysis essay outline. This is for a 1500 word character analysis essay. Change the word count according to how long your essay should be:

Read Also: 39 Better Ways to Write ‘In Conclusion’ in an Essay

Character analyses can be really tough. You need to know your character really well. You might even need to re-read (or watch) your book or movie a few times over to get to know the character really well.

I recommend when you re-read or re-watch the text before you write your character analysis, have the checklist I provided above handy and take notes. Then, use the essay outline I provided above to put all of those notes together into a clear and thorough final character analysis essay.

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay

A character analysis essay is a challenging type of essay students usually write for literature or English courses. In this article, we will explain the definition of character analysis and how to approach it. We will also touch on how to analyze characters and guide you through writing character analysis essays.

Typically, this kind of writing requires students to describe the character in the story's context. This can be fulfilled by analyzing the relationship between the character in question and other personas. Although, sometimes, giving your personal opinion and analysis of a specific character is also appropriate.

Let's explain the specifics of how to do a character analysis by getting straight to defining what is a character analysis. Our term paper writers will have you covered with a thorough guide!

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

The character analysis definition explains the in-depth personality traits and analyzes characteristics of a certain hero. Mostly, the characters are from literature, but sometimes other art forms, such as cinematography. In a character analysis essay, your main job is to tell the reader who the character is and what role they play in the story. Therefore, despite your personal opinion and preferences, it is really important to use your critical thinking skills and be objective toward the character you are analyzing. A character analysis essay usually involves the character's relationship with others, their behavior, manner of speaking, how they look, and many other characteristics.

Although it's not a section about your job experience or education on a resume, sometimes it is appropriate to give your personal opinion and analysis of a particular character.

What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay

More than fulfilling a requirement, this type of essay mainly helps the reader understand the character and their world. One of the essential purposes of a character analysis essay is to look at the anatomy of a character in the story and dissect who they are. We must be able to study how the character was shaped and then learn from their life.

A good example of a character for a character analysis essay is Daisy Buchanan from 'The Great Gatsby.' The essay starts off by explaining who Daisy is and how she relates to the main character, Jay Gatsby. Depending on your audience, you need to decide how much of the plot should be included. If the entire class writes an essay on Daisy Buchanan, it is logical to assume everyone has read the book. Although, if you know for certain that your audience has little to no knowledge of who she is, it is crucial to include as much background information as possible.

After that, you must explain the character through certain situations involving her and what she said or did. Make sure to explain to the reader why you included certain episodes and how they have showcased the character. Finally, summarize everything by clearly stating the character's purpose and role in the story.

We also highly recommend reading how to write a hook for an essay .

Still Need Help with Your Character Analysis Essay?

Different types of characters.

To make it clear how a reader learns about a character in the story, you should note that several characters are based on their behaviors, traits, and roles within a story. We have gathered some of them, along with vivid examples from famous literature and cinema pieces:

Types of Characters

Major : These are the main characters; they run the story. Regularly, there are only one or two major characters. Major characters are usually of two types: the protagonist – the good guy, and the antagonist: the bad guy or the villain.
Protagonist (s) (heroes): The main character around whom most of the plot revolves.

For example, Othello from Shakespeare's play, Frodo from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and Elizabeth Bennet from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen.

Antagonist (s): This is the person that is in opposition to the protagonist. This is usually the villain, but it could also be a natural power, set of circumstances, majestic being, etc.

For example, Darth Vader from the Star Wars series by George Lucas, King Joffrey from Game of Thrones, or the Wicked Queen from 'Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.'

Minor : These characters help tell the major character's tale by letting them interact and reveal their personalities, situations, and/or stories. They are commonly static (unchanging). The minor characters in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien would be the whole Fellowship of the ring. In their own way, each member of the Fellowship helps Frodo get the ring to Mordor; without them, the protagonist would not be a protagonist and would not be able to succeed. In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, minor characters are Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. They consistently help Harry Potter on his quests against Voldemort, and, like Frodo, he wouldn't have succeeded without them.

On top of being categorized as a protagonist, antagonist, or minor character, a character can also be dynamic, static, or foil.

Dynamic (changing): Very often, the main character is dynamic.

An example would also be Harry Potter from the book series by J.K. Rowling. Throughout the series, we see Harry Potter noticing his likeness to Voldemort. Nevertheless, Harry resists these traits because, unlike Voldemort, he is a good person and resists any desire to become a dark wizard.

Static (unchanging): Someone who does not change throughout the story is static.

A good example of a static character is Atticus Finch from “How to Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. His character and views do not change throughout the book. He is firm and steady in his beliefs despite controversial circumstances.

Foils : These characters' job is to draw attention to the main character(s) to enhance the protagonist's role.

‍ A great example of a foil charact e r is Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle.

How to Analyze a Character

While preparing to analyze your character, make sure to read the story carefully.

Pay attention to the situations where the character is involved, their dialogues, and their role in the plot.
Make sure you include information about what your character achieves on a big scale and how they influence other characters.
Despite the categories above, try thinking outside the box and explore your character from around.
Avoid general statements and being too basic. Instead, focus on exploring the complexities and details of your character(s).

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

To learn how to write a character analysis essay and gather a more profound sense of truly understanding these characters, one must completely immerse themself in the story or literary piece.

Take note of the setting, climax, and other important academic parts.
You must be able to feel and see through the characters. Observe how analysis essay writer shaped these characters into life.
Notice how little or how vast the character identities were described.
Look at the characters' morals and behaviors and how they have affected situations and other characters throughout the story.
Finally, observe the characters whom you find interesting.

Meanwhile, if you need help writing a paper, leave us a message ' write my paper .'

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay

When writing a character analysis essay, first, you have to choose a character you'd like to write about. Sometimes a character will be readily assigned to you. It's wise to consider characters who play a dynamic role in the story. This will captivate the reader as there will be much information about these personas.

Read the Story

You might think that if you already have read the book, there is no need to do so again; however, now that you know the character you would like to focus on, reading it again will have plenty of benefits. It will give you an opportunity to be more precise while reading the scenes that relate directly to your character and are important for his/her analysis. While reading the book, pay attention to every tiny detail to make sure you grasp the whole array of your character's traits.

Consider the following things:

What specific descriptions does the author provide for each character?

For example, when J.K. Rowling describes Harry Potter for the first time, she describes his clothes as old and oversized, his hair untidy, and his glasses as broken. It might seem just like a simple description, but she expresses compassion and pity for an orphan neglected by his only relatives.

What kinds of relationships does your character have with others?

Think about how Harry builds up his friendships with others. First, he and Ron do not like Hermione because she acts like a know-it-all, but when she gets stuck in the dungeons with a horrendous troll, he rushes to save her regardless.

How do the actions of the character move the plot forward?

In 'The Philosopher's Stone,' Harry is very observant of any events taking place at school. He analyzes people's actions, which builds up the plot around the stone and its importance for the magical world.

Get help with your character analysis from our experts.

Choose a Dynamic Character

Choosing a dynamic character is a great idea. This does not necessarily have to be the protagonist, but a character that undergoes many changes has grown throughout the story and is not boring and/or static. This gives you a perfect advantage to fully show the character and make your paper entertaining and engaging for the reader. If you choose a character that is not very dynamic, your essay might seem monotonous because your character will not end up doing much and will not be very involved in the story.

While you are reading, it is useful to take notes or highlight/underline any of the critical elements of the story. This will add depth to your character description(s). By providing vivid and specific examples, you connect your reader to the character, and the character comes alive in their eyes. Review your notes and formulate the main idea about your character when you're finished reading with your character in mind.

Make an initial draft while taking note of the character analysis essay outline provided by your instructor. You may follow the recommended character analysis essay format if you have not been provided with a sample.

Choose a Main Idea

While reading the story, make sure you keep track of your notes. It is a good idea to look at them, choose the ones that are the most representative of your character and find patterns. This will be your thesis. Then, you must support this idea with examples and situations involving your character.

If your character were Jem Finch from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, the main idea would be how his personal character is shaped through racial conflicts, social inequalities, and internal struggles between public opinion, his own views, and what is actually right. Essaypro offers you history essay help. Leave us a notice if you need to proofread, edit, or write your essay.

Character Analysis Questions

Now that you have jotted down some main concepts about your character, here is a list of questions that can help you fill in the blanks you might still have:

Where do the events involving your character take place?
What are the relationships between your character and other significant characters?
What is the primary change your character has gone through throughout the story?
What is your character's background?
What is your character's occupation?
What kind of emotions does your character go through?
What are your character's values?
What is your character's value?
Does your character have friends?
Is there a lesson your character has learned by the end of the story?
Does the character achieve the goals he/she has set for himself/herself?

Make a Character Analysis Essay Outline

When you're unsure how to write a character synopsis, remember that creating a literary analysis outline is one of the most critical steps. A well-constructed character analysis outline will keep your thoughts and ideas organized.

Character Analysis Essay Introduction:

Make the introduction to your paper brief and meaningful. It should hold together your entire essay and spark your audience's interest. Write a short description of the character in question. Don't forget to include a character analysis thesis statement which should make a case for the character's relevance within the narrative context.

Character Analysis Essay Body:

Subdivide your body paragraphs into different ideas or areas regarding the character. Look at your professor's rubric and ensure you'll be able to tackle all the requirements. You should also be provided with questions to be answered to formulate your analysis better. The body should answer the following questions:

What is the character's physical appearance, personality, and background?
What are the conflicts the character experiences, and how did he/she overcome them?
What can we learn from this character?
What is the meaning behind the character's actions? What motivates him/her?
What does the character do? How does he/she treat others? Is he/she fair or unjust?
What does the character say? What is his/her choice of words? Does he/she have a rich vocabulary?
How does the character describe themself? How do others describe him/her?
What words do you associate with the character? Perhaps a word like 'hope,' 'bravery,' or maybe even 'freedom'?

Character Analysis Essay Conclusion:

It's time to master the secrets of how to write character analysis essay conclusions. Your ending should also hold your ideas together and shape a final analysis statement. Mention things about the character's conflicts that we could experience in real life. Additionally, you can write about how a character should've reacted to a certain situation.

Character Analysis Essay Example

Read our blogs ‘Character Analysis of Jem Finch', 'The Great Gatsby Book Through Daisy Buchanan Character,' 'Analysis of Characters in Beowulf,' or simply use these character analysis essay examples to reference your paper. You might also be interested in a synthesis essay example .

Now that you know what is character analysis, it might be time to choose a character to write about. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to type ' do my homework for me ,' you should contact our writers. You also get a free plagiarism report, formatting, and citing when buying an essay from us!

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How to Write a Policy Analysis Paper Step-by-Step

For any work of fiction to resemble real life, it has to portray real character development with a convincing character arc. Additionally, those characters need to have believable character traits, which evolve as the character grows.

Stories are about people—even if your main character is a cat, a tree, or some other nonhuman entity. Great storytellers will capitalize on great character development, because a story’s humanness is what any reader will relate to. Great character traits and an enjoyable character arc bring a story to life, creating windows for the reader to watch through.

So, what is character development? And for that matter, what are character traits, and what are some good character arc examples? In this article, we’ll look at each of these items and more. Creating real, flesh-and-blood people is essential to great storytelling , so let’s explore the alchemy of turning words into real people—creating characters from characters.

Character Development Definition: What is Character Development?

Character arc definition, 5 character development examples, 10 character development questions to ask each of your characters, what are character traits, character traits list, advice for selecting character traits in your work.

Conflict and Character Development (from Instructor Jack Smith)

1. Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

How She Starts: Jane Eyre is a coming-of-age story (also called a bildungsroman) that charts the life of its eponymous character from childhood to adulthood. We are introduced to Jane as someone who is strong-willed and independent, but also impulsive and unloved.

Main Goals: Jane struggles to find love, acceptance, and a place she can truly call home.

Main Conflicts: Jane Eyre is populated with many different antagonists, including her adopted family, her headmasters, and occasionally her own love interests.

Key Dilemma: Jane’s situation is never wonderful, but to overcome her poor situations, she must learn to be self-sufficient —a fantastic proposition, given this was published in Victorian England. This includes acquiring work and entering adulthood, but most important to Jane’s character development, she must learn to maintain her own self-worth and independence, even in the face of true, altruistic, two-as-one love.

How She Ends: One Jane is truly self-sufficient, everything else falls into place, including her financial situation and her marriage to Rochester. With self-sufficiency comes the love and acceptance she desires, and the safe home she has always been without.

2. Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

How She Starts: Janie Crawford has much in common with Jane Eyre: she is strong-headed, independent, rebellious, and has a complex inner world that no one can see. Janie is of mixed race, and constantly encounters an inability to fit in with both white and black communities, but she is very defiant of any labels assigned to her and constantly chalks up the prejudice she encounters as a lack of perspective among others.

Main Goals: Janie’s primary desire is a marriage of equal partnership: a love that’s not unbalanced because of wealth or gender or position.

Main Conflicts: Most of Janie’s relationships are, in fact, unbalanced. First her marriage is arranged to a man who doesn’t love her, then she marries a man who excludes her from her community’s social life. Though Janie desires an equal marriage, she may have to accept that her independent spirit is incompatible in the long-term with another man, especially given the gender roles of 1920s America. This forms the core of her character development.

Key Dilemma: Janie is often treated as either a trophy wife or a domestic worker, but never as an equal, always feeling disconnected both from the people she loves and the communities around her. When she meets and falls in love with Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods, she moves to the Everglades with him, only to lose him in the aftermath of a deadly hurricane.

How She Ends: Janie returns to one of her previous homes, still the object of other people’s gossip and disapproval, but satisfied, if weary, having once known real love.

3. Ethan Allan Hawley in The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

How He Starts: Ethan Allan Hawley is a grocery store clerk in New Baytown, a fictional city on Long Island, NY. His family used to be a member of the local aristocratic class, before Ethan’s father lost all of the family’s money; despite this, Ethan values honesty and integrity above all else.

Main Goals: Ethan wants to live a life of virtue and integrity, garnering respect from others simply by being a kind and honest person. He has no problem with his position as a grocery clerk, and wants only to provide a good life to his family.

Main Conflicts: Ethan’s family, however, is not satisfied with their life: money always seems to be a problem. In addition to his family’s continued dissatisfaction, members of Ethan’s local community frequently mention his family’s lost wealth and what Ethan should do to reclaim it.

Key Dilemma: Ethan’s character arc centers around his commitment to virtue and his conflicting desire for wealth. If he wants to reclaim his family’s fortunes, he must sacrifice his integrity and honesty, which he does—he turns his boss into the INS, he acquires his best friend’s land by (essentially) killing him, and he almost robs a bank. Ethan’s inner dialectic between his virtues and his actions prompts him to consider suicide, as a result of sacrificing integrity for money.

How He Ends: The novel ends ambiguously. Ethan commits to killing himself, but then finds that his daughter replaced his weapon of choice with a family talisman, prompting him to reconsider his decision and choose life, if only for his family.

4. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

How He Starts: Holden Caulfield is a depressed 17 year old who is about to fail out of private school. He frequently feels alienated from his classmates, family, and society at large, and while he refuses to plan for the future, he dreams of escaping somewhere that no one he knows will ever find him.

Main Goals: Holden is desperate for connection, feeling alienated from every person he talks to. While he puts on a show of being superior to the many “phony” individuals around him, he also hopes that one of those phonies might actually connect with him on a deeper level.

Main Conflicts: It seems that everyone in The Catcher in the Rye is a source of conflict for Holden. He is not on speaking terms with his parents, he frequently gets in fights with his peers, and his attempts at relationships are always spurned, which only leads to more fighting.

Key Dilemma: To put it simply, Holden is not a likable person. He is a collection of mostly negative character traits. He’s rash, annoying, and often comes off as both immature and pretentious. At the same time, he’s deeply aware of society’s superficiality, which he tries to push past by talking to people about deep, meaningful subjects. Holden’s character arc is defined by this conflict between self, others, and society ; in order for him to connect with people, he must find a way to hold both his love and criticism for people side-by-side, and also learn how to talk to people properly.

How He Ends: The Catcher in the Rye is a story in which the main character rejects his character arc . In other words, Holden ends the same way he begins, because he has not committed to the growth he has to undergo in order to find meaningful connections. He has not accepted that he is part of the problem. Nonetheless, the novel ends on a somewhat optimistic note, and Holden forgoes running away from society and enrolls to finish school.

5. Macon “Milkman” Dead III in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

How He Starts: From childhood, Milkman feels alienated and disinterested in his family, as well as most of society. He feels disconnected from his father, estranged from his aunt and sisters, and has a complicated relationship with his mother, who loves Milkman but uses him as an escape from her monotonous, loveless life. In adolescence, he strikes up a brief but fleeting sexual interest in one of his cousins.

Main Goals: Milkman is sent on a quest to find a bag of gold coins from his father’s young adulthood. Perhaps by finding this bag of coins, he can also find his father’s approval, something he secretly yearns for yet openly detests.

Main Conflicts: Milkman’s search for those gold coins raises many of the novel’s central conflicts. At one point, he breaks into his aunt’s house in search of the money; at another, he is hunted by Guitar, a former friend who believes that Milkman has found and stolen the gold. Milkman’s life is also threatened once a month by Hagar, the cousin he had a fleeting relationship with. But the most important conflict is Milkman’s relationship to himself and his family, both of which have been marred by his father’s wealth and negligence .

Key Dilemma: Milkman’s character development stems from his search for his father’s gold. While searching for clues as to where this gold might have ended up, he comes to learn more about his family history, learning to appreciate and even love the complex foundation his life rests upon.

How He Ends: Milkman eventually gives up on the gold to bury the remains of his grandfather whom Milkman discovered by accident, unburdening himself from the weight of his familial hatred. Guitar, still in pursuit of the gold, kills Milkman’s aunt and attacks Milkman, perhaps suggesting the enduring wickedness of greed. The novel ends ambiguously regarding Milkman’s life.

Character Development Examples: Summing Up

Each protagonist in the above character development examples endures their own set of conflicts. Those conflicts force the protagonist to grow and change in certain ways, adopting new outlooks on life or making difficult moral decisions. It is through loss, hope, sacrifice, change, and a commitment to one’s own beliefs that each character rises to their challenge.

It is through loss, hope, sacrifice, change, and a commitment to one’s own beliefs that each character rises to their challenge.

