Now let’s see if we can make him believable. Remember he lives in same rural area, so what makes him different from rest of workers who are willing to settle for less?

I could say he recently move to that rural area from city. He used to work as a union leader and wanted to get out of rat race. But having fought for workers rights his entire career, he can’t stand now to see injustices and comes to decision to fight for them and himself.

So this character would suit our plot because we need someone like him for our story.

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Example two – Thinking of a character first

We notice a man on street. Something about him triggers our interest so we decide to write about him in a short story. So at this point we will build character first and then work a story around him.

Let’s go back to where we saw him…

He’s walking briskly along a busy street. He’s in a hurry. He’s dressed in a three-piece suit, which indicates he might be a businessman. He’s got a stack of documents under his arm; a briefcase in his left hand and his right hand is occupied by holding phone to his ear, which he’s shouting into.

Let’s observe him closer…

He’s in his mid thirties. He looks authoritative. Perhaps he has his own business. Why is he shouting into phone? Perhaps one of his employees made a mistake, which has cost character a lot of money.

What if this employee made mistake on purpose? What if he’s secretly working for opposition, planted to destroy main character’s company? What if owner of that opposing company is main character’s own brother? Etc…

So as we analyze this character and ask questions about him, our plot begins to unfold.

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Plots and characters have to suit each other.

When we have finished plotting and are ready to write story, they shouldn’t be ill-fitting pieces of a puzzle – They should be a perfect match.

Does your plot suit your characters and vice-versa?

s)What does he think when he’s alone?

t)Does he have any secrets he hasn’t disclosed to anyone?

u)His prejudices?

v)Dominant motives?

w)Values most?

x)Desires most?

y)How does he treat those around him? (children, superiors, etc)

z)Any vices or virtues?

8.Likes and dislikes

a)Favourite colour, food, etc

b)Favourite music?

c)Taste in clothing?

d)Does character like something in particular?

e)Does character dislike something in particular?

9.Lifestyle

a)Where does character live (country, city)?

b)Does character live in a house, apartment etc

c)Does character like where he lives?

d)Does where he lives reflect what kind of person he is?

e)Does he have a favourite room? (Or a piece of furniture or other object etc) f)Does he have a car? What type? Does car reflect person he is?

g)Any hobbies? Personal habits (neat, sloppy etc)

10.Background

a)Parents names

b)Parents occupations

c)Describe relationship with parents

d)Any siblings?

e)Describe relationship with siblings

f)What kind of childhood did character have?

g)What kind of adolescence did character have? h)What kind of schooling did character undergo? (Private or public? Has this shaped who he is?)

i)What was highest-level achieved in school?

j)Citizenship/Ethnic Origin?

k)In which country does he currently live?

l)If country he lives in is not where he was born, why does he live there?

11.Character’s current position

a)Any friends? b)Any enemies? c)Acquaintances? d)Has character been married before? e)Has character been engaged before? f)Any children? g)Most meaningful experience? h)Any disappointments? i)What is character’s goal in life? j)Attitude towards opposite sex? k)Attitude towards life?

12.Employment

a)What kind of job does character currently have? b)What kind of jobs has character had previously? c)Is character content in current employment? d)If not, what would be their dream job?

13.What do you feel for this character?

a)Admire b)Love c)Hate d)Dislike e)Like f)Pity g)Envy

Whatever you feel for this character, your emotions must be strong. If they are not, either build on this further or begin building another character altogether.