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Creating Characters

WriteHive Workshop

- Olga Ponjee -

- Arnout Brokking -

QUICK

INTRODUCTION

Who are we?

Arnout Brokking - he/him

Olga Ponjee - she/her

What are we doing today?

  • How do you create an interesting character?
  • How do you create a strong protagonist?
  • How do you build a story around them?

Plot = Characters

& Characters = Plot

Characters

Most good stories

combine both.

THE BASICS

The conflict that drives your story, influences you characters and vice versa.

A scene should (1) move the plot forward and/or (2) reveal something about a character.

FIRST

SKETCHES

FIRST

SKETCHES

A good source of inspiration is observation

  • Observe yourself
  • What touches you? What makes you angry? What do you want to say?

  • Observe the world around you
  • Write what you (want to) know (about)
  • "Writers don't read tea leaves, they read papers" (Margaret Atwood)

  • Do research
  • Go out into the world (but not right now)
  • Interview those you find interesting
  • Read & stay curious

THE

MATRIX

'Use the Matrix, Frodo!' - Dumbledore

Most characters want something (their goal or want) that they cannot get. Possibly through external factors, but mostly because they are their own worst saboteur/enemy.

PROTAGONIST VS ANTAGONIST

Protagonist vs Antagonist

An interesting antagonist:

  • Blocks your protagonist from reaching their goal (not necessarily out of bad intentions)
  • Is your protaggonist's equal (at least)
  • Exploits your protagonist's Pitfall, uses

this against them, forcing them to

change.

BATMAN

(1) Core quality?

(2) Pitfall?

(3) Allergy?

(4) Challenge?

BATMAN

(1) Core quality?

(2) Pitfall?

(3) Allergy?

(4) Challenge?

(1) Order / sense of justice / decisiveness

(2) Vigilante / seeing the world in binary (right/wrong)

(3) Randomness (parents are killed by random thugs) / ambiguity

(4) You cannot control everything / The world is gray / No one is 100% virtuous

BATMAN

(1) Core quality?

(2) Pitfall?

(3) Allergy?

(4) Challenge?

(1) Order / sense of justice / decisiveness

(2) Vigilante / seeing the world in binary (right/wrong)

(3) Randomness (parents are killed by random thugs) / ambiguity

(4) You cannot control everything / The world is gray / No one is 100% virtuous

THE JOKER

(1) Core quality?

(2) Pitfall?

(3) Allergy?

(4) Challenge?

BATMAN

(1) Core quality?

(2) Pitfall?

(3) Allergy?

(4) Challenge?

(1) Order / sense of justice / decisiveness

(2) Vigilante / seeing the world in binary (right/wrong)

(3) Randomness (parents are killed by random thugs) / ambiguity

(4) You cannot control everything / The world is gray / No one is 100% virtuous

THE JOKER

(1) Core quality?

(2) Pitfall?

(3) Allergy?

(4) Challenge?

(1) Chaos / nothing is binary / challenges systems & values

(2) Doesn't believe in anything (not in money, love, death, not even his own history)

(3) Order / knights of morality

(4) There are things worth believing in, there is meaning in your actions

Protagonist vs Antagonist

Can you think of more examples?

Your character wants something, but will fail again and again during the story. Until they learn something about themself.

PLOT VS CHARACTER

This knowledge results in a transformation (or not)

PLOT VS

CHARACTER

What does that transformation look like? How does the plot influence your character, and vice versa?

the WANT is the specific goal of your protagonist at the beginning of the story.

WANT vs

NEED

WANT

vs

NEED

The NEED is the deeper desire (or the deeper wound) of your character; what they truly miss in their life (or the wound they must heal)

Want vs Need

As Seen In

Aladdin

(1992)

want

A whole new goal...

need

Plot: Revisited

Plot:

Revisited

Use your protagonist, antagonist, goals &

genre as foundation for your story structure.

1) Act 1. What does normal life look like for our protagonist? (arena, profession, friends etc)

2) Inciting incident. What is the conflict that sets the action in motion? (Intro antagonist)

3) Act 2. What attempts does the protagonist make to solve the problem? Why and how does it fail? What's the role of the protagonist?

4) Midpoint. At what point does your character realise they have a 'need' that is different from their want?

5) Deep shit point. Self explanatory

6) Climax. Can your character solve the

conflict or not?

7) Act 3. How does it end? Has you

character grown/transformed?

FLESH AND BLOOD

Your character is more than just their troubles, and more than their function in the story.

But how do you turn them into a real person?

FLESHING OUT YOUR

CHARACTERS

(1) Emotions. Ask yourself what your characters are feeling in each and every scene? How do those feelings influence their thoughts and their actions?

(2) Details. Give your characters unique details that tell your readers more about the psychology of your characters.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople: https://vimeo.com/293380887

Q&A

(1) What are you working on?

(2) What are you struggling with?

(3) What do you want to know more about?

Q&A

find us on twitter: @olgaponjee & @arnoutbrokking

or instagram: @anachronisma & @itsarnoutbrokking

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