As you learn to write and develop characters, pay attention to the character arcs in the novels you read, and how certain challenges are paired directly against certain character traits. For example, Jane Eyre and Janie Crawford are both strong-willed and independent, which are undoubtedly positive character traits, yet these traits also expose them to their senses of alienation, and they must resolve the conflict between their selves, their desires, and society at large. This resolution forms the arc of the character’s journey, which also lays the foundation for a compelling plot.

Tips for Nuanced, 3-Dimensional Character Development

Every writer approaches character development a different way. While there’s no singular formula for crafting believable characters, all writers have tools at their disposal to get in the minds of their characters. Above all, remember to give each character depth, relatability, and flaws, and to provide specific details and backstories that bring those characters to life.

Remember to give each character depth, relatability, and flaws, and to provide specific details and backstories that bring those characters to life.

Have your characters take personality tests . No, personality tests aren’t comprehensive, and most aren’t scientifically accurate, but the practice of answering questions like your character will help you get into their mindset, potentially generating new ideas for plots and conflicts. Here’s a free directory of personality tests you can use .
Consider regionality . Where someone is from influences the way they speak and think , so language should directly reflect character traits.
Do some sketches . You don’t need to be a good artist, just do your best to pen down how you envision them. How tall are they? What is the size and shape of their eyes, lips, nose, and ears? What style of hair do they have? How do they like to dress, and where do they buy their clothes from?
Think about point of view . 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person points of view each have their strengths and weaknesses, and each affects how your character is written. Spend some time considering POV, and build the story’s setting and sensory details based on your character’s observations. Remember, how your character observes the world reflects their personality, making this a key component of character development.
Create interiority . Show us your character’s thoughts, flashbacks, inner conflicts, and deep desires. Tell us what your character does and doesn’t know about themselves. We are all messy, imperfect, and constantly growing. Your characters are, too!

Another method is to ask yourself certain character development questions, like the ones we’ve listed below.

Character Development Questions

Good characters have depth, experience growth, have flaws—they’re real people. Asking yourself a defined set of character development questions is one way to develop these kinds of characters, who jump off the page with realistic and compelling personalities.

Use the below character development questions to plan, write, or edit your story. Read on for some interesting character development questions to ask yourself, and do this exercise person by person for anyone in your story that you’d like to know better.

Ask your character…

1. Who are you?

Think of the “who” of your character as the firm foundation with which you will bring your character to life. This “who” might take the form of one or two honest sentences that really tap the essence of the character. Starting with a strong “who” can help you add depth to your character throughout your story, as well as inform their primary character traits.

2. What are your strongest motivations?

What, fundamentally, drives your character? To be accepted by their peers? To create something new and beautiful? To protect their loved ones from a dangerous world? To find perspective on mortality? What are the core, underlying drives that shape this character and the actions he or she takes? This will form the core of the story’s conflict and provoke its character arcs.

3. What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

What world does your character hope to see? What would fulfillment look like for your character? What is your character doing to reach toward these hopes—or do they seem too far out of reach?

4. What are your biggest fears and/or regrets?

Your character certainly has a future he or she doesn’t want to end up in. What is it, and why? What are the darkest secrets and the biggest failures from your character’s past? What haunts him or her?

5. What are your greatest strengths?

What comes easily to this character? What makes this character strong, and why? Your answer can simply be a positive character traits list, but try to go more in depth, fleshing out what informs this character’s morals.

6. What are your greatest weaknesses?

Every good character has weaknesses. What puts your character out of place, out of their comfort zone, vulnerable? Why? Your answer can simply be a negative character traits list, but try to go more in depth, fleshing out what informs this character’s flaws and achille’s heel.

7. What are you like socially?

How does your character view other people? Are they very social and extroverted, or a little more on the quiet, shy, introverted side? Thinking about how your character acts in social situations can help you “beef” up your character and add depth.

8. What is your role in the story?

Consider your character’s role in the development of the story. Why does your character exist in your story? Is the character a protagonist, antagonist, or secondary character? How does your character change the story? And how is the character changed by the story—what is their character arc?

9. What is your connection to the overall storyline?

This is the important link between your character and your overall storyline. What specific impact will your character have on the overall progression of your story?

10. What sort of dynamic exists between you and the other characters?

Consider the relationships your character will have with other main or supporting characters. How do they interact? How do their personalities and motivations bounce off one another? How do they come away feeling upon interacting with each other?

Create Your Own Character Development Questions list

Creating your own questionnaire can be extremely useful in the writing process and enhance your understanding of your characters, prompting you to develop new, unique elements of their personalities. It’s a great tool for figuring out what makes your characters tick, and it can help align your storyline and plot with your character’s overall personality.

As you work to create your own questionnaire for characters, you can search for existing examples. The ten questions above are one example, and here are a few others:

160+ Questions on ThinkWritten
Creating a Memorable Character Worksheet from Lee White
Character Profile Template on Reedsy

Lastly, as you look for questions to ask your character, it may be useful to take a hint from the “self-help” section of your bookstore. The same sort of self-inquiry that is important in our own lives can be applied to the development of your characters.

Character Traits

Lastly, let’s examine character development from the lens of character traits, as this will help you define and refine your characters as you start and finish your stories. First, what are character traits?

Character traits are recurring features of a character’s personality that shape how that character responds to their world. Those traits will show themselves whenever someone reacts to their surroundings, engages in conversation, has private thoughts, takes action, or makes a decision.

Character traits definition: recurring features of a character’s personality that shape how that character responds to their world.

Many great novelists have studied human psychology so intently that every of their character’s actions is defined by one of their traits. Even the minutest actions, such as making dinner or brushing one’s teeth, can in some way reflect a set of character traits. Many of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s characters, for example, reflect an intimate understanding of human psychology, and his work greatly informed Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis which, though scientifically outdated, continue to impact modern literary analysis .

As you develop your characters, you can remember their personality by boiling them down into a character traits list. Because these traits are often detrimental in face of the story’s conflict, they’re an essential component of your story’s character arcs, and your characters will often have to push back against certain traits to undergo necessary character development.

Without further ado, let’s look at common character traits in literature.

Take note that many positive character traits can also be negative character traits, and vice versa. For example, while a strong sense of independence is generally considered positive, it can also lead to a character’s sociopathy, hatred of society, and disinterest in family.

Many positive character traits can also be negative character traits, and vice versa.

Alternatively, while “disobedient” is generally seen as negative, disobedience can also bring about positive changes in society. Terms like “positive” and “negative” relate to society’s perception of those traits, but in actuality, most traits can be both positive or negative depending on that character’s circumstances.

Lastly, remember that a protagonist does have negative traits, and an antagonist does have positive traits.

Positive Character Traits List

In the below character traits chart, we’ve listed positive character traits and characters with those traits in literature.

Negative Character Traits List

In the below character traits chart, we’ve listed negative character traits and characters with those traits in literature.

Which character traits should my protagonist, antagonist, and secondary characters have? Does it matter?

When writing the people that populate your stories, it’s important to have a balance of character traits so that no two people are the same. Additionally, it’s important that everyone has both positive and negative character traits since, like people in real life, no one is perfect.

Remember that stories are, above all else, about people. Even if those stories are set on different planets, in magical realms, or between alternate universes, it’s your cast of characters that matter most because people drive plot . Your characters are the ones making decisions, reacting to situations, and embarking on journeys; they define their own character arcs, so having a strong set of character traits is essential.

Here are three tips for selecting the best set of character traits in your story:

For protagonists , give them positive traits to strive for and negative traits to overcome. The best conflicts occur when a protagonist has to overcome their own negative character traits to achieve something.
For antagonists , think about traits that will make them perfect obstacles against the protagonist. A protagonist who is kind and respectful, but conflict-avoidant, might have a hard time overcoming an antagonist who is loud, coarse, and arrogant.
For secondary and tertiary characters , consider their purpose in the story, and give them traits that help them uphold that purpose. For example, a secondary character that exists to support the protagonist should be helpful and generous; someone who misleads the protagonist might be well-intentioned but foolish.

Conflict and Character Development

Here are instructor Jack Smith’s thoughts on using conflict to deepen your character development.

Characters become interesting when they undergo conflict . A character without conflict is a dull character. Conflict gets the reader interested, as long as the conflict is important to the character in a way we can relate to—and in a way that motivates the character to take action.

This takes us to motivation. What prompts your character to do what they do?

What are the protagonist’s stakes? What is the protagonist’s goal?

You can always go back and rethink motivation later, but if your character just seems to be doing something for no apparent reason, it might be harder to fix. Get inside your protagonist. Be your protagonist. See what happens. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, you’ll do well to identify with the protagonist and become that protagonist.

Think story : What’s happening? Where is this character going? What is the main conflict the protagonist faces?

Let the conflict build. Think about foreshadowing, about hinting at something that will occur down the road—for instance, a marital break-up, a run-in with the law, a loss of job. Little things mentioned early on plant seeds of things that will bloom later.

The earlier you hook your reader with interesting conflict, the better for character development. Just set the stage for what is to follow. But don’t treat these pages like a “thesis statement” for the novel; your reader wants to experience the novel, not be told what it’s about. That’s like reading a plot summary instead of the story itself.

Think of conflict as worked out in plot threads. What are the main plot threads in your novel? Assuming you have one main plot thread, what are the subplots that will thread their way through your novel? Watch for these.

A few things to keep in mind:

Fiction thrives on conflict : Not every conflict can be resolved, but avoid dead spots in your fiction—particularly scenes that go nowhere, ones that lack friction.

How about this one?

“How are you?” “Doing pretty well. You?” “Doing pretty well.” “Good.” “Great.”

It’s hard to say. If this is the mindless chatter that most people engage in just to be polite, that might work if you’re satirizing small-town life. But otherwise, cut it.

Weed out extraneous conflicts and plot threads: Do they contribute in some way? Are they like streams flowing into a river? Do they contribute to or parallel the main plot in some way or ways? Consider this: Paul, a police detective, wants to solve a major wave of murders in his small city. He’s been running into some problems, including false leads. Paul has a background in music; he was planning to be a professional violinist, but that didn’t pan out. He’s still conflicted about that goal. My thought is that, unless you can find some connection between his wanting to be a violinist and his being a detective—perhaps something similar in the way he approaches conflicts that sometimes seem insurmountable—I wouldn’t get into his goal in music. Including his music aspirations might help create a complex character, but might seem irrelevant, especially to his character development. Do everything you can to create a unified novel. Perhaps music is his way of reducing stress from a very stressful job.

Let’s say your pantser side comes up with this musical background and that dream to be concert violinist. Follow it up. See where it goes.

Be sure that the main plot thread, as well as those plot threads that relate to the main thread, are sufficiently developed and credible : What does this take? Ask yourself if your protagonist’s character arc is satisfying to a reader. Is more needed? Is that arc believable? It’s been said that the ending needs to be “surprising” but “inevitable.”

See my article on endings at this URL: https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/ending-your-novels/2/

Incidentally, be sure that you don’t end up with everything tied up in a neat bundle, but don’t just stop either. What questions does the protagonist’s arc answer? As you write through your novel, be aware, at least, of the direction of your overall plot. If you’re a plotter, you know what it is. If you’re a pantser, you’re discovering it as you go along.

The following articles take a deeper look at the specific kinds of characters you might develop a story around.

Character Development Advice
How to Write Dialogue
Crafting Your Protagonist
Writing An Antagonist
Foil Characters
Static Vs Dynamic Characters
Round Vs Flat Characters
Anti Hero Characters

Craft Compelling Character Arcs at Writers.com

Looking for feedback on your characters, their journeys, and the worlds they occupy? Get feedback on your work in a Writers.com course! Take a look at our upcoming fiction courses and receive detailed, personalized feedback on your characters-in-progress.

Great content, it will help in my business Thank you for sharing useful information. Respectfully, David from https://deteced.com/

To what extend does the content apply to Characters in non-fiction memoir book?

Hi Maneo, great question! Because the people in nonfiction are real life human beings, they aren’t “characters” in the same way fictional characters are. However, no piece of literature can encompass the ENTIRETY of a single person. So, these character development questions are great starting points if you’re struggling to write about real life people. What do you want your reader to know? How can you make this person seem like a flesh and blood human?

If you’re interested to learn more about the dichotomy between fiction and nonfiction, check out this article: https://writers.com/fiction-vs-nonfiction

Happy writing!

Very comprehensive! A thorough and very helpful exposition. I love the examples used, as many of those stories informed my childhood. Thank you for an incredible resource.

[…] onto character development, which is defined as “the process of creating fictional characters with the same depth and complexity as real-life huma… to me and many other fans is an important aspect of any story. Crafting a character that people can […]

[…] Character Development Definition and Examples | Writers […]

How to Write a Character Development Essay

Character development essays provide detailed descriptions and predictions about characters from fictional works. The purpose of an essay of this kind is to encourage readers to briefly inhabit the world of a character so that he or she might understand that character's motivation and perspective. Crafting a solid character development essay requires you to describe the character's appearance and attitude, then analyze the background of that character as well as manner in which the author introduces the character. From there, you will evaluate how the character changes over the course of the fictional work, concluding with a prediction of how that character's life will continue on past the conclusion of that work.

List and describe all of the character's physical and mental attributes in your first paragraph. For example, if your character essay focuses on Huckleberry Finn, you could describe his attributes thusly, "Huckleberry Finn is a physically dirty and raggedy child with a mind and wit as sharp as his clothes are filthy."

Describe and analyze the character's background in the second paragraph, focusing on key people or events from the character's past that might have led to his or her current state. For example, of Huckleberry Finn you might say, "His interactions and adventures with Tom Sawyer directly motivated Huck's desire to raft down the river with Jim."

Interpret the manner in which the author introduces the character. For example, "That The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told in first-person indicates the truthfulness of Huck's analyses by making him an immediately sympathetic character."

Detail how the character changed from the beginning of the work to the end, emphasizing lessons learned and newly acquired beliefs. For example, "Though Huck remains adventurous at the conclusion of the novel, he has clearly developed a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the haves and the have-nots."

Predict where the character will be and what the character will be doing following the conclusion of the fictional work. For example, "I believe Huckleberry Finn will continue adventuring, but his escapades will likely transition from the backwoods of the South to a more socially impacting venue, perhaps the courtroom as a lawyer or even the capital as a politician."

Character Analysis; Wilhelm Reich and Vincent Carfagno; 1980
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Mark Twain; 2010

Samuel Hamilton has been writing since 2002. His work has appeared in “The Penn,” “The Antithesis,” “New Growth Arts Review" and “Deek” magazine. Hamilton holds a Master of Arts in English education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Arts in composition from the University of Florida.

47 Character Development Prompts To Flesh Out Your Book Characters

What kind of person is your main character?

Maybe you’ve started to hear their voice in your head, but they just haven’t been very talkative.

What can you do to make your character reveal their full self, quirks and all?

The best way to get to know the people you’ve created is to use character development writing prompts.

We’ve created a list of 47 to put each of your key characters to the test.

Choose your own adventures for them. And see what your characters reveal about themselves.

Actions speak louder than words. But you’ll need both.

Key Benefits of Character Development Exercises

Identity or personality prompts, relationship prompts, reaction prompts, ethics and morality prompts, backstory prompts.

The more writing prompts you use in the development of your characters, the more of the following benefits you’ll enjoy:

Deeper awareness of the process of creating complex and believable characters
Experience writing from the character’s point of view (voice journal entries)
Experience writing dialogue (or taking dictation for the voices in your head)
Greater ease in making each character stand out as unique and three-dimensional.
Well-drawn, interesting characters , which help in the creation of unique plots.

The more you know about these people in your story, the more real they become to you.

Related: 16 Best Self-Publishing Companies For Your Writing Business

Then comes the challenge of helping your reader see them through dialogue and essential details.

The more character development prompts you use, though, the more experience you’ll have doing exactly that.

47 Character Development Prompts

Try any of the character scenarios below to see what each of your key characters is made of. Put them in situations that reveal their character and what they believe about themselves — as well as what they think of other characters in your story.

We’ve divided these into groups to make it easier for you to focus on the areas that are the foggiest right now. Dive in and choose a prompt for today’s freewriting exercise .

1. If your character has a superpower , what is it and how did they discover it? Is it something they’re proud of or would they like to exchange it for someone else’s?

2. What is your character’s biggest flaw ? Write about how they came to terms with it (if they have) or how they react when someone calls them out for it.

3. Write a scene exposing your character’s fatal flaw and include another character from your story. Write from either character’s point of view.

4. Write a scene revealing a mental health challenge for your character. Another character recognizes that challenge and offers help.

5. Your character is trying to decide what to eat on a Friday night alone at their place. Write a voice journal entry about their thought process, what they eat, and why.

6. Have three of your characters play “ Truth or Dare .” What do they learn about each other? And what character is more likely to choose “Dare” over “Truth”?

7. If your character has decided romantic or sexual love is not for them, write about what led them to identify as asexual or aromantic . How have others reacted?

8. Has your character discovered an attraction they’ve been taught they shouldn’t have? Write about how has that affected their beliefs and sense of identity?

9. Does your character identify with the gender assigned to them at birth? If not, write about how they came to identify as a trans person and who supported them.

10. Write a scene where your character reveals their sexual orientation or gender identity to someone who doesn’t respond well to the news.

11. Have your character take the 16Personalities test to identify their Myers-Briggs type. Write a voice journal entry about their reaction to the results.

12. Get your character alone with a parental figure that shaped their response to authority. Is your character generally obedient or more likely to question or rebel?

13. Get your character alone with someone they’re attracted to , whether they’ve acknowledged that attraction or not. Let them find out the attraction isn’t mutual.

14. Get your character alone with someone who hurt them and who now needs their help. Write a scene or dialogue exchange hinting at the hurt caused by the other.

15. Write a scene where your character cooks a meal for someone else in your story. Show how it turns out and what they talk about while they eat (or drink).

16. Write a scene where one of your character’s siblings comes to visit them. What do they talk about? What have they been through together?

17. Get your character talking about their first love , who it was and whether the attraction was mutual. Was it an epic love or just a crush? How did it end?

18. Does your character have a mentor , coach, or guide? Write a scene where they clash with this mentor or take issue with advice or directions they’ve been given.

19. Has your character ever lost a friend ? Write a scene leading up to that loss and then show how your character reacts.

