Developing Your Characters in the Writing Process
So you´re writing a story, a book, a mini series. Whatever it is, you are thinking about developing your characters in the writing process.
For the next couple of pages, I´m going to go into the mental process I´m going through for the next couple of weeks. If you want to skip to a more basic explanation of everything, then just go to the very bottom, or, click here.
I write everyday. A lot of what I write is for business. I´m a geek, I write about web development, code, image manipulation and animation. If you are in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, or even if you are an adult, writing, that is, sharing ideas with other individuals is an extremely important and valuable skill.
As the seconds in the day go by, the value of creative writing grows more and more valuable, exponentially. Why, because writing takes imagination, time and energy and those are skills that many people just don´t have. Someone had to take the time to write everything you see on the internet, on television and on the big screen.
Humans love to watch it or read it, they are too lazy to create it. If you are even thinking about doing it, you are rare. If you are moving ahead and doing it, you are exceptional.
Anyway, I´m developing a project right now. I´m thinking about developing characters in the writing process. I´ve been brainstorming, thinking about what is the message I want to send to the world, and who will the characters be that help me send my message.
I´ve done all of this before, and I´ve taught thousands of people how to do it. But this time I´ve slowed down, and I´m taking a different approach. I´m looking around at other stories, books, television sit coms, and animated cartoons. I´m looking at how many main and sub characters where in those stories, and I´m looking at the characteristics of the characters that were used in those stories.
I found that the number 7, was quite popular.
As you read this, you must remember that stories are nothing new. Humans have be telling and writing stories for thousands of years. Remember that always. Then always remember that if humans have been doing it for that long, then people have been teaching it for that long. There is a ton of literature from thousands of years ago that can help you create a trashy, popular Jerry Springer like show.
Sure, If you´re a professor in a university, or a professional writer, most likely you already know what I have to say. But for me, I´ve been writing for many years. I have an Ivy League Degree from Dartmouth College and a Master´s Degree from The Ohio State University.
No one ever told me to do what I am about to tell you. Of course, there is nothing new under the sun, this is just a new approach for me, and I´m just trying to help you out.
When Developing Your Characters in the Writing Process, What is Already Out There?
When Developing Your Characters in the Writing Process, what if you looked around at eternal tales, stories, movies or even TV shows that have been very successful. Look at the number of characters in those stories. How many main characters are there. How many characters just pop in every once and a while. If you think about these characters, can you come up with a list of ideas that are characteristics of those characters.
