Hello all! Thank you so much for joining me here today at Love Bytes for my monthly author column. Today I’m chatting a little about character development. I love creating characters. It’s one of my favorite parts of writing. As a result, my stories are heavily character driven. For me character has always been key. That’s not to say plot isn’t important, but I need to care about the characters.

What makes a good character? Obviously not every reader will love every character, and every writer is different. Their storytelling is different. Their styles, their voice, their stories. But no matter the author’s voice, they’re all faced with creating characters. Everyone has their process, whether it be meticulous or a few vague traits to get the ball rolling. In the end, we all want to create great characters.

You’ll come across an endless number of character profiles sheets and questionnaire’s online to help with character development, from very detailed to the basics. For me, I start with the basics. I can’t map out a character completely before I’ve written them. I like for my characters to grow as they interact with the world around them.

Let’s take a look at Dexter J. Daley from the THIRDS. When Dex appeared in my head, he was fully formed. Well, as fully formed as a character tended to be for me. He knew who he was, but I had to get to know him. From the beginning, I knew he’d be trouble, but I had no idea the extent of it. I started with the basics, a vague physical description. Then I went online and found the perfect face cast. Dexter would be dirty blond, with bright pale blue eyes, thick dark eyebrows, and full lips that quirked into a cheeky smile. He was roughly six feet tall, 175lbs, and had an infectious laugh. His smile could light up a room.

I knew right away Dex was a joker. He was the funny kid in your class who was always cracking jokes. The one everyone wanted to be friends with. He was confident, cheerful, and impulsive. I started working on his background. His father was a detective for the Human Police Force, his mother worked for the CDC. Both were killed when he was a child. Dex would follow in his father’s footsteps. From there I looked at different character architypes. From Dex’s personality I knew he was the hero type. The white knight. He would have a deep routed sense of justice. Heck, his middle name is Justice.

I had my hero. A white Knight. The kind of guy who wants to save the world. He’s determined. Knock him down and he’ll keep getting back up while there’s breath in his body. I had all his good traits down, but Dex couldn’t be perfect. No one is. Not even the white knight. I took a personality test for Dex based on the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator. Dex is an ENFJ personality. The Protagonist.

As you can see, some of Dex’s strengths are: tolerant, reliable, charismatic, altruistic, natural leader. His weaknesses are: Overly idealistic, too selfless, too sensitive, fluctuating self-esteem, struggles to make tough decisions. From there his weaknesses grew. He can be impulsive at times when he feels he’s doing the right thing. He can be stubborn. He makes mistakes, and at times does stupid things. He’s human.

All of these strengths and weaknesses helped develop who Dexter J. Daley is, and how he would react to certain situations, as well as other characters. From there it was time to give Dex hobbies, likes, dislikes. What kind of music did he listen to? What kind of car did he drive? What movies did he watch? His love of cheesy eighties music and eighties movies he got from me. It fit with his adorkable personality.

Once I had my hero, I started writing him. As the story and series continued, like any real human being, Dex continued to grow. He’d face hardships and heartaches. When something happened, I would ask myself, “How would Dex react?” and went from there. Sloane would also play a big part in Dex’s growth, and any changes in his personality. The two share similarities but are very different. Sloane would be able to rein in Dex’s hyperactivity, soothe him, and calm him. With the addition of Dex’s family, his teammates, and friends, Dex would continue to grow, learn, and develop. Character doesn’t end with creation.

What do you think makes a great character? What makes your favorite characters your favorite?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From Historical to Fantasy, Contemporary to Science Fiction, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in South Florida, Charlie looks forward to migrating to a land where the weather includes seasons other than hot, hotter, and boy, it’s hot! When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

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