20. Write a scene that shows what kind of friend your character is when someone they care about is going through a bad break-up.

21. How does your character get along with kids ? Write a scene where someone talks to your character about whether they want kids of their own and why or why not.

22. Write a scene describing an encounter between your character and someone who has an unrequited crush on them — and who writes poetry.

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

14 August, 2020

14 minutes read

Author: Kate Smith

A character analysis essay is one of the most complicated academic assignments that students usually write for Literature or English classes. Generally, this kind of essay writing requires you to describe the character in the context of the story. This can be done through the analysis of the relationship between the major and secondary characters or through your personal opinion of a particular character.

So, there is something you should learn before getting down to work. What is a character analysis and how to approach it? Let’s try to find the answers in the information below.

What is a Character Analysis?

A character analysis is a kind of essay where you examine behaviors, motivations, and actions of characters. Also, a character analysis is an in-depth assignment that makes you think critically about one or more characters and make judgements after analyzing the text. In most cases, it is used for the analysis of literary works. This form of academic writing involves personalities’ descriptions and conflicts with others they experience throughout a story. This analysis aims to provide a critical assessment of characters and build up conclusions based on the storyline. You may analyze a personality through his or her behavioral patterns or internal and external conflicts.

When you’re asked to write a character analysis, you must look at that story from a different angle. How? This is not your average reading for fun. Your task is to focus on the character synopsis and everything that’s associated with the people involved in the story.

Aim of a Character Analysis

A character analysis aims to evaluate a character’s traits, their functions, and the conflicts they have to deal with throughout the story. During the analysis, you will need to think critically, ask questions, and make conclusions about the character. To make your analysis informative, you will have to go beyond available descriptions that are written by the author. To understand the meaning of every event, phrase, and action, you will have to read between the lines. Don’t be afraid of using some additional resources if you feel like knowing more about the epoch a character lives in. If you want to gain an alternative opinion about a character, do not hesitate to find out your friends’ or internet users’ thoughts. Thus, thorough research may help you develop some creative ideas that will add great value to your future paper.

General Types of Characters

You should have a deep understanding of a character before starting an in-depth analysis. While a good character has many sides, there are some standard features to be considered:

Protagonist: Being the main figure in a story, this character has the whole plot based on their life, actions, events, and feelings.
Antagonist: Being a villain in a story, this character is positioned as the opposite figure to the major hero. Their basic nature remains negative, which makes them even more interesting than the main character. An antagonist plays a significant role even in short stories.
Major: This character dominates the story. While they are not the main one in the story, they are involved in all the events.
Minor: This character appears in a story from time to time. Their role may be significant for the plot development, but then they may disappear for some time and pop up again.
Dynamic and static characters: The existence of these two opposite characters is determined by their reflection of each other’s specifications. While one character of a story goes through an internal or external transformation, another one may have their basic characteristics unchanged. There is a common idea that an evolving character tends to be more interesting than a static one. However, you can also analyze a static character from the perspective that they are not sympathetic, smart, or deep enough to learn their lessons. Or on the contrary, they remain strong enough and can resist the system without going under it.
Stereotypical: If you are familiar with stereotypes, you will know what type of character is meant here. Generally, this particular character serves as the representation of the social, national, as well as demographic background of the story.
Foils: The main goal of this hero in the story is to stay in contrast with main characters and a protagonist in order to highlight the features of the main character.
Multi-dimensional characters: This group of characters involves an unlimited number of personalities. They are one-dimensional characters in the story who usually are not particularly interesting for the reader or viewer and do not play a crucial role in the storyline.

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay?

Before you start writing, you may wonder how to do a character analysis. Of course, you need to select a character to describe. In some cases, your professor will give you a character to talk about. By reading a story several times, you may notice the tiniest details. Ideally, you can use a highlighter or marker to mark each spot where your character is mentioned. Here are some more details of how to start with a character analysis:

Take notes while reading. Take notes by highlighting every significant element of the story.
Introduce your character. Introduce your character by providing their detailed description.
Describe your character. Provide a smooth transition from the general description of your character to the point of convergence of the story.
Build up a thesis statement. Finish the presentation with your paper’s proposal.

Main Points of a Character Analysis

When you need to analyze one character, you can make it from the perspective of several types at once. The character’s ability to change can create an additional source of analysis. At the same time, the complex and changing personality will be more interesting for the detailed analysis. To make it easier to work with such characters, you should focus on their characteristics, namely their importance for a story, actions, events, and so on. In most cases, you have to cover three major points:

Personality

Reveal the main features of a character to provide the reader with a portrait. By adding some facts and descriptions of actions, you will enable a deeper understanding of the analyzed hero. There is no need to use some words with broad meanings like “bad,” “nice,” “honest,” etc.

Role in a story

Describe the importance of the particular character in the context of the general story. Also, you should pay attention to their actions and their ability to move the events forward.

Character development

Analyze the changes the character has gone through and what features they have now. You should focus on the progress of a person, even if it is regressive.

Character Analysis Outline

In the character analysis essay outline, you should describe two or maybe even three specific character categories. Your mission is to describe the personality of the character, their function in the story, and the value they have.

Describe the personality of the character. The reader gets familiar with the characters of the story through the words the characters use, the emotions they express, and the actions they take. It is quite easy to build up an opinion about the personality of a character through the prism of their outward behaviors. Eventually, you will understand that the character fits into one of the character categories mentioned above.
Explore the character’s role . While writing a character analysis, it is important to describe the role of that character in detail. Apart from expressing unique character traits, the character will also perform a specific function in the story. Whether it will be the major or minor role, the analysis should address all the aspects of the performed role.
Outline the growth and development of the character . In order to write a professional analysis, you will explain how the character matures and transforms as the plot progresses.

The majority of characters will have to go through particular transformations until the end of the story. You should pay special attention to whether the character becomes better or worse, stronger or weaker, rich or poor. Mention any areas or scenes where these transformations occur. In the story, you will recognize them from the cues like “it was then that she understood…” or “for the first time in months, he…”

Do you need a more detailed analysis of your character?

To make your analysis essay correct, you need to explore your character deeply. If you set some points you will follow in your work, you will manage to be consequential in your analysis. So here are some crucial nuances you should remember to describe the character:

You should focus on the reasons that make the character in a story to make a particular decision or take a specific action. You have an opportunity to explore the rightfulness of those actions as well as their reasonability. While you are asked to express your thoughts about certain events and feelings, you should be objective by looking beyond the cover.

Every action taken by a character can say a lot about his/her personality. You should not skip any events because it can be important for the general story and reveal some info about the character, his/her attitude to things, etc.

You should pay attention to the words the person uses because they can say a lot about their personality. Their accents and phrases may provide you with valuable information about nationality, social status, education, or even age of a character.

Descriptions

There are two major sources of the description: from other people in a story and the author. The author can provide the reader with one attitude and description of the major character, while secondary heroes in a story may describe them from their own perspective. At that point, their conclusions may be totally different, yet they’ll provide you with an understanding of the person’s nature.

The way people refer to a person also determines the features of a character. They may have nicknames or other names that will demonstrate their background and the attitude of other characters toward them. You can also define the origin as well as other important nuances.

Character Analysis Examples

By using a readymade character analysis example, you can concentrate on the creative process itself. Here are some nice examples of written character analysis based on a couple of popular stories:

https://literatureessaysamples.com/joe-gargerys-character-analysis/

http://jmendelis.blogspot.com/p/sample-character-analysis-essay.html

Tips on Writing a Character Analysis from Handmadewriting Experts

Whether you follow a character analysis template yourself or ask a professional essay writer to complete this paper for you, you should not forget the common principles of work. Luckily, Handmadewriting’s specialists always follow the standard rules for character analysis writing:

Support all your statements with evidence. Y ou should incorporate evidence for every single point you make, although it must be relevant to the story. By means of quotes taken from the story, you can easily support your ideas and increase your credibility.
Point, illustrate, and explain. The so-called PIE method is a must for character analysis writing. Make sure to make a point, integrate quotations to support it, and explain how every quote creates the point.
Use your own words to anchor the quote. A quotation should not be left alone in the sentence. You need to explain the eligibility of this quote and its meaning.
Do not overuse quotes. You are allowed to use up to 10% of quotations in an academic paper, so remember this number. If you overuse quotes, you can hardly hope for a good grade.

Are you ready to proceed with your character analysis paper? Once you learn all writing rules and tips, you will be able to finish an excellent paper before the set deadline.

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Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

Art Research Paper Topics

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

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Character Development: Easy-to-Follow Tips to Make Readers Love Your Characters

Hannah Yang

Every great storyteller needs to understand how to develop characters.

Think about your favorite stories—the ones that stuck with you even after you turned the last page. What was the magic that made those stories so compelling?

Most likely, the answer has something to do with good character development. It doesn’t matter how intricate your worldbuilding is, or even how exciting your plot is. If your characters fall flat, your readers will probably stop reading.

Setting, Plot and Character are all connected

What Is Character Development?

Internal characteristics: wants, needs, and flaws, what’s your character’s backstory, write a satisfying character arc, external characteristics: looks, voice, and personality, surprise your reader, fun character development writing exercises.

Character development is how you create your characters both on and off the page. Within your story, your characters will change as they move through your plot. Good character development shows your reader this change gradually through your characters’ actions, decisions, and reactions.

But before you can create convincing characters for your reader, you need to plot their development off the page, too.

This article will teach you how to build three-dimensional characters from the inside out. Read on to learn how to create fictional characters that will capture readers’ hearts and bring your stories to life.

The best character development starts from within.

We’ll start by fleshing out your main character’s internal characteristics: the motivations, emotions, fears, and flaws that drive them to behave the way they do.

Internal charactersitics versus external characteristics

What Does Your Main Character Want—and Why?

The first step in developing compelling characters is to figure out what each character wants most in the world. This is most important with your protagonist and antagonist, but it can be helpful for secondary characters, too.

Try to be as specific as you can when answering this question. A vague answer (e.g. “My character wants to be popular”) is less useful than a specific answer (e.g. “My character wants to be elected homecoming queen”).

Answering this question well doesn’t just help you develop your story’s characters—it also helps you develop your story’s plot. After all, the plot is what happens when something gets in the way of what your characters want. Once you figure out what the main character wants and what obstacles are preventing them from getting it, the rest of the story will follow.

Here are three examples of well-developed main characters and what they want most at the beginning of the story:

In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Scrooge wants to keep all his hard-earned riches for himself. Even when people around him are shivering in abject poverty, he refuses to share any of it with them.

In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss wants to keep herself and her family alive at all costs. Even when she sees horrible injustices happening in District 12, she never takes a stand, because it would put herself and her family in danger.

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy wants to live somewhere less boring than her aunt and uncle’s little house in Kansas. Even though she has a loving family, she yearns for an opportunity to be somewhere more exciting.

Ask yourself:

What’s the one thing your character wants more than anything in the world—the one thing that they think will finally make them feel happy and fulfilled?

Why does your character want this so much? What will getting this mean to them?

What’s preventing them from getting what they want? What obstacles are standing in their way?

What Does Your Main Character Need—and Why?

At first glance, this might seem similar to the previous question, but in reality, what you want and what you need can be two very different things.

What your character wants is a surface-level desire that they think will make them happy. What they need , however, is the thing they actually require in order to achieve true happiness, even if they don’t know it yet.

This battle between “want” and “need” will create an endless well of internal conflicts and tension. This creates a great overall character arc and avoids a boring and static character.

Again, try to be specific here. A vague answer (e.g. “My character needs friendship”) is less useful than a specific answer (e.g. “My character needs true friends who love her for who she really is, not false friends who don’t let her be herself”).

Here are some examples from the same stories we discussed earlier:

In A Christmas Carol , Scrooge wants to keep all his hard-earned riches for himself, but this just makes him lonely and miserable. What he really needs is to share his wealth with those less fortunate. Once he begins acting out of compassion instead of greed, he feels more happiness than he ever did when he was holding on to his mountains of wealth.

In The Hunger Games , Katniss wants to keep herself and her family alive at all costs, but this just makes her cynical and afraid. What she really needs is to be willing to risk her life to fight for what she believes in. Once she begins acting as a symbol for the rebellion, she finds that her life has finally gained meaning.

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , Dorothy wants to live somewhere less boring than her aunt and uncle’s little house in Kansas, but this just makes her dissatisfied and ungrateful. What she really needs is to learn that “there’s no place like home.” Once she finally makes her way home again, she feels more contentment than she ever did in the exciting land of Oz.

What does your character truly need to feel happy and whole?

Are they aware of this need? If so, what’s preventing them from achieving it?

Can they have what they want and what they need at the same time? If not, which one will they choose at the end of the story?

What Are Your Character’s Flaws?

Now that you know what your character wants and what your character needs, it’s time to flesh out their flaws.

It’s a common mistake to think that a perfect protagonist is the same thing as a likable protagonist . In truth, readers relate more to characters with flaws than to characters that are too perfect.

We’re not talking about surface-level flaws here, like frizzy hair or mild clumsiness—we’re talking about real, human flaws that cause your character to hurt themselves or those they care about. If you don’t give your character any flaws, you also don’t give them any room for growth.

In some cases, the difference between what your character wants and what your character needs might directly imply a character flaw. For example, Scrooge’s greatest flaw is his miserliness. This is closely related to what he wants most in the world—to keep his mountains of money to himself.

In other cases, you’ll need to dig a little harder to come up with your character's flaws. If you’re stuck, remember that a strength can often become a flaw if taken to extremes.

For example, if your character’s greatest strength is their compassion, their greatest flaw might be that they let others take advantage of them. Or if their greatest strength is their independence, their greatest flaw might be that they struggle to accept help when they need it.

Strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin

Does the difference between what your character wants and what your character needs imply an obvious character flaw?

What are your character’s strengths? Do any of those strengths become a flaw when taken to extremes?

In what ways does your character tend to cause harm to people they care about? Why?

Once you know what your character wants, what your character needs, and what their major flaws are, it’s time to figure out why they are the way that they are.

The most memorable characters are the ones who do bad things for good reasons. For example, Scrooge is miserly and stingy with his money because he grew up in poverty and pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Katniss is pragmatic and focused on survival because her father died when she was a child, leaving her as the one responsible for keeping her family alive.

A compelling backstory will make your readers empathize with your characters, regardless of how many mistakes they make, because they understand why your characters would act this way.

Was there a specific moment when your character first started desiring the thing they want more than anything? What was it?

What caused your character’s main flaw? Did this flaw protect them from something?

Who hurt your character in the past? What traumas have they survived?

In the previous question, we looked to your character’s past to figure out what happened to them before the story started. Now it’s time to look forward.

Good stories transform your characters. The plot should force all of your main characters to change in some fundamental way.

This is what’s commonly referred to as a “character arc.” Your character can have a positive character arc (e.g. cowardly to brave). Or, less commonly, they can have a negative character arc (e.g. naïve to cynical).

The best character arcs are the ones that center around what your character wants and what your character needs. Around three-quarters of the way through the story, your protagonist should realize that they’ve been chasing the wrong thing. Their motivations change and, at last, they begin pursuing what they truly need, instead of what they thought they wanted.

How will the plot force your character to confront their flaws?

How will the plot force your character to choose between getting what they want and getting what they need?

What fundamental lesson will your character have learned by the end of the story?

External characteristics encompass all of your character’s more physical traits: what they look like, what they sound like, and how they present themselves to the world.

Here’s the good news: if you’ve already fleshed out your character’s internal characteristics, you’ve got the skeleton down already. Now you just need to add flesh to the bones by working your way out from what you’ve already established.

What Does Your Character Look Like?

Start with the internal characteristics you’ve figured out. It doesn’t matter so much whether your character’s eyes are blue or brown if that’s not important to the story. What will matter to your readers are the aspects of the character’s appearance that reinforce their internal characteristics.

Here are some well-developed character examples in literature. Notice that these authors include specific details that tell us something about what kind of person the character is on the inside, as well as on the outside.

“Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt, for she never seemed to know what to do with her long limbs, which were very much in her way. She had a decided mouth, a comical nose, and sharp, gray eyes, which appeared to see everything, and were by turns fierce, funny, or thoughtful. Her long, thick hair was her one beauty, but it was usually bundled into a net, to be out of her way. Round shoulders had Jo, big hands and feet, a flyaway look to her clothes, and the uncomfortable appearance of a girl who was rapidly shooting up into a woman and didn't like it.” — Little Women by Louisa May Alcott “Her skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let alone snag her skin. She didn’t encourage familiarity. She wore gloves too. I don’t think I ever saw Mrs. Flowers laugh, but she smiled often. A slow widening of her thin black lips to show even, small white teeth, then the slow effortless closing. When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted to thank her.” — I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou “Ender did not see Peter as the beautiful ten-year-old boy that grown-ups saw, with dark, tousled hair and a face that could have belonged to Alexander the Great. Ender looked at Peter only to detect anger or boredom, the dangerous moods that almost always led to pain.” — Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

What external traits does your character have that shed insight on their internal characteristics?

How much does your character care about their appearance? How long do they spend getting ready in the morning?

Do they have any defining gestures (e.g. biting their nails when they’re nervous)?

What Does Your Character Sound Like?

Many writers like to start a new story by figuring out their characters’ voices. After all, physical descriptions tend to be relatively brief, but dialogue can go on for pages at a time.

No two characters sound exactly the same. Some are soft-spoken, while others are loud and confident. Some crack jokes, while others stay serious even in the most absurd situations.

Things that affect your character's voice

If you can give your character a unique and consistent voice , they’ll feel more three-dimensional and alive.

What’s your character’s personality like, and how does this affect the way they speak? (e.g. extroversion/introversion, sense of humor)

What’s your character’s education level and socioeconomic background, and how does this affect the way they speak? (e.g. slang, obscure vocabulary words)

What’s your character’s career? How does this affect the way they speak? (e.g. industry-specific references/terminology)

What Are Your Character’s Interests and Hobbies?

It’s easiest for readers to relate to characters who have passions.

Again, try to be specific here. If you’ve decided that your character likes art, try to take it one step further: what mediums do they use? What period of art history are they most obsessed by?

What does your character do in their spare time?

What personal items matter the most to your character? (e.g. art supplies, running shoes)

What could your character talk about for an hour without prepping beforehand?

