This week Sharn and Andy talked about their different approaches and techniques for character building.
They started the episode with a definition of character building/development from the Self Publishing School (https://self-publishingschool.com/character-development/) :
Character development is the process and execution of creating a fully rounded, complex, and lifelike character within your fictional writing with the purpose of making readers invested in them and their life or journey.
Sharn and Andy then discussed where they get ideas from for their characters, and then the process they each undertook to develop these characters including creating character profiles.
They then discussed their different approaches to developing good characters vs bad characters, main vs supporting characters, as well as non-human characters.
Then then wrapped it up with tips for developing characters that have helped Sharn and Andy.
Andy’s tips:
Using a DnD like character sheet can be a good place to start.
Having visual references and descriptions helps.
Defining character motivations is key.
Outline the linkages.
Defining their roles early and figuring out why they get a speaking part in the story.
Sharn’s tips:
Creating character profiles and working through who each person is methodically helped create characters with depth.
Figure out what your "specific" traits are that you will use to describe them early on and write them down so you don’t forget!
Some characters can evolve from thinking about what type of relationships exist in the main character’s life and what personalities would spark or compliment the main character’s.
The plot still often drives the appearance/need for characters.
You can find this podcast episode (and all our other episodes) here: https://anchor.fm/invokecreations , or directly on your favourite streaming services. Or follow Bards Lost in the Metaverse on Twitter @invokecreations.
NOTE: Everything discussed during the podcast is simply our own interpretation of information we come across as we research topics, or is commentary based on our own personal experiences. We highly encourage everyone to conduct their own research into topics of interest as information, especially in the technical space, changes regularly.
Music track featured this week was titled Static Heart and can be viewed/listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvPizXA43BM
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As always, we’re off to put our bums on seats and do some work, so until next time stay dangerous!
Byeeeeeeeeee!
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