Character Development Resource Round-Up
Hey writers. I come today bearing a gift: A collection of resources to help out with character development. I’ve sorted it into categories so that you can easily find what you’re looking for (or just easily sort out what’s what), and I’ve collected here many of the posts I’ve found over the years and saved to my Pinterest boards (you can find my account here if you’d like to see some of the other articles I’ve saved on other aspects of writing, or if you’d like to see my storyboards/character boards/etc., and here are my Writing Tips: Characters and Characters: Creation boards if you’d like even more tips on character development).
General character development
The Art of Transmogrifying Character Notes by Victoria at Something Delicious
Creating Strong Characters: Three Ideas by Meghan at A Well Told Story
8 Different Kinds of Strengths to Give Your Characters by Hannah at Hannah Heath (By the way, this is, like, my favorite blogger ever)
Crafting Strong Character Arcs for Your Novel by Kristen at Well-Storied (formerly known as She’s Novel)
Character Development: Why You Need to Know Your Character’s Taste in Music by Shelby at The Writing Pal
A Guide to Creating Characters Worth Remembering: Forum Edition by Emily at Creative Geek Lifestyle (this is aimed toward forum roleplayers developing roleplay characters, but much of it can be applied to book characters as well)
Novel Characters: 15 top character creation tips by Now Novel
8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character by Reedsy
One Frightful Characterization Tip That Will Transform Your Stories by Ruthanne at The Write Practice
Tips To Keep Your Characters In Perspective & Make The Right Impressions With Them by springhole.net
11 Things to Consider if You Want Distinct, Unique Characters by Alyssa at The Honeydrop Post (This is actually a friend of mine from the NaNoWriMo site)
3 Key Ways To Create Characters That Grip Readers’ Hearts by Jody at Jody Hedlund
5 Tips for Creating Complex Characters by Hannah at Hannah Heath
The “Boxes” I Put My Characters In by Yours Truly, right here at Scribes & Archers
8 Necessary Tips for How To Write Child Characters by K.M. Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors
Character Development, another of mine from here on the blog
Main characters
Dynamic character: How to write a compelling protagonist by Reedsy
Main Character: Who Is Your Protagonist? by Darcy at Fiction Notes
Villains/Antagonists
Creating villain motivations: Writing real adversaries by Now Novel
The Four Main Types of Epic Antagonists by Kristen at Well-Storied
5 Ways to Hide Your Villain in Plain Sight by Kaitlin at Ink and Quills (I love this because I love hiding my villains in plain sight. ;) )
6 Simple Steps to Superbad Villains by Sacha at Sachablack.co
Three Reasons to Make Your Villain Sympathetic (And Two Dangers to Avoid) by Brandon at The Kingdom Pen
Casts
9 Tips for Crafting A Large (And Well-Developed) Cast of Characters by Hannah at Hannah Heath
How To Create a Strong Cast of Characters by Stephanie at Go Teen Writers
How to Write an Ensemble Cast by The Author Studio
How to Utilize the Extra Characters In Your Novel by Abigail at Writing Abby