What’s Contradictory or Unexpected About Your Character?

We’re all familiar with most character tropes out there: the popular mean girls, for example, or the world-weary detectives. These tropes can be a useful part of your toolkit, but if you rely on them too much, they can also make your story boring and forgettable. You can rely on ProWritingAid’s cliché report to help you avoid these sneaky tropes and keep your writing exciting.

ProWritingAid's Cliche Report Screenshot

Instead of using clichés, it’s time to figure out what’s contradictory or unexpected about your characters. For example, if they’re a particularly cynical character, consider giving them a specific cause that they’re surprisingly idealistic about. Or, if they’re a particularly silly character, consider giving them a specific topic that they’d never joke about.

What do your character’s close friends know about them that nobody else knows?

Does your character behave differently around some people than around others? Why?

Does your character resemble a common character trope ? If so, how do they subvert that trope?

The Elevator Exercise

Imagine that all of your main characters are riding together in an elevator. Then, imagine that the elevator malfunctions.

Take out your laptop or a notebook and write out the scene and think about how each character responds.

Which characters panic? Which characters stay calm? Which characters take the lead and try to control the room? Which other characters start cracking jokes?

Download the Elevator Exercise Worksheet here

You can tweak the parameters of this exercise, depending on what kind of story you’re writing. If you’re writing a steamy romance, you can replace the malfunctioning elevator with a locked bedroom. If you’re writing a space opera, you can replace the malfunctioning elevator with a crashing spaceship. The goal is to find out how your characters react under pressure, and what that says about who they are.

The Associations Exercise

If you’re a more atmospheric writer and you tend to write based on your gut, this one is a useful exercise for you.

The concept is simple: make a list of all the things you associate your character with. For example, one of my characters makes me think of pumpkin spice lattes, indie folk music, and brightly colored roller skates. Another one of my characters makes me think of drunken bar brawls, three-in-one shampoo, and geraniums.

Download the Associations Exercise Worksheet here

As you’re drafting your story, you can refer back to this list whenever you feel like you’re losing sight of who your character is supposed to be.

Read, Read, Read

One of the most effective ways to grow as a writer is to read. Read stories like the ones you want to write, and stories unlike them. Read in every genre and time period, even the ones you don’t normally enjoy.

And I’m talking about active reading , not just passive reading. Think of a chess player studying the strategies of the greatest grandmasters, or a football player studying the moves made by their favorite athletes.

Pay attention to your favorite characters and what makes them memorable. Over time, you’ll collect more reference points for your own characters.

Now you’re ready to write a story with compelling, multi-dimensional characters. By starting from within and working your way out, you can create characters worthy of driving your stories.

Do you know how to craft memorable, compelling characters? Download this free book now:

Creating Legends: How to Craft Characters Readers Adore… or Despise!

This guide is for all the writers out there who want to create compelling, engaging, relatable characters that readers will adore… or despise., learn how to invent characters based on actions, motives, and their past..

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Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Mar 08, 2024

Character Development: How to Create Fan-Favorite Characters in 5 Steps

In fiction, character development is the process of writing a character who feels as complex and real as a person. This means sketching the character’s inner world 一 their wants and needs, strengths and weaknesses 一 as well as their outer appearance and behavior. It also means showing how the character changes throughout the course of the story 一 their character arc .

In this article, we will guide you through a step-by-step process to create multi-faceted characters that readers will care to read about. You can also download our free character development template to start crafting your own protagonist.

How to develop a fictional character:

1. Give the characters wants and needs

2. identify their strengths and flaws, 3. sketch out their antagonists, 4. develop their look and behavior, 5. research their trade and culture.

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Reedsy’s Character Development Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

First, it’s important to point out that your main character will be inextricably linked to your book’s plot . As author Tom Bromley teaches in his course on writing novels , “the protagonist should shape the plot, and the plot should shape the protagonist.”

In this regard, the most important character building blocks are their Wants and Needs. As Bromley explains, a Want is what the character thinks will make them happy, a goal they are motivated to pursue, that propels them on an inner and outer journey.

A character’s Need, on the other hand, is something deeper, more fundamental. It’s a truth they must learn about themselves or the world around them. Most of the time, a character’s internal story arc sees them realizing that their Want was fuelled by a lie they told themselves — and coming to understand a new truth (their Need) that is the secret to unlocking their success:

A character might want to be famous, but what they need is to be heard.
They might want to get married, but what they need is love.

For an example, think of Joy in Pixar’s Inside Out :

Want : Joy wants to ensure that Riley is always happy and only experiences positive emotions. This is because she believes that emotions like sadness and anger are harmful and unnecessary.
Need : Joy needs to realize that all emotions have their place and are important for Riley’s psychological development and a healthy emotional life.

Image of Joy and the other emotions in Pixar's Inside Out movie

Or take Jay Gatsby (who actually doesn’t learn what he needs, and has a negative arc ):

Want : Gatsby wants to be reunited with Daisy, his long-lost love. He believes that by attaining wealth and status, he can win her back.
Need : Gatsby must learn that happiness cannot be bought and that living in the past or for another's affection is self-destructive.

Now it’s your turn..

📝 Exercise:

What does your character think they want?
What do they actually need in order to feel fulfilled?

Mapping your character’s wants and needs 一 two key components of their character arc 一 will help you figure out what psychological space they’re in at the beginning of the story and in what direction they should move as the plot progresses. But to figure out whether they’ll have a smooth ride or not and what type of obstacles they might encounter, we have to know their strengths and weaknesses.

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Much of the intrigue in your story will stem from how your character responds to the external and internal conflicts they face in the pursuit of their Goal. Every type of character — from superheroes to lovelorn accountants — will need both strengths to draw upon and flaws that threaten to drag them down.

If in The Lord of The Rings Frodo walked up to Mount Doom unbothered, dropped the ring in the lava, and made it back in time for a second breakfast, he’d be a dull protagonist. It’s the obstacles he faces — Sauron’s army of orcs and the ring’s power over his spirit, to name a couple — that force him to make decisions and evolve as a character .

The iconic characters we know and love tend to have a nuanced mix of positive and negative traits. Consider Woody from Toy Story : he's a charismatic figure and a natural leader among the toys, known for his loyalty to Andy. However, he can be vain and petty, so the arrival of Buzz Lightyear causes him to feel jealous and insecure.

While Woody’s charisma is admirable, it's his flaws that make him relatable. We may not all relate to being the leader of the pack, but we all know the fear of being overshadowed and replaced, as well as feeling jealous and insecure.

So many of the challenges Woody faces are meant to test his strengths and flaws, from his face on the wall and bed cover being replaced with Buzz’s, to the other toys questioning his leadership and morals when he kicks him out of the window. Ultimately, he has to overcome his jealousy, cooperate with Buzz, and learn that they can both have a place in Andy's heart.

Some other common examples of character strengths are courage, intelligence, resilience, integrity, perseverance, and creativity, whereas character flaws are qualities like bitterness, arrogance, greed, selfishness, deceitfulness, and pessimism.

What are your character’s best qualities?
What are some of their negative traits?

Pick a mix of both to give your readers something to root for. Your character should be plausibly able to overcome the challenges the plot throws at them, whether that’s destroying the ring or saving the wizarding world. At the same time, there should be a real risk that your character will fail — whether they fall prey to the ring’s power at the very edge of Mt. Doom, or die in a burst of green light from the Dark Lord’s wand.

This brings us to another key piece of character development, which is sketching out your hero’s main antagonist.

What is your character's archetype?

Take our 1-minute quiz to find out.

An important point to make is that you can’t create a character in a vacuum. You need to define them in relation to other people and the world they inhabit. As John Truby writes in The Anatomy of Story , “[to] create great characters, think of all your characters as part of a web in which each helps define the others. To put it another way, a character is often defined by who he is not.”

Of particular importance, according to Truby, is your primary antagonist . “The relationship between the hero and the opponent is the single most important relationship in the story. In working out the struggle between these two characters, the larger issues and themes of the story unfold.”

It bears noting that the main antagonist doesn’t have to be another character (or even have evil intent). As we explain in our post on types of conflict , your hero might be up against nature, technology, society at large, or other forces that keep them from achieving what they want. Regardless of the form your story’s opposing force will take, Truby reminds us that it’s crucial to develop their morals or logic in parallel to your hero’s.

Harry Potter and Voldemort staring hard at each other, still from the movies

“The main opponent is the one person in the world best able to attack the great weakness of the hero. And he should attack it relentlessly. The necessary opponent either forces the hero to overcome his weakness or destroys him. Put another way, the necessary opponent makes it possible for the hero to grow.”

Think of Voldemort: an orphan and a brilliant wizard, he deeply understands Harry. He also knows his main weakness 一 the death of his parents 一 because he’s responsible for it. And he keeps putting his finger in the wound: from (indirectly) killing Sirius Black and other people he loves, to pervading his mind with fear, to literally trying to kill him. Ultimately, it’s his evil competence that forces Harry to grow into the wise and selfless man he needs to become.

Who is your hero’s antagonist?
What is their background? What are their motivations?
How do they relentlessly attack the hero?

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And other secondary characters

While the antagonist is the most important other character in the story, you can also craft your hero by sketching out secondary characters 一 other enemies or allies who contrasts with the hero in order to highlight some qualities of their personality.

In Tarantino’s Django Unchained for example, both Django and Stephen display high intelligence and adaptability in dealing with enslavement. But their paths couldn’t be further from each other. Django uses his wit and skills to free himself and others, while Stephen embraces racism and even participates in its practices in order to gain protection and comfort for himself. The juxtaposition between Django's quest for freedom and justice and Stephen's acquiescence to the status quo of slavery sharpens Django's resolve and moral stance.

Django and Stephen from Django Unchained

For another quick example, think of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird : despite his flat arc , his steadfast belief in justice allows Scout to evolve from an innocent child into a girl with a strong sense of right and wrong.

As Truby explains, each secondary character can make the hero confront the central moral problem of the story, either by providing support and new perspectives or throwing obstacles at them trying to tear him down.

Who are the allies your hero will need on their path to achieve their goal?
Which other enemies (or false enemies) can force them to grow?

Alright, after mapping the inner life of our main characters, it’s now time to look outwards..

An infographic showing the 5 steps of character development

Yes, the internal goals and motivations are the "heart" of a character. But that doesn't mean that their external characteristics should just be an afterthought. Sure, the fact that your protagonist has blonde hair may not impact the plot — but it might color how other characters respond to them. So, early in your character development, put a bit of time into sketching out your protagonist's physical features.

Appearance : What do they look like? Does their look play a role in the story?
Voice: What do they sound like? Does their voice match their look?

Remember that people’s looks don’t always match who they are inside. Some of the most compelling characters are baby-faced killers and brutes with a heart of gold. So try and play around with interesting contradictions.

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

Physical traits don’t end with eye color and voice type. To make your brown-eyed alto stand out from similar characters in the literary canon, you’ll want to round out that physical profile with some distinctive mannerisms .

After all, a character’s physicality takes so much more than describing their static body in isolation. It’s about how they move through space — and about how they interact with everything around them, from objects to other characters. By focusing on their mannerisms, you take a step towards showing instead of telling: big, bold movements imply confidence so you don’t have to spell it out, whereas frantically moving or fidgeting suggests a nervous nature.

To achieve this, you’ll want to reflect on how your character consciously and subconsciously responds to the world around them.

Communication style : How do they engage in dialogue ? How does that shape their relationships? Does their speech have any idiosyncrasies or quirks ?
Gait : How do they make their way around their environment, and how does this impact how they’re treated?
Tics and tells : What do they do when they’re nervous, uncertain of how to proceed, or telling lies?

Reedsy’s Character Questionnaire

40 questions to help you develop memorable characters.

Some character mannerisms will be situationally dependent and can serve as a shorthand for describing a character’s emotional state. For example, Nynaeve from the Wheel of Time series tugs on her braid when she's agitated, and Bond villain Le Chiffre bleeds from his eye when under intense pressure.

James Bond villain Le Chiffre's character development includes a nervous tic

Other mannerisms, however, are part of a character’s default state — as essential to our view of them as their coloring. Just think of Draco Malfoy’s permanent sneer: it’s as much a part of him as his pale blond hair.

To make your character truly memorable, you’ll want to consider adding both these types of mannerisms to their behavioral repertoire. Anger shouldn’t look the same on everyone: someone might flare up like an inferno, going red in the face, while others turn icily polite, smiling insincerely.

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When it comes to character development, imagination will only take you so far. Unless you’re intimately familiar with your protagonist’s world, you’ll need to work to get the details right.

If your hero is a NASA astronaut or a veteran of the Vietnam war, there are readily available resources that will let you find out what their life might be like. You might uncover small details that are key to bringing them to life — perhaps some slang they used back in the seventies, or some unusual morning routine astronauts go through.

The research doesn’t stop at your character’s main trade, but it can include everything else about their culture 一 their ethnicity, social class, political and spiritual views, education, interests, and language.

Say you’re writing a British character when you’ve never set foot outside of Florida, you’ll want to do a bit of research when scripting his dialogue . For example, you could search “croydon slang” on YouTube or watch a British-made TV show set in the character’s hometown.

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By now, you will have chiseled away at the blank marble and uncovered enough about your character to have a good sense of them. You can now work on the fine details — those subtle psychological touches — by putting them through these eight character development exercises or by getting character feedback from groups such as CharacterHub .

If you’re not sure how your characters might be received by people from different backgrounds consider engaging the services of a sensitivity reader . Think of them as research assistants, committed to making your character development as authentic and nuanced as possible.

Be patient with yourself. Character development is hard. It will take a little time (and a lot of refining) before you’ll create a protagonist as complex and real as a person, but when you do — you’ll know it and your readers will thank you for it. With a fully developed character by your side, your story will almost start writing itself.

2 responses

Diane says:

07/06/2018 – 09:01

Indeed Indeed Indeed. Brilliant article. Everything is simple and difficult in the same time. But with this tips it is easier to create your full tutoriage character.

16/04/2020 – 19:50

clearly the writers of star wars episodes 7, 8, and 9 never read this article.

Comments are currently closed.

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Character Development Examples

Character development in writing plays a massive role in creating compelling stories. Regardless of genre, we love characters that grow and change as the story unfolds. These changes often arise because of conflict, with characters developing either in a positive or negative way as a result. In this guide, we’ll take a look at some awesome character development examples.

But to do this badly could spell disaster. It was arguably the main flaw behind the final season of HBO’s Game of Throne —a complete lack of character development. In the end, viewers grew annoyed because characters lacked compelling justifications for their actions—they weren’t developed.

In this guide, we’ll answer questions like “what does character development mean?”. We’ll assess what’s needed for the growth of a character, examine character development examples, and take a look at some exercises you may find useful.

I’ve also added links to some related writing tips and guides you may find useful, as well as a free workshop and podcast.

Choose A Chapter

To skip to the section you’re most interested in, just click below.

What Does Character Development Mean?

How does character development affect a story, how to achieve growth in character, how can you measure growth in character, exercises on character growth, how do non-planners create and develop characters, discuss character development examples in an online writing group, discover more character development examples.

Let’s start with the basics – what does character development mean?

Everything in this world of ours changes. Mountains crumble into the sea. Islands disappear. Forests become icecaps. Change is eternal. It is one of life’s only constants. Some of us welcome it, embrace it. Others resist.

When it comes to our fictional characters, the very same rules apply to them, and when they do, it helps make our stories and our character’s journies more compelling.

Think of ourselves. Most of us want some kind of change in our lives. We want to better our standing, get a job we enjoy more, earn more money, buy more stuff.

Think back to the past, to your school years. How many of those best friends are you still in contact with now, and I bet you were inseparable with a few? What would be a thought that would enter your mind when debating whether or not to reach out to them now? Things aren’t the same as they used to be.

We do not live static existences. Sometimes we change through choice, and other times change is thrust upon us. Even the most ritualistic individuals experience some kind of change that alters their lives in stressful and conflicting ways.

For example, t he closure of a local pub can cause great distress for the old patrons. What else have they to do with the long and lonely hours of the day? Where else have they to go? It seems mighty trivial, but trust me, I’ve run a pub.

Some people shape their lives around routine, and when what may seem a trivial change occurs, the ripples knock off course everything else in their life.

Character development in writing is a simple but important concept. It relates to the growth in character that takes place in a story as they interact with points of conflict. Sometimes characters change in positive ways, and sometimes they decline and deteriorate.

Change can be good or it can be bad. Often in fiction, we’re faced with negative changes, changes that create conflict in the lives of our characters. It’s through reacting to these conflicts our characters grow , at times by making the right move and resolving the conflict, or the wrong move and making things worse.

Let’s take a look at some character development examples. Many fantasy stories involve characters from humble beginnings that, as a result of decisions both voluntarily and involuntarily, go on to achieve greatness. Pug in Raymond Feist’s Riftwar Cycle , Kvothe in Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind , Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings , to name but a few.

All of these characters begin the story as one person, perhaps timid or fearful, and as the story grows, they grow too. By the end, they may be fearless or imbued with worldly wisdom. They may have great power or simply may now be at peace with themselves. All of these stories see our characters change, and that’s the key concept to bear in mind with character development—that change is a constant force in our lives and your stories too.

More Character Development Examples

Here are some more character development examples from fiction that may help illustrate the journey these fictional people go on:

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald – The character of Jay Gatsby undergoes significant development throughout the novel, as the reader learns about his past and his motivations for his actions. He’s very much a different person at the end of the tale.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee – In this brilliant novel, Scout Finch, the narrator, matures and gains a greater understanding of the world around her as the novel progresses.
“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger – The protagonist Holden Caulfield’s emotional journey and his struggles with growing up play a huge part in this book.
“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien – Frodo Baggins is transformed by the weight of the responsibility placed on him in carrying the One Ring to Mordor, and the physical and emotional trials he endures as a result. In the end, his character changes so much that he becomes broken.
“The Diary of Anne Frank” by Anne Frank – Anne Frank’s diary, although non-fiction, provides a masterful chronicle of young Anne’s life in hiding during the Holocaust, and shows how she matures and changes over the course of two years.
“Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter’s growth from a neglected child to a powerful and responsible young man is arguably one of the most popular examples of character development in fiction.

By this point, I may hopefully have convinced you of the constant and capricious nature of change. As a result, it’s important we reflect this in the development of our characters.

