The Character Development Rabbit Hole

As a writer—especially a fiction writer—I have a guilty pleasure.

Forget plotting and writing scenes and world-building… I LOVE creating my characters!

After all, characters are an integral part of fiction. Without characters, there won't be any conflict. Without conflict, the protagonist cannot go through a significant change. So, character development is vital to creating a story people will want to read. 

It Starts Simple

Once I get a seed of an idea for a story, I always start with my main character. I start with basic stuff. How old is she? Where does she live? What does she do for a living? Is she tall, short, or somewhere in between? Hair color? Eye color? 

Then I start thinking about personality traits. Is she smart? Stubborn? Passive-aggressive? Funny? Organized? Adventurous? Would I get along with this person? 

Before too long, I'm going down the rabbit hole of character development. And the questions keep coming:

• What type of food does she like?

• What are some of her habits?

• Does she like music?

• What's her biggest pet peeve?

• Is she a morning person?

• What's her relationship with her mother?

• What did she want to be when she was young?

• What's the worst thing she's ever done?

  
  

Have I determined the climax of the story or figured out any key plot details yet?

No. 

But I am building a character profile with more detail than the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel!

The Hole Gets Deeper…

Now that I’m warmed up, character development goes beyond just a list of questions.

I create an entire backstory. I know where my character was born, what her childhood was like, who her favorite people are, why she ended up with this career or this husband or this life. It doesn't matter if I need all this for the story I have yet to write. I need this for me.

Then the researching begins. Perhaps I need to find out specific terminology to make my character’s job or environment appear realistic. If a character has a medical or mental health condition, I will learn all about it. Maybe I can search out cultural norms and traditions that will add dimension to her.

And of course, my character needs a name! I have literally spent hours perusing baby naming websites to find the perfect moniker. Sometimes I'm looking for a certain ethnicity. Other times, the name needs to be historically accurate. And then, of course, there might be one I would never consider because I once knew (and despised) someone with that name!

…And Deeper

I have been known to create a character mood board. This helps to keep the character fresh in my mind between writing sessions.

If I’m developing multiple characters, I often create a separate profile for each one or, better yet, a spreadsheet! 

Sometimes I’ll have a character write a letter or journal entry to get a sneak peek inside their head. It helps to establish perspective, even though that entry will never make it into the story itself.

So why am I doing all this? Because it’s fun to dream up an entire person from thin air. With endless traits to choose from, they could be anybody I want them to be. It’s like making a new friend and finding out all the things that make them unique. How can I write an entire story if I don’t know my characters inside and out?

Am I Procrastinating?

As a neurodivergent (ND) writer who already deals with Executive Dysfunction, I have to ask myself this question: At what point do I admit that all of this character development might actually be procrastination? Am I avoiding the dreaded blank page by spending hours upon hours building character profiles? 

I don’t think so.

Surely not every character detail I’ve procured belongs in the story. That was never the point. But all those particulars help to inform my character’s actions, dialogue, internal thoughts, and motivations in a way that all the planning in the world couldn’t. It is not wasted time.

In fact, I would advise writers to take a deep dive into their characters before they ever plot an outline. If you spend the time to make each character as real as the person sitting next to you, they will tell you where the story is going and act in ways you may not have been able to predict. 

That being said, I do spend an inordinately large amount of time hyperfocused on character development. Therefore, I probably should find a way to curtail this process and get to the plot sooner.

But there’s something about creating a character from scratch that is magical.  

And if a deep dive is what I need to discover exactly who my characters are, well… I’ll be down in the rabbit hole.

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About the author: Karen is a writer, teacher, audiobook lover, and Wordle enthusiast from New Jersey. She has ADHD and OCD and makes no apologies for her love of creating characters. Her favorite activities are spoiling her granddaughters, traveling to warm climates, snort-laughing with friends, and sipping a good Cosmopolitan. Visit her online at www.karenkinley.com.