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A (somewhat) Conventional Character Exercise

Unconventional Writing Exercise #4

Hmm. That interview exercise was a lot more work that I thought it would be. I kept putting it off and putting it off. Then I became so busy with other stuff, I nearly forgot about it. Maybe I’ll come back to it eventually. Anyway, this next unconventional exercise is actually pretty conventional:

Create a character.

I promise we’ll do some unconventional things with your character later, but character creation is one of those fundamental things that all creative writers should practice.

When I write a story, I usually don’t know much about my main character. I get to know him (or her) by throwing trials, tribulations, and other sorts of sticky situations at them. For example, I’m working on a (somewhat neglected) novel in which the main character finds himself in the middle of a nuclear war. So far I have hit him with a nuclear shockwave, shot him in the leg, made him spend all night in the rain, forced him to confront a pack of wolves and fight a killer robot. Through these trials, I have concluded that he is not only rather timid, prefering sometimes to hide, rather than confront what’s facing him, but he’s also inquisitive and determined to press on towards his destination (it’s a journey story, by the way) in spite of his timidity. He’s also very proud and is largely reluctant to accept help from anyone.

When you’re thinking about your character, also think about what makes them angry, what makes them hurt, what will push them to their utmost limits, what’s in room 101. Sticky situations will literally “build your character.”

Step 1: Think of a character
Think of a man, a woman, a robot, an animal, whatever. No need to come up with any background information. That will fall into place later.

Step 2: Put them through the meat grinder
Write a scene where your character experiences the worst thing in the world. The worst thing in the world varies from individual to individual. For example, if your character is a proud athelete, create an accident that leaves him paralyzed. If your character is a 90lb weakling, put him in a fight with the toughest bully in school. If your character hates snakes, make him dive in to a room filled with deadly asps to recover the Ark of the Covenant.

Step 3: Share your character
Post what you learned about your character here by leaving a comment.