So where does character development relate to building a character?

“There is only one realm in which characters defy natural laws and remain the same—the realm of bad writing. And it is the fixed nature of the characters that make the writing bad.” Lajos Egri.

Characters may go on a physical journey, but often the greatest one of all is the one they go on within themselves, the change they go through as they overcome trials and tribulations, heartbreak and despair.

Let’s take a look at what we can do to get that wheel of change spinning.

As we know, character development relates to the growth a character experiences in a story. This helps them almost feel alive and three-dimensional, complete with personality and motives. It can also relate to the changes a character experiences as they interact with points of conflict in the story.

As writers, there are numerous tools we can employ to ensure character development in our writing is compelling and interesting. In this section, I’ll take you through them, including my very own method of developing characters in fiction .

How Do You Create A Hero?

We all have a fantasy hero that we love—Aragorn, Princess Leia, Arya Stark, Luke Skywalker, Kvothe, Pug, Vin, Geralt. These characters capture our imaginations with their tremendous feats of glory. We forge bonds with them. We’d read thousands of pages just to see what happens in the end. As writers, that’s what we want.

It’s what I tried to do in Pariah’s Lament with Isy, and it seemed to work. The reason I mention it is that I wanted to share with you a few different ways of creating a hero. Because when we think of the word, our minds can jump to different things—what our interpretation is of a hero.

For some, it may be a cape-wearing lycra lover. For others, it could be the working man. Both are heroes in their own way.

One way to create a hero is to follow a path of growth and development. From humble beginnings usually an orphan in fantasy, the protagonist realises their power and becomes the hero they were destined to be.
Another approach, which is something I’ll cover further below, is to begin a story with a hero. One of the best character development examples in this regard is Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher series. Geralt is strong, competent and very much the hero of the story right from the off. His story, therefore, follows a developmental path of declines and gains, peaks and troughs. The highs and lows of life.

These are just a couple of examples. But the main point to take away is that when it comes to creating a hero, they need to have done something or possess a skill to warrant the title . And the build-up to that point has to be compelling. Readers are pretty sick and tired of the chosen one vibe, as my examination of fantasy tropes and cliches revealed. But that’s not to say you can’t do it in a less obvious way.

Character Plotting – A Way To Achieve Good Character Development

When it comes to building a character in fiction, we need to have an idea of who they are, what they’re capable of and what they want. This is all part of good character development.

Generally, all character-driven stories involve a character who wants something. The plot is simply them getting from point A to point B and dealing with the myriad points of conflict that arise along the way.

Now there’s a very handy method that I’ve developed over the years to chart a character’s emotional interaction with these various points of conflict. A way that ensures your character develops in a compelling and believable way—and trust me it’s important, otherwise, you may end up with something like the last season of Game of Thrones (which was devoid of character development).

Character plotting is simple. It involves charting the emotional journey and the growth and development of your characters as they interact with points of conflict (or plot points).

This emotional journey is so, so important when it comes to compelling character growth. As Moses Malevinsky said in The Science of Playwrighting , “Emotion is life. Life is emotion. Therefore emotion is drama. Drama is emotion.”

Let’s make things clearer. Here are two examples I’ve taken from my debut novel, Pariah’s Lament.

The two development paths you can see are quite different. Isy is a character that begins at the very bottom of the development chart. Her story is all about growth, with a few bumps in the road along the way (hence the jagged rises and falls).

Edvar’s development chart is a little different. He begins the story in a somewhat better position to Isy, but things go wrong and his fall is sharp and sudden. His story is one of redemption—falling to the bottom of the pack and rising up.

In my dedicated guide to character plotting , I go over this method in more detail, but as you can see, having this visual aid makes a huge difference. It’s definitely one of the best ways to achieve character development in writing.

A Character Forced To Make A Decision

Characters can be motivated to act by any number of influences and pressures. Let’s take a gambler who’s fallen into debt with an unsavoury chap. This moneylender has beaten him for the money, and now is threatening to hurt his family. He is afraid. He’s not much of a fighter, nor is he overly aggressive. But he cares deeply for his family. These conflicting pressures force him to make a decision: fight back or flee?

Innumerable factors can influence even the most trivial of decisions, yet so often they fall under the umbrellas of the physiological, the sociological and the psychological—indeed, the very make-up of our characters.

Who we are, what we believe, how we were raised and the like all influence what decisions we make and that, in turn, can lead us down paths of change. According to Egri, it’s knowing in detail these characteristics that help us determine whether a character has made the choice most consistent with who they are. Or as Egri put it: ‘Only in bad writing does a man change without regard to his characteristics.’

What Does A Character Want?

In addition to their characteristics, a character that wants something more than anything else can propel their development.

Now, this could be a positive thing or it could be a negative thing. For instance, a character with an addiction to crack cocaine may want nothing more than to secure their next fix. What steps will they take to achieve that? Will they steal, mug people or do something much worse?

This is an extreme example, but the principle can apply to other situations. A character who really wants something is going to be more motivated to achieve their goal, and in order to do so, they may have to grow and develop, sometimes in positive ways, sometimes in negative ones. If we look at the character development examples above, Frodo is one individual who’s super motivated to achieve his goal and is forced to grow as an individual to do so.

How To Write Compelling Characters – Charting Character Development

As well as my character plotting approach, t here’s another nifty tool to help chart the development of characters, known as ‘the everyman and the superman.’

The ‘everyman’ is the average Joe. The person content with their lot, until life throws them a twist, perhaps forcing them on a path they never intended. That path, and the obstacles they must overcome along the way, lead them to change and develop as individuals, maybe learning things about themselves they never knew, realising their potential, or gaining new skills to help them become ‘supermen’ or ‘superwomen’.

Generally, a story involving a rounded ‘superman’ tends to involve a highly competent character saving the world. There isn’t much room for character development because they’re already the best at everything, ever. Take James Bond, for example. He’s forever foiling plots to destroy the world and nobody ever doubts that he’s going to fail.

Supermen, however, can fall like redwoods, and this is an interesting approach you can take to shake things up. How can that once great character regain greatness?

If you’ve watched some of the later James Bond films, you’ll notice that the writers have gone down this route, exploring the decline of the superman. It’s a great way to introduce some aspects of character development to those who are already fully formed in some aspects of their life.

So we’ve looked at lots of different ways to help ensure our characters undergo some kind of change. But how do we make sure that we’ve achieved it?

Well, a lot of these checks will take place during the editing process . And when you’re going back through and assessing your characters’ journeys, here are a few things you can look out for to help measure growth in character:

Changes in beliefs and values – One of the most common ways to measure growth in a character is to observe changes in their beliefs and values. A character who starts out with a narrow or rigid view of the world and evolves to become more open-minded and accepting can be seen as having grown.
Development of new skills or abilities – Another way to measure growth in a character is to see them develop new skills or abilities. This could be physical, emotional, or intellectual growth, and it shows the character is capable of adapting and learning new things.
Transformation of relationships – A change in the relationships a character has with others can also be an indicator of growth. This could be a shift from animosity to friendship, or from passive to assertive behavior.
Overcoming personal challenges – Characters who face personal challenges and overcome them can also be seen as having grown. This could be anything from overcoming a fear to dealing with a traumatic event. In my novel Pariah’s Lament , the protagonist Isy was born with a birthmark covering half of her face. In the story, she has to overcome the impact of being scorned by everyone around her because of it.
Increased self-awareness – When a character becomes more self-aware and introspective, it can also be a sign of growth. This could involve a greater understanding of their own motivations, emotions, and weaknesses.

These are just a few ways to measure growth in character in fiction writing, but they’re pretty effective guages. The important thing is to be consistent in your characterization and make sure the growth is organic and believable within the context of the story.

To help reinforce what we’ve covered in this guide, I’ve included an exercise.

Linked to character plotting above, the exercise is all about charting your character’s emotional development as they move through the story, though it can just as easily be used to gauge their physical development too, as well as any other traits you may want to include. For instance, if you’re writing a fantasy novel, using this exercise to chart their adeptness in magic could also be useful.

Now all you have to do is create your character and give them a goal. What do they want more than anything else? If working with a protagonist, this is usually the main plot of the story.
Next, create a chart like the Edvar and Isy one above. On the left-hand side of that chart, add the starting point. This may be near the top or bottom of the Y axis on the chart (the vertical line). On the opposite end of the chart, add in another point. This is the conclusion of your story.
Now move through the points of conflict in your plot and add them into the chart. If the outcome of dealing with the conflict is positive, the line moves up to the next point. If it’s a negative outcome, the line falls.
You can add notes to each plot point to give yourself more information on what has developed.

By the end, you’ll have a visual overview of the growth of your character. And this can work for all types of characters, even secondary ones.

While this writing guide is one more tailored to the planners as opposed to the pantsers, it’s important to consider how non-planners approach writing a story, particularly from the perspective of character creation.

As someone who takes a hybrid approach to creating characters—planning out their core being as well as getting to know them along the way—I appreciate both sides of the argument.

First, as a non-planner, the ability to create a character as the story unfolds gives you maximum freedom and control. You don’t find yourself running into obstacles with the plot because it develops organically. From a reader’s perspective, this can make for a better tale.

If you’d like more help, support and advice or would like to discuss character development examples, there’s somewhere you can get it. And that place is my online writing group.

It’s open to all writers and at the moment we have around 160 active members, all contributing to great discussions and helping each other out with the likes of beta reads.

To join, just click below.

Join A Writing Group Full of Passionate Writers

I also have a list of other writing groups you can check out here.

Thanks for reading this guide on character development examples in writing. I hope you’ve found it useful. Below, I’ve included some links to extra resources you may find useful, as well as a link to watch my free workshop on how to write a fantasy novel in which I discuss characterisation at length.

Great examples of the 5 senses in writing
What is characterisation?
How to write bad guys, villains and antagonists
How to plan writing a story as a non-planner
Head here to learn more about the best essays on creative writing
Building and revealing characters in fiction
Worldbuilding and religion

Free Writing Podcast On Conflict and Character Development

If you haven’t checked it out already, I host a regular fantasy writing podcast called The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed. Not so long ago I did a special episode on how to create conflict, which ties in closely with character development , as we’ve seen.

If you need any more guidance on the character development examples covered here, then please get in touch.

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Character Analysis Guide: Master Literature

What is character analysis, how to identify characteristics of a character, how to analyze character development, how to analyze character interactions, how to analyze character motivations, how to analyze character influence on plot, how to analyze character influence on theme, how to analyze character arc and transformation.

How to write character analysis essay

Picture your favorite book. Now, think about the characters that brought that story to life. Their actions, thoughts, and words paint a vivid picture in our minds, don't they? Well, the secret to understanding those characters, as well as the heart of the story, lies in mastering the art of analyzing characterization in literature. It's like a fun detective game where you gather clues about characters to uncover the deeper layers of the story. Let's jump right in!

Character analysis is a fascinating journey into the heart of a story. It's about looking closely at each character and understanding their traits, roles, and experiences. Imagine you are a detective and the character is a puzzle waiting to be solved. You're not just reading about who they are on the surface, but you're digging into their actions, words, and thoughts to see what makes them tick. Here's how you do it:

Identify the character's traits: These are the qualities that make a character who they are. It could be anything from being brave, clever, kind, or stubborn.
Understand their role in the story: Every character plays a part in moving the story forward. They could be the hero, the sidekick, the villain, or even the comic relief.
Examine the conflicts they experience: Characters often face challenges or conflicts. How they deal with these situations can reveal a lot about their personality and growth.

Remember, analyzing characterization in literature isn't just about listing facts about the character. It's about understanding them in a way that brings the story to life. It's about seeing how they change, how they interact with others, and how they influence the plot and themes of the story. There's a whole world to explore within each character, so let's get started!

So, you're ready to start analyzing characterization in literature, and the first step is to identify the characteristics of a character. But how do you do it? Here is a straightforward plan:

Observe their actions: What a character does can tell you a lot about who they are. For example, if a character always stands up for others, they're likely brave and compassionate.
Pay attention to their words: Dialogue can reveal a lot about a character's personality, beliefs, and relationships with others. For instance, a character who always speaks kindly to others is likely a nice person.
Consider their thoughts and feelings: Sometimes, a character's inner world — their thoughts and feelings — can tell you more about them than their actions or words.
Take into account their appearance: How a character dresses or looks can give you clues about their personality or their role in the story.

Identifying characteristics is like collecting puzzle pieces about a character. It's not just about noting what you see or read, but about putting those pieces together to get a fuller picture of who the character really is. So, keep those detective glasses on and let's continue our journey in analyzing characterization in literature.

Now that you've got the basics down, let's move on to analyzing character development. This involves observing how a character changes and grows throughout the story. Here's the scoop:

Track the character's journey: Look at where the character started at the beginning of the story and where they end up. Have they grown? Have they learned something new? Have their beliefs or attitudes changed? This can give you a sense of their development.
Analyze key events: Major events in the story often trigger changes in characters. Examine these closely and consider how the character reacted, what choices they made, and how it affected them.
Consider relationships: Relationships can greatly influence a character's development. How a character interacts with others, their reactions, and the changes in their relationships can all signify growth or change.

Remember, not all characters will develop or change in a story—that's okay. Some characters are static, meaning they stay the same throughout the story. Others are dynamic, meaning they undergo significant changes. Both are important and understanding this is a key part of analyzing characterization in literature.

Let's dive into another important part of analyzing characterization in literature: examining character interactions. This is all about how characters relate to each other. Let's break this down:

Observe dialogues: So much can be uncovered from the way characters talk to each other. Do they argue? Are they supportive? Do they joke around? Dialogues can reveal a lot about relationships between characters.
Look at their actions: Actions can speak louder than words. If a character helps another in a tough situation, or perhaps the opposite, betrays them, it can tell you much about their relationship and interactions.
Consider their influence: Characters often influence each other's decisions and behaviors. If a character changes because of another, it shows the power and effect of their interaction.

When analyzing character interactions, it's important to note that these interactions can change over time—just like in real life. Characters can start off as friends and end up as enemies, or vice versa. Understanding these changing dynamics can give you a deeper understanding of the characters and the story as a whole.

It's time to explore the driving forces behind characters' actions. Understanding character motivations is a key part of analyzing characterization in literature. Here's what you need to watch out for:

Desires and Goals: What does the character want more than anything? This could be anything from a physical object, a relationship, a change in their life, or even the resolution of a mystery. Their ultimate goal will heavily influence their actions.
Fears and Worries: On the flip side, what does the character want to avoid? Fears and worries can be as motivating as desires and goals. They can push the character to take risks or to make safe choices.
Values and Beliefs: What does the character believe in? What are their morals? These deeply held values can guide a character's decisions, even when they conflict with their desires or fears.

Remember, motivations can evolve as the story progresses. Characters might change their minds, achieve their goals, or face new fears. Keeping track of these changes can help you understand not just the characters, but also the bigger themes and messages of the story.

The plot of a story isn't just something that happens—it's often driven by the actions and decisions of its characters. That's why analyzing characterization in literature includes understanding how characters influence the plot. Here's how you can do it:

Actions: Look at the key events in the story. How many of them are caused directly by the character's actions? A character who frequently makes things happen is likely to have a significant influence on the plot.
Decisions: Similarly, consider the character's decisions. How do they affect the story's direction? Remember, a decision isn't always about doing something—sometimes, the decision to do nothing can be equally impactful!
Reactions: Even passive characters can influence the plot through their reactions. How do other characters and events in the story change as a result of this character's responses? This can give you clues about their indirect influence on the plot.

As you can see, a character's influence on the plot goes beyond their actions. It's about how they shape the world around them, and how the world, in turn, shapes them. This give-and-take is a vital part of analyzing characterization in literature, and it can reveal a lot about the story's deeper meanings.

When analyzing characterization in literature, one often overlooked aspect is how characters can embody and influence the theme of the story. Themes are the underlying messages or big ideas of a story, and characters play a crucial role in expressing these. So how do you analyze a character's influence on theme? Here's a simple guide:

Beliefs: What does the character believe in? Their beliefs can often mirror the theme of the story. For instance, if a character strongly believes in forgiveness, the theme of the story may revolve around redemption.
Speech: The way a character speaks can reflect the theme. For example, a character who frequently talks about freedom and independence might hint at a theme of personal liberty.
Behavior: How does the character behave? Do they consistently act in a way that supports the theme? In a story themed around courage, you might find a character who consistently stands up for what they believe in, no matter the cost.

Remember, characters are often vehicles for the author's themes. By diving into a character's beliefs, speech, and behavior, you can gain a deeper understanding of the story's larger messages. And that's the beauty of analyzing characterization in literature—it's not just about understanding the characters, but also the world they inhabit and the ideas they represent.

Another fascinating aspect of analyzing characterization in literature is the character arc and transformation. A character's arc is the journey they go through, the changes they undergo from the start of the story to the end. This can provide a wealth of insight into not only the character but also the story's overall message. Let's take a look at how to analyze this aspect:

Identify the starting point: Where does the character begin in the story? Are they timid, confident, naive, cynical? This initial characterization sets the stage for their journey.
Track the changes: As the story progresses, how does the character change? Do they become more confident? Do they lose their innocence? Identifying these changes can help you understand the character arc.
Understand the catalysts: What events or experiences prompt these changes in the character? The reasons behind a character's transformation can be as revealing as the changes themselves.
Analyze the end point: Where does the character end up at the end of the story? How do they differ from the character we met at the beginning? Assessing the end point of the character's journey can provide insight into the overall theme of the story.

Character transformation is one of the most compelling aspects of a story. It's what makes us root for characters, mourn their losses, and celebrate their victories. By analyzing a character's arc, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of storytelling and the power of character development in literature.

