How to develop a character

People often ask me how a writer develops a character for a novel. I usually answer:

“It’s easy. You simply make up his or her life.”

This answer is not always helpful, because the most frequent reply is:

“Oh, make it up – but I don’t know how to do that.”

This post is dedicated to all persons who feel fobbed off by my aloof advice. Today, I will explain the development of a character properly. To give you an insight into the creative process, I will use a “real life” example.
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Great Links for Doing Research on the Regency Period (Part I)

I have discussed Methods of Research for Historical Writers some months ago. Among others, I recommended working with Wikipedia to get a quick overview on a topic. I still stick to this advise. Nevertheless, it is always important and useful to double-check on information and to deepen your knowledge by visiting specialised websites and blogs. Therefore, I have edited links to tried and tested websites for you to help you with your research on the Regency period.  Continue reading

Managing the Characters – Part 3 of 3: Sample Biography and Quiz

In the first two parts of this series, I wrote about ways to manage the characters of a novel. I discussed

I also mentioned that it is useful to write a biography for each character. While it is a lot of work, there are certain benefits.

How does a biography help?

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Managing the Characters – Part 2 of 3: Tools and Free Download

Welcome to the second post of this 3-part series about keeping track of your characters – the one with The Free Download. In the previous post, I covered what pieces of information about your characters you could and should define.

You have now created a lot of data for each character. How to handle it? The answer depends on your preferences. Here are some options: Continue reading

Managing the Characters – Part 1 of 3: Attributes

Your novel features many characters. Each of them has individual characteristics of appearance and behaviour. You might easily remember the long dark hair of your heroine and the aquiline nose of your hero. But remembering every bit of information about every character is likely to be a challenge. It is advisable to list those attributes somehow.
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5 Methods of Research for Historical Writers

Research is immensely important for writers of historical novels. A good knowledge of the historical background helps to straighten the plot, gives credibility to its characters and brings the story to life.

Research also is fun.

If you aspire to write a Regency novel, here are five conventional and unconventional methods of research for you:

Unconventional methods of research
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Got Stuck in Your Story Line? – Pick a Chance Card!

Writers are free to make use of any creativity technique they can think of. Brainwriting and Mind Mapping, for example, are well known.

Another intriguing technique is incorporating chance, i.e. random thoughts, into your creative process in order to trigger ideas. In a previous post I have suggested using chance cards when being stuck in creating a plot.

Picking cards? Are you serious?

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