How to write a character analysis essay

Now that we've covered the intricate process of analyzing characterization in literature, let's apply this knowledge to the final step: writing a character analysis essay. This task may seem daunting at first, but don't worry, we're in this together. Here's how you can approach it:

Choose your character: Start by selecting the character you want to analyze. It could be a major character or a minor one—whatever sparks your interest!
Identify key characteristics: Next, list down the key characteristics of your chosen character. Remember, these can include physical attributes, personality traits, and even their habits and quirks!
Analyze character development: How does your character change over the course of the story? What experiences or events lead to these changes? This is where your understanding of character arcs comes into play.
Consider character interactions: Look at how your character interacts with others. These interactions can reveal a lot about your character's motivations and their role in the story.
Examine influence on plot and theme: How does your character influence the plot and the theme of the story? Their actions, decisions, and transformations can have significant impacts on the storyline and the underlying messages of the text.
Organize your thoughts: Before you start writing, create an outline for your essay. This will help you structure your thoughts and ensure a smooth flow of ideas.
Write, review, and revise: Now it's time to bring it all together! Write your essay, then take some time to review and revise it. Make sure your analysis is clear, your arguments are well-supported, and your writing is engaging.

And there you have it! With these steps, you're well on your way to writing a stellar character analysis essay. Remember, the goal is not to simply describe your character, but to delve into their personality, their changes, their motivations, and their impact on the story. So go ahead, flex those analytical muscles and dive into the wonderful world of character analysis!

If you enjoyed our Character Analysis Guide and want to dive deeper into the world of creating compelling characters, be sure to check out the workshop ' Creating Characters: The Design Process ' by Kit Buss. This workshop will provide you with valuable insights on how to design unique and memorable characters for your stories, further enhancing your understanding of literature.

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50 Character Development Writing Prompts

Last updated on January 5th, 2023

If you’re looking for some inspiration for your next creative writing project, why not try using some character development writing prompts? By coming up with creative and unique ways to develop your characters, you can ensure that your story will be more interesting and engaging for your readers.

From developing a character’s back story to exploring their motivations, these prompts should help you and your readers get to know your characters better and create characters that are more three-dimensional. By giving your characters prompts that help you understand them on a deeper level, you’ll be able to write them more authentically.

Plus, they can help you to break out of any writing ruts you may find yourself in and find inspiration. So if you’re ready to get started, here are some prompts to help you get inside your character’s heads. And if you are lucky, they might even surprise you!

What are writing prompts?

A writing prompt is a topic or question that is used to generate ideas for writing. As a writing exercise, character prompts specifically are used to generate ideas for writing about characters, and can be used for any type of writing, including fiction, non-fiction, and even poetry.

How do you use writing prompts?

There are many different ways to use character prompts. One way is to choose a prompt that focuses on a specific aspect of a character, such as their appearance, personality, or history. This can help to narrow down the ideas that are generated and can make the writing process easier.

Another way is to choose one that is open-ended and allows for a variety of ideas to be generated. This can be a great way to get the creative juices flowing, and can often lead to some very interesting and unique characters.

Whatever method you choose to use, they can be a great way to jump-start your writing and can help to create some truly fascinating and original characters.

Also, they may or may not lead to writing an actual scene that will be included in your story but will still give you more history of your character from which to draw.

Types of Character Writing Prompts

Things and objects.

When you are developing a character, you want to make sure that they are well-rounded and believable. One way to do this is to have them interact with their environment. What kind of things are in their environment? How do they react to them? Do they have any kind of connection to them? What does the object’s sentimental value say about the character who holds it dear? What kind of memories and associations does it bring up for them? All of these things can help to develop your character and make them more believable to your readers.

A character is cleaning out their attic and finds a dusty old box. Inside are things that belonged to a person they used to be close to, but haven’t thought about in years. What objects are in the box, and what do they mean to the character?
A character is going through a difficult time and finds solace in a particular object. What is the object, and why does it bring them comfort?
A character inherits a piece of jewelry from a relative they never knew. What does the jewelry look like, and what does it mean to the character?
A character finds a lost wallet on the street. What is the wallet’s owner like, based on the things inside it?
A character is going through a tough break-up and decides to get rid of all of the things that remind them of their ex. What are some of the things they get rid of (or keep!), and why?
A character is moving to a new city and has to downsize their belongings. What are some of the things they keep, and what do they mean to the character?
A character is going through a difficult time and starts collecting random things as a way to cope and regain a sense of control. What kinds of things do they collect, and why?
A character is going through their family’s things after a loved one dies and finds an old photograph. Who is in the photograph, and what does it mean to the character?
A character is cleaning out their closet and finds a box of things they used to love as a child. What are some of the things in the box, and what memories do they bring back for the character?
How does a character’s relationship to a thing or object change throughout the story? How does that reflect the character’s evolution and growth?

Personality

When developing a character, it can be helpful to explore their personality to get a better sense of who they are and how they might react in different situations. This can be done by considering their values, beliefs, and motivations, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

Your character is faced with a difficult choice and the consequences of that choice. How do they address it, or not? What did they learn?
What’s your character’s biggest secret? What would happen if it was revealed?
Your character tries out a new hobby and discovers they have a hidden talent for it. What is it? How does the hobby or that knowledge impact them?
Your character encounters someone who challenges their beliefs or worldview. What is it, and does either character change?
Write a scene in which your character tries out a new personality trait and it backfires hilariously.
Write a scene in which your character’s personality is the perfect match for a situation, and they make the most of it.
Write a scene in which your character has to restrain their personality for the sake of a professional setting.
Write a scene in which your character’s personality gets them into trouble but they manage to talk their way out of it.
Write a scene where your character has to fake a personality different from their own.
Your character has a revelation about themselves that leads to a radical change in their personality.

Character Interactions

One way to develop a character in your writing is to explore interactions with other characters or creatures in the story. This can help you to understand how your character thinks and feels, and can also give your reader insight into how other characters may react to your character. Additionally, exploring interactions between characters can help to create conflict and tension in your story, which can make it more interesting to read.

Have your character find a lost pet. What does this reveal about your character’s compassion for creatures?
Have your character overhear a conversation between two other characters. What does this reveal about your character’s relationships with others?
Have your character wake up in a room full of people they don’t know. What does this reveal about your character’s social anxiety or lack thereof?
What does your character do when they first meet someone new? Are they outgoing or shy? Do they make a good first impression?
How does your character act when they’re around someone they’re attracted to? Do they get tongue-tied or do they flirt shamelessly?
In what ways does your character open up to others, and in what ways do they hold back? What do they reveal about themselves, and what do they keep hidden?
What would happen if the character had to spend an entire day with someone they absolutely despised?
Your character is at a party and gets into a heated argument with another person. What caused the argument, and how does your character react?
Your character is at a museum and strikes up a conversation with the person next to them. What do they talk about?
Your character is stuck in an elevator with someone they don’t know. How do they pass the time? What do they learn about the other person?

Places and Locations

Developing a character in your writing can be informed by exploring places and locations in the story in several ways. First, they can provide physical details about the character such as how they dress, and what kind of environment they are comfortable in. Second, they can also provide information about the character’s past, such as where they grew up or what kind of experiences they have had. Finally, places and locations can help develop the character’s goals and motivations, as well as create obstacles and challenges for them to overcome. By exploring all of these aspects of a character, you can create a well-rounded and believable character that will resonate with your readers.

Develop a character who has a deep love for a certain place, whether it be a city, nature, or even an imaginary world. What is it about this place that draws them in?
Your character is haunted by a specific location. This can be a place from their past that they can’t forget, or a place they’ve never been to but feel a deep connection to.
Your character discovers a hidden room in their home that they never knew existed. What’s inside?
Your character gets lost in a place they have never been before. How do they manage the situation and find their way back?
Your character has to move to a new location and doesn’t want to leave their old home. How do they adjust to the new place?
How did your character come to live where they do? Why do they stay?
Your character visits a place that was significant to them in their past. What memories did it bring up? How did they feel?
Your character stumbles upon a place that is the complete opposite of what they expected. What was it like? How did they react?
Your character realizes they are homesick. For where? What do they do?
What was the last place your character visited that left them feeling inspired? How long has that been?

Another way to develop a character is to explore their senses, or the senses of those around them to add another layer of depth to the story. For example, if a character is trying to figure out what another person is feeling, they might pay close attention to that person’s body language and facial expressions. Or, if a character is trying to remember a past event, they might focus on the smells and sounds associated with that event.

Write a scene where your character is trying a new food for the first time and describe their reaction using all five senses.
Describe the first time your character ever saw snow. How old were they? Was it in-person, in photos, or on TV?
Your character’s child is learning an instrument. What does it sound like, and how do they feel?
What is your character’s sense memory of a parent’s perfume or cologne? What feelings or memories does it trigger in them?
Your character wakes up to the sound of someone else in the room. What is their first reaction and what does this say about the character’s paranoia or trust issues?
The character bites their tongue and tastes blood in their mouth. Where in their past does this take them emotionally?
The character smells something burning. What is their response, and what does it trigger in them?
What does your character’s handwriting look like?
How does your character respond to hearing their voice?
Your character receives an electrical shock. What is the first word or sound they make?

I hope these help your characters take you somewhere unexpected, and you can learn about them along the way. What motivates them? What do they fear? What are their deepest desires? By exploring different aspects of your character’s personality, history and motivations, you can create well-rounded, believable, and compelling characters that your readers will love (or love to hate).

Still need even more inspiration? AI writing assistants have the ability to brainstorm with you, potentially providing endless prompts! Check out our Directory of AI Writing Tools and find one that fits your needs and budget… some even have free plans!

Contributing Writer

Molly Rittenhouse

Molly has a passion for writing and helping others improve their writing skills. She is a strong advocate for clear and concise writing, and she enjoys helping others find their voice and improve their writing. When she’s not busy writing, Molly enjoys spending time with her family and friends, exploring new places, and reading good books.

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Home / Book Writing / 17 Character Development Exercises for Writers

17 Character Development Exercises for Writers

Character development exercises are short forms of deliberate practice to improve your writing skills and round out your characters.

They are typically not used in the final novel, but are little extras that help you understand the personalities that you are writing.

Because for some of us, nailing down that perfect character can be hard. And to help with that, we’ve assembled 17 different exercises to improve your characters.

Why character exercises are important
A list of 17 different exercises that you can implement today
Examples and advice to improve your characters

Why Are Character Development Exercises Important?
Exercise #1: Write a FULL Description
Exercise #2: Play Dress Up
Exercise #3: Write a Description Scene Through the Character’s Eyes
Exercise #4: Practice Showing Emotion
Exercise #5: Write a “Slice of Life” Episode
Exercise #6: Write Other People Gossiping About Your Character
Exercise #7: Write a Progression Short Story
Exercise #8: Draw the Character
Exercise #9: Create a Character Profile
Exercise #10: Conduct a Character Interview
Exercise #11: Play the “Why” Game
Exercise #12: Create a Character Based on Someone You Know
Exercise #13: Imagine What Happens Before and After the Novel
Exercise #14: Put Them in Horrible Situations (Muahahahahah)
Exercise #15: Create a Timeline
Exercise #16: Do a Little Fan-fiction
Exercise #17: Use Character Writing Prompts

So why use a character development exercise in the first place?

This may be a valid question, especially for authors like myself, who just want to dive into the writing and let the characters unfold as I write.

But honestly, a little work up front can save you a load of headache afterward.

Running through a handful of these exercises will help you to:

Understand your character’s emotions
Give you practice writing in their voice and from their point of view
Find out what sets them apart from other characters
Flesh them out to create round and dynamic characters
Establish the relationship between your characters and the setting, or other characters
Deliberate practice of the process to create complex and well-written characters

In short, it’s a great way to deliberately practice writing and reduces the need to go back and do extensive revisions on your characters.

That said, this might not be the best thing to do if you’re a pantser and just want to dive in and discover your characters along the way. But it can be a great tool in your author tool belt.

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So without further ado, here are 17 of our best picks for character development exercises.

Exercise #1 : Write a FULL Description

When it comes to writing characters, most of us focus on the facial features, things like hair color, eye color, etc.

A great way to begin getting to know your character is to do a full description of them. In a book, we might not do this to the extent you might in a creative writing exercise, which is why it’s good to practice here.

Here are some things to consider:

Skin/hair/eye color
Do they have any warts or moles?
What is their hair style?
What is their build?
Do they have any scars, tattoos, etc.
What is their general complexion. Is their skin smooth and silky, rough and calloused, or even bruised and battered?
What default facial expression do they have?
What does he/she smell like?

Exercise #2 : Play Dress Up

What we choose to wear says a lot about a person. Someone wearing an extravagant French-style outfit from the 18th century will give you a completely different impression than a cut business suit from the 21st century.

The problem is that most authors, when they’re writing about their characters, often forget to add a lot of detail about the clothes they are wearing. It’s easy to see these things in your mind and forget that your readers don’t see what you see. They see what you write.

One way to help overcome this oversight is to continue the exercise above, but focus on clothing.

And don’t just focus on any one type, because your protagonist will most likely use several types of clothing throughout the course of your novel. Here are just some examples:

Travel clothing
Clothes for a night on the town
Clothes for wilderness survival
Combat wear

Exercise #3 : Write a Description Scene Through the Character’s Eyes

Ideally, every character should experience the same thing differently, depending on their background, their wants and desires, and their tastes.

Additionally, great prose is often written from the perspective of the character making the observation.

For example, let’s say you have two people, one who has grown up in a desert their whole life, where water is scarce, and the other who grew up in a place where water was plentiful.

Imagine these two people on a hot day, observing a third person splashing water on their face. If you’re writing from the first character’s perspective, you could describe this as “and the man took a handful of water and wasted it on his face.” The second person might describe it this way, “I watched as the man poured the cool liquid and splashed it all over his face. I wish I were him right now.”

Do you see the difference there? In one, the character sees using water in one way as a waste, and for the other, it’s something to be sought after.

Exercise #4 : Practice Showing Emotion

We’ve all heard the adage to “show, don’t tell,” but what does this really look like for most characters?

This is something that really only comes with practice. Once you’ve done it enough times, you’ll recognize instances where you’re saying things like “he felt hungry,” and can replace them with something like “He winced and put a hand to his stomach as it growled, and he swallowed hard.”

Character emotion is one of these areas where showing rather than telling can really enhance your novel.

Exercise #5 : Write a “Slice of Life” Episode

There are a lot of scenes in a book, and most of them have a purpose. That said, there are many scenes that probably occur in that character’s life, but that we don’t talk about because they’re not important for the story.

However, you as the author should have an idea of what happens in these less important moments.

Some examples of a “slice of life” episode might include:

Having dinner with family
Going to the bathroom
The morning routine
A conversation with a co-worker
Late-night conversations with a spouse
Cooking a meal
Going on vacation
Playing with their kids
Coming home a little too drunk
Visiting a museum

Exercise #6 : Write Other People Gossiping About Your Character

Very often, we learn more from others about ourselves that we might not have known on our own. Others can provide unique perspectives, and in some cases expose huge biases (on both sides).

For example, a proud character might not realize that he/she is proud, but it’s easy for an outside observer to spot this.

Exercise #7 : Write a Progression Short Story

In real life, people change a lot, and characters should change in stories too (most of the time).

A great way to show this is to write a short story that examines the character at different parts of her/his life. You can focus on key moments in their life, but you could also just follow exercise #5 and focus on a few more everyday events.

The purpose of this exercise is to show how that person may have changed. Do they view the world differently as a working adult, vs as a teenager? A child? An elderly person?

What about before or after experiencing some kind of trauma?

Exercise #8 : Draw the Character

I’ll be honest, I’m not an artist. But I am a visual person, and getting some solid visuals of the character can be a huge boost in helping me understand them.

If you’re like me and really have no design skills , then finding a few photos is fine.

I’d recommend several photos though, since one might not be enough. You could have some for their face and general appearance, one for their clothes and how they look, etc.

If you know a program like Photoshop, you could even crop these together to get an even better sense of what you character looks like.

This is a great exercise for understanding the feel of a character, which is often harder to put into words.

Exercise #9 : Create a Character Profile

Imagine you work for the FBI, and you have to draft up a dossier about your character. What might that look like?

Fortunately, we’ve done a whole article about this topic, so you should definitely check that out, and also don’t forget to pick up our character profile template, which can easily help you through this process.

If you want a thorough process to identify the character’s appearance, personality, background, and more, this is the way to go.

The best aspects to focus on are the flaws, motivations, and fears of your character. What prompts them to action? Understanding these things will help you get at the core of your character’s personality traits.

Exercise #10 : Conduct a Character Interview

Imagine you sat in a darkened room, across the table from you is your character. You can ask them anything, they won’t be offended, and they will understand the question.

What do you ask them about?

Writing a character interview is almost like writing yourself into a short story where you get to personally meet your character and ask them questions.

This is huge for helping you understand the character’s voice, but also a good strategy for building solid character backstory and character traits.

To help, we’ve already assembled over 200 character development questions that can aid you in this process.

Exercise #11 : Play the “Why” Game

This goes along with the idea of an interview, but sometimes in order to dig really deep into the motivations of your character, you’ve got to ask why.

Is your character aggressive? Ask them why.

From there you might find out that his mother shouted at him as a kid, and he saw his parents fight a lot. Ask why.

You might learn that his father had a drinking problem and it meant that his mother took it out on him. Ask why.

From there, it might come out that his father had lost a lot of money in a business deal, leading him to turn to drink.

I hope you get the idea. The more you ask why, the more you’ll dig deeper into your character’s past, and the better you will understand them.

Exercise #12 : Create a Character Based on Someone You Know

This can be a little dangerous, because to be honest, most of the people we know are not that interesting. And we also want to avoid lawsuits for defamation if the comparison is too obvious.

That said, the people we know can be a huge inspiration to pick and choose ideas to incorporate into your characters.

For example, my own father and uncle have a really fun way of talking to each other. They’re always ribbing on each other and calling eachother weird, made-up names. You can tell that they love each other, but it’s an uncommon way of showing it.

This might make a good relationship between two people in a book.

Exercise #13 : Imagine What Happens Before and After the Novel

The writer is mostly concerned with what happens during the plot of her novel. But if written well, a character will feel like they exist long before and long after the pages of the book.

So it’s a good idea to try dreaming up what happens to these characters in that time.

It can be dramatic, or it can be mundane. Impactful, or ordinary. It doesn’t matter much. All that matters is that you have a past and future in mind for that character (unless you plan to kill them off of course).

And who knows, you might even come up with some good ideas for other books involving those characters.

Exercise #14 : Put Them in Horrible Situations (Muahahahahah)

I’ve heard it said that you should basically put your characters through hell in a story, and never let up.

While this is good advice, it’s not always practical. That said, putting your characters through the meat-grinder is a great way to learn how they react to conflict.

These scenarios don’t have to be trials you will actually use in your novel. These are just different ways to put your character in pain and see how they react (I know I sound like a very unethical scientist, don't @ me).

Here are some possibilities:

The loss of a loved one
A diagnosis of cancer
The loss of a limb
Getting tortured
Breaking up with the love of their life
Losing everything they own
Being betrayed by a friend

Exercise #15 : Create a Timeline

Sometimes it’s hard to keep every part of a character’s life straight. That’s where a timeline can be helpful.

A timeline is a simple list of events in the character’s life, though they can get more complex and interesting, and you can even put some design skills to work if you want.

But timelines only have to be a simple list of events. They can include events from before their birth to their death, or they can be focused on a specific period of their life.

It will depend on the character and the story you will want to tell.

Exercise #16 : Do a Little Fan-fiction

When we’re writing a story, we might not have a full grasp on it yet, and that’s where writing fan fiction can help.

Imagine your character interacting with characters from a story you already know? Imagine the ultimate crossover between your story and your favorite franchise.

For example, what Hogwarts house would your character belong in? What might it look like when he/she is sorted and interacts with other characters in that house or other characters from the Harry Potter books.

It’s a great way to lean on characters you already know, to help unveil more about the characters you’re trying to discover.

Exercise #17 : Use Character Writing Prompts

There are a bunch of character-related creative writing prompts out there, and many of them can be quite helpful in getting your brain to think outside of the box.

In theory, we could have a list much longer than 17 if we wanted to include more of these prompts, but that would end up being too much.

Instead, I recommend this post , or checking out our list of character questions to give you ideas.

Final Thoughts on Character Development Exercises

If you’ve made it far, first of all, well done.

Second of all, you might be a little overwhelmed, but don’t worry. This list is not meant to be a checklist for everything you should do to expand on your characters.

Instead, this is a handful of ideas that you can take (or leave) and use them to better understand your characters.

As you apply these exercises, I can pretty much guarantee that you will grow as a writer, become more familiar with your characters, and increase your chances of having a great dynamic character in your books.

Let us know how it goes!

Jason Hamilton

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline

A character analysis is an examination of the personalities and actions of protagonists and antagonists that make up a story. It discusses their role in the story, evaluates their traits, and looks at their conflicts and experiences. You might need to write this assignment in school or college. Like any other essay, your character analysis should contain an introduction, a conclusion, and a thesis.

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Want to know how to write a character analysis essay? Not sure how to start? We understand. Whichever piece you choose – Lady Macbeth, A Rose for Emily, or something else, – analyzing a character for the first time might be challenging. No worries, we are here to help! In this guide by our custom writing experts, you will find a step-by-step guide, outlining and writing tips, as well as a number of character analysis examples.

📔 Character Analysis Definition
🧙 Types of Characters
📝 Writing Guide
🖥️ Formatting Tips

📑 Character Analysis Essay Examples

📔 what is a character analysis essay.

A character analysis essay is an assignment where you evaluate a character’s traits, behaviors, and motivations. It requires critical thinking and attention to detail. Unlike descriptions, analyses focus on a character’s personality and internal drives. It explains how those factors shape the narrated events.

The picture shows the definition of character analysis.

So, what you need to do is to see the characters as if they were real people who feel and act just as we do. Ensure there are no baseless assumptions and interpretations: the ideas you present should be supported by quotes from the text.

Character: Definition (Literature)

How do you define a character? It is a person, a creature, or an animal that makes up the story’s world. A character can be based on a real-life person, or it can be entirely fictional. It is someone who thinks, feels, and acts.

We use the word “character” in many different contexts. For instance, it can denote someone eccentric or worthy of our admiration. In both contexts, the term “character” means a distinctive personality. Similarly, in an analysis, your task is to show what makes a character stand out.

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Characterization: Literary Definition & Examples

Characterization is the process by which a character’s personality is revealed. It presents characters’ traits, feelings, and motives to the reader. For this reason, characterization is closely connected to character analysis. It helps us to understand the characters better throughout the reading process.

Characterization can be direct and indirect .

Direct characterization is when the narrator directly tells the audience what the personality of a character is.
In contrast, indirect characterization shows things that hint at a character’s nature.

Here are some examples of direct characterization taken from Patti Smith’s Just Kids :

“But he always suppressed his real feelings, mimicking the stoic nature of his father.”

Here we see a direct description of a character. The author straightforwardly talks about Robert’s feelings. In comparison, look at the description of a woman taken from John Steinbeck’s The Snake :

“He looked around at her again. Her dark eyes seemed veiled with dust. She looked without expression at the cat’s open throat.”

These lines don’t directly reveal anything about the woman, but the reader can understand that she is cold and dangerous. It’s an indirect characterization that focuses on looks and actions to convey the message to the reader.

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🧙 Types of Characters for Your Essay

When it comes to characters, they can be divided into several groups. For example, characters can be:

Protagonists or antagonists,
Static or dynamic,
Flat or round.

These types define how much the characters change through the course of the story and their role in it.

Character Type: Definition

In psychology, a character type is defined by a combination of personality traits that coexist in an individual. Authors incorporate different types of characters into their works to convey the message and make the story more exciting or relatable to the reader.

There are three ways to categorize a character type:

by archetypes,
by their role in the narrative,
by their ability to change throughout the story.

If you are about to write a character analysis essay, being familiar with character archetypes is essential. They have been categorized by a generation of writers, including the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and the American literary theorist Joseph Campbell. A lot of characters we see in today’s literary works are rooted in them.

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Archetypes include the Trickster, the Ruler, the Lover, the Sage, and others. The Hero is one of the most notable archetypes. Hercules or Achilles can be good examples of heroic protagonists. They are strong and courageous; they meet challenges and save the day by helping others.

Main Character: Definition & Examples

The main character and the protagonist often get mixed up. Most narratives also have the figure of the antagonist , whose actions affect the plot and stimulate change. Let’s have a look at the similarities and differences between these types.

The main character is central in the narrative. We experience the story through their eyes. They don’t necessarily have to be protagonists, though it happens in many cases.

The crucial difference between the main character and the protagonist is that the protagonist goes through changes throughout the story. The main character, however, is there to guide the reader through the experience. Often they help to show a different, darker side of the protagonist.

To understand the difference better, let’s turn to some examples.

What’s a Static Character?

Now that we’ve learned about the main character and the protagonist, we will closely look at other types of character classifications. One of the ways to categorize a character is by their ability to change throughout the story.

A static or simple character is someone who undergoes little or no significant changes. They often exist for comedic purposes. Here are some examples:

Complex Character: Definition & Examples

Complex or dynamic characters are the opposite of static characters. Characters of this type change as the book progresses. They display different qualities, emotions, and motives. They become more complicated and interesting to the reader as the story unfolds.

Check out these examples of dynamic characters:

Other Kinds of Characters

You already know about several ways to define a type of character. Now, let’s go over some other types, starting with flat and round characters.

Similar to dynamic and static ones, round and flat characters represent two different ends of a spectrum. Round characters usually come with an in-depth background. They are traditionally protagonists, antagonists, or those close to them. In contrast, flat characters are two-dimensional, and there is not much depth to them.

For the examples, we will turn to the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Finally, here are some bonus character types for you:

Stock characters have a fixed set of traits and are flat. Most of the time, they exist for comical relief.
Symbolic characters represent a concept or a theme that goes beyond them. They can be round and flat as long as they symbolize a particular notion or phenomena.
Sidekick is a secondary character who supports the protagonist.
The love interest is someone with whom the main character is infatuated.
Foil is someone who’s set in contrast with the protagonist, thus putting more emphasis on the latter’s qualities.

Characterization Essay: Which Character Type to Choose

Before you start writing a paper, it essential to decide on the character you’re going to analyze. There are different types of characters in every story, so you need to choose which one suits your essay topic the best.

Usually, it’s best to choose a dynamic and round character . With static and flat ones, there may not be enough substance for you to analyze. However, some such personalities can be interesting to work with. For instance, a flat character such as Mr. Collins can be symbolic of something. Then, you can talk about how it embodies a specific idea or notion. You can also look at how they affect other characters in the story.

📝 How to Write a Character Analysis Step by Step

Now, we’re going to discuss how to write your paper step-by-step. But first, here are some pre-writing steps for you to consider:

Choose a character for analysis.
Take notes while reading;
Define the type of the character and their role in the story;
Pay attention to their descriptions and actions.

How to Analyze a Character: Description Examples

Knowing how to organize your work is an essential skill. Certain things need special attention if you are describing a character:

physical appearance,
emotional state,
how the character speaks,
behavior and personality traits,
relationships with other characters.

When you analyze a character, try to look at them as if they were a real-life person. You want to know their motive, learn about how they feel, and understand why they think in a certain way. Ask yourself:

How did the character change throughout the story (if at all)?
What do other characters say about them? Can their words be trusted?
Where is the character physically and emotionally? What brought them here?
What is the character ready to do to achieve their goal?

Now, let’s look at the character of Franklin from the short story Just Before the War with the Eskimos by J.D. Salinger:

Character Profile Template for Writing

When writing your essay, use this character analysis template:

The picture shows the main steps in writing a character analysis essay.

In the following sections, we’ll discuss each step in detail.

Character Analysis Outline: How to Start a Character Analysis

The beginning of your essay is its crucial part. It sets the mood and grabs the reader’s attention. There are many different ways to write a character analysis introduction, but here are the most effective ones:

Use a quotation. It’s a great way to make a catchy hook. If it relates to the character and reflects their nature, it can also help to set the tone for analysis. In case you are using a quotation from somewhere else, mention the source in parentheses.
Talk about the book or story. Mention the author, the name of the story, and the genre. Briefly describe the main events that are taking place in the story.
Introduce the character. State their role in the story (define whether they are a protagonist, an antagonist, etc.) Then, explain whether the character is static or dynamic. Finally, describe them in 2-3 sentences.

The final part of an introduction is a thesis statement.Read on to learn how to write one!

Character Analysis Thesis Statement & Examples

A thesis is the key component of every essay, and character analysis is not an exception. It’s crucial to develop a good and clear thesis statement that includes all the aspects of your paper. For instance, if you plan to write a 4-paragraph body, including 4 points in your thesis.

What should a character analysis thesis include? Well, try to think of any trait that the character possesses that has to do with their downfall or somehow influences the story. Think about how this trait affects the character’s relationship with others or how it contributes to their motive or aspiration.

Take a look at the following examples:

How to Write Character Analysis Paragraphs for the Main Body

The main body of your essay can include as many paragraphs as you need. In this part, you introduce the character and analyze them. We have already talked in this article about what kind of questions should be answered in these paragraphs. The most important points are:

Describe the character and their role within the story.
Give the audience an explanation of the character’s motives.
Show what message the author wanted to convey through this character.

Keep in mind that every paragraph should have a topic sentence that captures its main idea.

Tsukuru Tazaki’s spiritual rebirth also affects his physical appearance.

Character Analysis Conclusion: How to Write

The conclusion part of your essay summarizes all the information you have mentioned and restates the thesis. Here is some advice for your conclusion paragraph:

🖥️ Character Analysis Essay Format

Most college assignments and essays are written according to the APA or MLA format. Both styles have the same formatting, which requires:

a double-spaced paper with 1-inch margins,
a page header with page numbers flush right,
an 11-12-point font.

While writing an essay on characters, pay special attention to quotations. Here are some tips for APA in-text citations:

When you summarize or paraphrase the information, mention the author’s name and publication date in brackets. Example: According to Collins (1997.)
When you quote directly from the source, add the number of the page, as well. Example: “There is a view that…” (Collins, 1997, pp. 134-135.)
If the source includes three or more authors, use the abbreviation “et al.” after the first author’s name. Example: (Collins et al., 1997)

As for MLA format:

You can write the author’s name in the sentence. Example: As Collins mentions in his essay<…>.
You can mention the author’s name in the parentheses at the end of the sentence. Example: (Collins, J.K.)
The last option is to use either footnotes or endnotes.

Below you’ll find a collection of character analysis essay examples and a downloadable sample to inspire you even more.

The Grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Character Analysis
Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis
Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway: Character Analysis
Prospero in The Tempest: Character Analysis
Agamemnon in the Iliad: Character Analysis
Lord Pococurante in Candide: Character Analysis
Andromache in the Iliad: Character Analysis
Character Analysis of the Knight from The Canterbury Tales
Essay on Soldier’s Home: Analysis of the Characters

Character Analysis Example (Downloadable)

Roald Dahl’s Matilda is one of the most famous children’s novels of the 20th century. The protagonist of this tale is Matilda Wormwood, a five and a half-year-old girl with a brilliant and lively mind that distances her from the rest of the family. Matilda’s character is particularly interesting as she has a powerful personality with extraordinary mental abilities, and she manages to overcome all the obstacles that surround her.

Character Analysis Essay Topics

Character analysis of Abbas from A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge .
Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Beowulf and Hamlet : similarity and diversity of the characters.
Personal and social failures of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
Character analysis of Othello .
Analyze the characters of Stanley and Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire .
The tragedy of Mathilde Loisel from The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant.
Character analysis of Huck Finn from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .
Moral force of Kate Lipton from Double Helix by Nancy Parker.
Character analysis of Thorvald and Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House .
Discuss the character of king Creon in Antigone .
Analyze the personality of Lydia from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice .
Compare Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Describe the peculiarities of Lord Pococurante in Candide .
Sarty Snopes in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning : character analysis.
Analyze the character of Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman.
Personality of Nora in A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen.
Examine the main characters of The Yellow Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Personality change of the main character in Edgar Alan Poe’s The Black Cat .
Analyze the characters of E. Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place .
Describe the main characters of the novel The Overstory by Richard Powers.
Controversial personality of Vladek in Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman.
Character analysis of Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley .
Discuss the character of Creon in Oedipus the King .
The manipulative character of Iago in Willian Shakespeare’s Othello .
Analyze the characters of Nil and Kristine in A Doll’s House .
Eccentricity of Grendel’s character in Beowulf .
Describe the main characters of Four Summers by Joyce Carol Oates.
Examine the characters of Harold Krebs and his mother in Ernest Hemingway’s Soldier’s Home .
Analyze common and different traits of the characters in The Monkey’s Paw .
Character peculiarities of Rostam and Sohrab in Shahnameh by Ferdowsi Tousi.
How does the character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen differ from the rest of her family?
The behavior and meaning of the characters in Nicholas Rowe’s The Tragedy of Jane Shore.
Compare the characters of Victor Frankenstein and the monster in Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley.
Discuss the differences of main characters in Everyday Use by Alice Walker.
Examine the character of Connie in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates.
The influence of social pressure on the characters of Chopin’s Desirée’s Baby and Sedaris’ A Modest Proposal .
Dynamic feminist characters of Delia and Jig in Sweat by Z. Hurston and Hills Like White Elephants by E. Hemingway.
Analyze the personality traits of Emily in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily .
Examine the characters of The Quiet American by Graham Greene.
Henry ΙV by William Shakespeare : analysis of main characters.

Now you know everything necessary for writing an excellent character analysis. What character would you like to analyze? Let us know in the comments!

❓ Character Analysis FAQ

A character analysis involves:

1. description of a character; 2. explanation of how they change throughout the story; 3. their role in the narrative; 4. relationships with other characters; 5. what idea the author wanted to convey through the character.

A character analysis creates a description that contains their most important qualities. It provides a new perspective of a character that reveals more about what it’s like to be human. It can also point to a moral or a lesson.

Literary analysis uses the technique of tracing the character development. This technique is usually used to understand the theme of the work better. Through tracing a character’s development, we can learn more about the story’s message and how it’s conveyed.

A summary paragraph in a character study should include answers to the questions “what,” “who,” “where,” and “why.” You should mention who narrates the story, where the story is set, its theme, and the message it conveys.

Critical Concepts: Character and Characterization: Kansas State University
Analyzing Novels & Short Stories: Texas A&M University
Guidelines for Writing a Character Analysis Essay: Tidewater Communite College
Literary Criticism: Thesis Examples: The University of Texas at Arlington
Writing a Literary Analysis Paper: Germanna Community College
Flat and Round Characters: Encyclopedia Britannica
Literature: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
How to Write a Book Analysis: Kean University
Elements of Literary Analysis: Alamo Colleges District
Defining Characterization: Read Write Think
APA Style: General Format: Purdue University
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Character Development: Write Stronger Characters [with FREE Worksheet]

f there’s one thing writers will agree on, it’s that character development is super critical to writing a winning script.

It’s also a hard thing to master – oftentimes requiring spreadsheets and graphs for something that should be more… human.

But does it have to be that way?

How to create a character shouldn’t be an arduous process.

And, with our character development worksheet, it’s not.

Here I’ll show how to use our worksheet, which can help answer your own character development questions as you get into the weeds of writing.

This worksheet can be a powerful tool to help you figure out how to develop characters that follow a succinct character arc.

We’ll also go over what a static character and a dynamic character are, and which one may be best for your story.

First, what is character development?

Putting the “work” in character development worksheet, wait, hang on… what’s a flat character then, so... should i avoid static characters, how to develop a dynamic character, more dynamic character development examples, character development throughout black panther, character development: write stronger characters .

Character development is the process of creating a character for a work of fiction such as a feature film , television show, or novel.

As mentioned, it’s often boiled down to two kinds of characters: Static character development and dynamic character development .

You probably remember hearing your mom or teacher mention how some things help “build character.”

But what does that mean when it comes to writing?

Character development is also the way in which characters change throughout a story. And it's not that far from what your mom was talking about.

One foundation of writing is challenging your protagonists (and antagonists). As they work to achieve their goals, we must make sure it’s harder for them to accomplish those.

This - like the chores, the second job, the long slog to school everyday - helps with character development. It changes them as the narrative marches forward.

When characters change in the course of a story, it’s called having a character arc.

Character Development - The Character Arc

Audiences like this kind character development because it creates relatable, real characters.

The changes we push our heroes through reflect the human condition we're all a part of.

But what if they don't change?

That’s the static character development definition - one that does not go through an emotional or physical transformation by the end of the narrative.

This is also known as a flat character.

Ones that do change? Those are dynamic characters.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: WRITE STRONGER CHARACTERS

Character is defined as all the elements that make a character feel relatable and real.

While this may be encapsulated in a series of idiosyncrasies and preferences, it’s best summed up in belief systems.

Because what we believe defines what we do.

The best way to ensure that you have a compelling character is to create a list of beliefs in the beginning and fill in the box.

Next, come up with specific actions the character takes based on those beliefs.

Then, after you’ve established beliefs and actions, fill in them for each subsequent section as the narrative unfolds.

Whether your character exhibits a change in their belief systems over time is a topic we’ll pursue below, but the “delta” (or change) should be listed.

For example, in 12 Angry Men , Juror 3 believed that the boy on trial was guilty, so he voted guilty.

But, as the narrative unfolded, he went from vehemently believing that the boy is guilty and, therefore, voting guilty to flipping in the end .

He changed his belief and, therefore, his vote to not guilty - despite being the last and most aggressive Juror to do so.

That about as simple as an example can get, but it’s an example nonetheless of clear character development and a character arc.

It’s not uncommon for many characters to remain the same throughout the narrative - that’s a static character. We’ll go over what the definition of a static character is in a bit.

The ones who do change are called dynamic characters.

Dynamic characters follow a character arc - like Juror 3.

Flat characters don’t follow an arc, but historically have had tremendous success.

It’s simple: The static character is one that doesn’t change by the end of the story.

Which is also a flat character. They’re interchangeable.

That, on paper, sounds kinda boring.

Why would anyone make a static character?

Because audiences come to love their consistency.

Jerry Seinfeld was was always the same guy at the end of one episode as he was at the same time next week.

Character Development - Character Arc - Seinfeld

There was a rule on Seinfeld of, "no hugging, no learning."

Sheldon Cooper is always going to say bazinga .

And, even thirty years later, Roseanne hasn’t changed her recognizable laugh - if anything.

These habits and idiosyncrasies that we grow to love are part of great character development.

But if you were to fill in the character development worksheet with Seinfeld, Sheldon, or Roseanne, you would see that their beliefs never change from the beginning.

CHARACTER: JERRY SEINFELD

While they may try something new or different within the episode, your static characters always end up back at square one.

That’s because plug and play sitcoms need static characters so they can go into syndication and last for decades.

If Jerry changes, what happens to the show?

Change is necessary to all stories though, so what DOES change?

The world and the characters around them. Static characters stay the same, but the people around them change. The world around them changes.

Sometimes as a result of their actions. Sometimes in order to push them places, or challenge their static nature.

Despite all of this, dynamic characters have recently taken over the popular landscape in film and TV.

Complicated protagonists and anti-heroes who occupy a gray area in our narrative structures are breathing life into the case for dynamic characters.

In one word, yes. In more words... well, let's take a look.

It all depends on your priorities. As we mentioned, static characters have had a lot of success. Static character development has proven to create huge franchises.

More examples of static character development include Sherlock Holmes. How often does he carry the lessons from one book to another?

He's still the same wily Sherlock he was at the end of one as he is at the beginning of another.

Did James Bond learn and grow over the decades-long franchise? Is he a different person in Die Another Day as he was in Goldfinger ?

Character Development - James Bone Skyfall

Nope. And yet audiences still adore him.

So then why should you make dynamic characters?

Because, recently, less-serialized shows and properties have become more popular.

Breaking Bad was built on the back of a man going through a major metamorphosis.

Character Development - Breaking Bad Character Transformation

Mad Men painted a less black and white picture.

Positing that Don Draper may look as though he's changed, but he's only adapted to a changed environment (the '60s versus the '50s).

Essentially All Don's journey taught him is how to sell to a "new generation."

For an ad man, that's a big deal.

CHARACTER: Don Draper

The same can be said for Tony Soprano - a man who goes to therapy to sort out his mental health issues can’t be the same person at the end of the day.

Or can he? He’s still Tony Soprano the mobster, father, and son we knew him from the pilot.

Character arcs are trending toward ambiguity in some respects, but they’re still there.

If you want to create a dynamic character that uses its change (or lack thereof) to make an artistic statement, our character development worksheet is a great tool for you to use.

The only thing you have to do to make a dynamic character is force them to change - that’s the core of character development.

If we're being smart, that change will come from a process that character undergoes.

You know… like a character arc. Where they show changes in what they believe through actions they take.

This “showing” aspect is critical as it's the only way the viewer will get the perception of change.

It's a form of proof.

You can use our character development worksheet to make sure that your character’s values and, thus, their actions are different at the end of the story than they were at the beginning.

This can create a more engaging character. People are drawn to change because it creates an aspirational hero.

You can either present a protagonist as a charming person who will always be that way (Sherlock Holmes and James Bond) or as someone who betters themselves.

Showing someone push through adversity to create a positive change in themselves is inspiring.

For a character development example, look at Disney movies - every hero is dynamic.

No Disney princess, prince, or talking animal is the same at the end as they were at the beginning. They all ended up changing their belief systems in some way or another.

At the end of it all, how they lived changed as well.

Audiences want someone to look up to and having great character development presents that opportunity.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a classic example. It takes a pretty intense haunting to convince him that Christmas is good, but in the end he gets there.

Character Development - Ebenezer Scrooge

In Lady Bird , the titular character grows to become more accepting of her mother, her roots, and, subsequently, her actual first name.

Character Development - Lady Bird Character Arc

In Black Panther , T’Challa goes from wanting to isolate Wakanda so he can protect their way of life to being more willing to use their technology to make the world a better place.

Character Development - Character Arc - Black Panther

Each of these examples shows signs of growth and action.

The characters followed an arc, changed their belief systems throughout the narrative, and, therefore, their actions followed suit.

That’s the definition of character development.

To see how T’Challa fits into the character development worksheet, take a look…

Character: T’Challa (Black Panther)

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So, in review, we know that a dynamic character is someone who exhibits change and a static one is someone who does not.

We know that both are common and successful.

So whether your protagonist is dynamic or static is up to you as a writer and depends on what kind of story you are trying to tell.

If you want to make sure that the characters you created go through a powerful change, you should use the worksheet.

This will help you plot out exactly how they change throughout the narrative.

That way you can feel confident that you’ll write dynamic characters that create an engaging experience for whomever you send that next award-winning script to.

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Do you need help with ideas for teaching students how to develop characters in their narrative essays? This post will share an effective way to teach character traits and focus on developing characters in a narrative essay. These ideas are ideal for any writing curriculum and are part of a series of mini lessons for the writer’s workshop designed for scaffolding through the writing process.

Common Core Standard: We can apply grade level Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text {e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions}.”)

There are two kinds of traits:

1. Outside traits: Physical traits that you can actually see. (blonde, tall, messy hair, dirty clothes)

2. Inside traits: How the character feels or acts. (bossy, lonely, mysterious, thoughtful, clumsy)

To write a well-crafted paper, developing characters give your readers a deeper meaning of the story.

Did they change in any way?
Were they bossy at the beginning and then caring toward the end?
Did something happen to cause this damage?

2. MENTOR TEXT

Teaching character traits and character development is so much easier using mentor text ! In rich literature, authors craft their stories to feel like we know the characters. They create personalities and emotions within the characters. In turn, we develop feelings for them. Using these well-crafted stories, teachers can point out the different character traits and show students where the characters may take a turning point and change their actions.

Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare by Patricia Polacco

Read the book Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare. Richie teases his sister Tricia about taking ballet. Tricia knows how much work it takes, so she challenges Richie to perform in her ballet recital. Richie agrees, under one condition: Tricia has to join his hockey team for the big game! Richie’s character changes throughout the story as he realizes how difficult it is to perform ballet.

Changes in Richie: Teasing, belittling, disgusting to being respectful towards his sister’s hard work.

A list of mentor text for CHARACTER TRAITS: CHARACTER TRAITS MENTOR TEXT LIST

Model a class story. Together, go through the characters and decide how they can change throughout the story.

Example: My main character is going to be jealous at the beginning. She wants to be like the popular girls at school. Ultimately, she realizes her talents and that she is just as special.

4. TAKE NOTES and LIST OF TRAITS

Students should take notes about character traits. Then, when they need help in the future, they can go back to their notes for a reminder. If you have a resource with a list of traits, they can add that to their writing folders, or you can place them in a writing center!

5. PRACTICE

SKITTLE ACTIVITY: Hand out a skittle to students and assign colors to a character trait or emotion. Whatever color they receive, they have to tell or write about how to change a character with that trait or emotion. When they finish, give them a handful!!!

Other ideas: Identify the character trait or character development in paragraphs like task cards or passages .

Students will first brainstorm ideas for their main character. When students are finished developing the main character, work on the other characters in the story. I usually have my students pick three characters to develop. How will they change and develop over the course of the story? This is extremely helpful to keep the interest of the readers, and the readers will get to know the characters at a more personal level!

Share, share, share. It helps to have students share their ideas! By sharing their character development with other students, they may be able to build their story even more. In addition, their ideas may spark ideas for other students to use in their writing!

I hope you enjoyed learning how to develop characters in narrative writing!

Check out my FREE writing masterclass! CLICK HERE

LAST LESSON: WRITING MINI LESSON #18- BUILDING SUSPENSE AND CLIMAX

NEXT LESSON: WRITING MINI LESSON #20- DIALOGUE IN A NARRATIVE ESSAY!

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This lesson is also included in the STEP-BY-STEP WRITING ® Programwith mini-lessons designed to scaffold through the writing process. Writing units included are sentence structure, paragraph writing, narrative writing, opinion writing, and informative writing. See what is included in the image below and click on it to learn more about them! You will turn your reluctant writers into ROCKSTAR WRITERS ™!

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Resources you may be interested in.

Character Traits: Writing Mini-Lesson

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Writing mini lesson #15- plot.

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Outline, Tips, & Character
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FREE 7+ Analysis Essay Examples in PDF
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🏆 How to write a character analysis essay. How to write a character
Character analysis essay writing help. Character Analysis Essay Writing

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Condition of Worth in Fully Functioning Person Theory
Episode 3: Character Development
Essay/Paragraph on Role of Education in Skill Development || Essay on Role of Education in Skill
Reflections on Character Development
Genetic and Cultural Factors of Human Development
How to Write a Positive or Negative Development Essay?

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Writing a Character Analysis Essay
Character analysis essays do not have just one format. However, let me offer some advice that might act as a character analysis essay outline or 'checklist' of possible things you could discuss: 1. Start with the Simple Details. You can start a character analysis by providing a simple, clear description of who your character is.
How to Write a Character Analysis: Outline, Examples
One of the essential purposes of a character analysis essay is to look at the anatomy of a character in the story and dissect who they are. We must be able to study how the character was shaped and then learn from their life. A good example of a character for a character analysis essay is Daisy Buchanan from 'The Great Gatsby.'.
Character Development Definition and Examples
Character development is the process of creating fictional characters with the same depth and complexity as real-life human beings. Throughout the story writing process, the author will develop any number of character traits to fully flesh out the people that populate their stories.
How to Write a Character Development Essay
Crafting a solid character development essay requires you to describe the character's appearance and attitude, then analyze the background of that character as well as manner in which the author introduces the character. From there, you will evaluate how the character changes over the course of the fictional work, concluding with a prediction ...
How to Develop a Fictional Character: 6 Tips for Writing Great
They don't need to be likeable, but they must be interesting. Here are some tips for effective character development. 1. Develop characters who reflect your interests. You're going to be spending a lot of time with your characters, so the fiction rule "write what you want to know" applies to them as well.
47 Character Development Prompts To Build Out Your Story
Use details and dialogue to reveal why or why not. 38. Your character's boss has offered them a significant promotion if they can get another employee to quit. Write about your character's thought process. 39. Your character has an unpleasant encounter with their rich boss, who leaves their loaded wallet behind.
Character Analysis Essay: Outline, Topics and Writing Tips
A character analysis is a kind of essay where you examine behaviors, motivations, and actions of characters. Also, a character analysis is an in-depth assignment that makes you think critically about one or more characters and make judgements after analyzing the text. In most cases, it is used for the analysis of literary works.
How to Develop Great Characters in Your Writing
Good stories transform your characters. The plot should force all of your main characters to change in some fundamental way. This is what's commonly referred to as a "character arc.". Your character can have a positive character arc (e.g. cowardly to brave). Or, less commonly, they can have a negative character arc (e.g. naïve to cynical).
Character Development: 7-Step Guide for Writers
6. Develop a satisfying character arc. As you proceed on your character development journey, don't forget to develop a satisfying character arc. This arc expresses the growth of your character as your story evolves. It defines the mental, physical, and emotional growth of your character in your narrative.
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: A Comprehensive Guide
Step 1: Choose Your Individual for Analysis. Character evaluation is the first step to a great analysis. The role or persona you choose for your analysis is crucial to its success. Primary characters are sometimes easier to write since they have well-defined personalities, and their motivations may be evident.
Character Development: How to Create Fan-Favorite Characters ...
1. Give the characters wants and needs. First, it's important to point out that your main character will be inextricably linked to your book's plot.As author Tom Bromley teaches in his course on writing novels, "the protagonist should shape the plot, and the plot should shape the protagonist.". In this regard, the most important character building blocks are their Wants and Needs.
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay in Simple Steps
If you're wondering how to get started writing a character analysis essay, look no further. Follow our simple steps to create an in-depth character analysis!
Character Development Examples
One of the best character development examples in this regard is Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher series. Geralt is strong, competent and very much the hero of the story right from the off. His story, therefore, follows a developmental path of declines and gains, peaks and troughs. The highs and lows of life.
Character Analysis Guide: Master Literature
By analyzing a character's arc, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of storytelling and the power of character development in literature. How to write a character analysis essay Now that we've covered the intricate process of analyzing characterization in literature, let's apply this knowledge to the final step: writing a ...
50 Character Development Writing Prompts
There are many different ways to use character prompts. One way is to choose a prompt that focuses on a specific aspect of a character, such as their appearance, personality, or history. This can help to narrow down the ideas that are generated and can make the writing process easier. Another way is to choose one that is open-ended and allows ...
Writing Character Development: 45 Questions to Ask Your Characters
1. You can do them early on in the writing process—even before you start writing. 2. You can learn a wide variety of details, from your character's eye color to their deepest character traits. 3. You can use them to help overcome "writers' block.". If you're feeling stuck and uninspired to write, a character questionnaire can help ...
17 Character Development Exercises for Writers
Exercise #1: Try to imagine every meticulous detail about your hero, and describe it as you would when writing a book. Leave nothing out, and be thorough, because not all of this will end up in your novel. You could even write it from the perspective of another character observing them.
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline
If the source includes three or more authors, use the abbreviation "et al." after the first author's name. Example: (Collins et al., 1997) As for MLA format: You can write the author's name in the sentence. Example: As Collins mentions in his essay<…>.
Character Development: Write Stronger Characters [with FREE Worksheet]
Character Development: Write Stronger Characters First, what is character development? Character development is the process of creating a character for a work of fiction such as a feature film, television show, or novel.. As mentioned, it's often boiled down to two kinds of characters: Static character development and dynamic character development. ...
Character Development: 12-Step Guide For Writers
Here is your 12 step guide for good character development: Download a worksheet. Create a background for your character. Give your character strengths and weaknesses. Create nervous ticks for your character. Avoid making a "perfect" character. Give your character realistic motives.
Character Development Essay Examples
Browse essays about Character Development and find inspiration. Learn by example and become a better writer with Kibin's suite of essay help services. > Character Development Essay Examples. 44 total results. staff pick ... Essay Writing Blog; Follow. Facebook X (Twitter)
15 Character Development Tips To Use in Your Writing
15 character development tips. There are many ways to develop characters effectively. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you write: 1. Write what you know. It can be helpful to draw from your personal experiences when developing characters. Experiment with giving your characters similar attributes to your own.
Writing Mini Lesson #19- Developing Characters in a Narrative Essay
There are two kinds of traits: 1. Outside traits: Physical traits that you can actually see. (blonde, tall, messy hair, dirty clothes) 2. Inside traits: How the character feels or acts. (bossy, lonely, mysterious, thoughtful, clumsy) To write a well-crafted paper, developing characters give your readers a deeper meaning of the story.

Writing a Character Analysis Essay | Step-by-Step Guide

1. What is a Character Analysis Essay?

2. What is the best Character Analysis Essay Format?

1. Start with the Simple Details.

2. What are the character’s distinctive personality features?

3. What are the character’s key relationships?

4. What are the character’s motivations?

5. What are the character’s key conflicts?

6. What are the character’s epiphanies?

7. Examine the moral message the character teaches us.

3. Here’s 13 Example Character Analysis Essay Ideas.

4. Here’s an Example Template for your own Character Analysis Essay

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay

Still Need Help with Your Character Analysis Essay?

How to Analyze a Character

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay

Read the Story

Choose a Dynamic Character

Choose a Main Idea

Character Analysis Questions

Make a Character Analysis Essay Outline

Character Analysis Essay Introduction:

Character Analysis Essay Body:

Character Analysis Essay Conclusion:

Character Analysis Essay Example

STRUGGLE with Writing an Essay?

Related Articles

Character Development Definition: What is Character Development?

Further Readings on Character Development

1. Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

2. Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

3. Ethan Allan Hawley in The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

4. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

5. Macon “Milkman” Dead III in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Character Development Examples: Summing Up

Tips for Nuanced, 3-Dimensional Character Development

Character Development Questions

1. Who are you?

2. What are your strongest motivations?

3. What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

4. What are your biggest fears and/or regrets?

5. What are your greatest strengths?

6. What are your greatest weaknesses?

7. What are you like socially?

8. What is your role in the story?

9. What is your connection to the overall storyline?

10. What sort of dynamic exists between you and the other characters?

Create Your Own Character Development Questions list

Character Traits

Positive Character Traits List

Negative Character Traits List

Conflict and Character Development

Craft Compelling Character Arcs at Writers.com

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How to Write a Character Development Essay

47 Character Development Prompts To Flesh Out Your Book Characters

Key Benefits of Character Development Exercises

47 Character Development Prompts

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

What is a Character Analysis?

Aim of a Character Analysis

General Types of Characters

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay?

Main Points of a Character Analysis

Personality

Role in a story

Character development

Character Analysis Outline

Do you need a more detailed analysis of your character?

Descriptions

Character Analysis Examples

Popular Topics for Character Analysis

Tips on Writing a Character Analysis from Handmadewriting Experts

A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death

Ethical Research Paper Topics