1. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    Trouble Developing Character

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Kevin Teichman, Jun 30, 2017.

    in my story I posted in the genre section on here, I'm having a rough time using dialogue that fits her personality.

    Which leads to me next issue, I don't know what type of personality to give her. How does one fix this issue before it's too late?
     
  2. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    Also, since she is German should she be more like how girls from Germany really are or a mix of that and how I would want her to be?
     
  3. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Same as my suggestion for dialogue ;)

    Come up with as many personality traits as possible, then pick some at random and use them until you know if you like them or not. If you decide that you don't like any trait(s), then look at what it is about them that you don't like, and that should help narrow down which traits to try next.

    Is she German as in living in Germany? Born in Germany but moved somewhere else? Born somewhere else to a German family?
     
  4. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    I'll have to do that. I can picture in my mind how she is when she says things and how she carries herself and does certain things, if that makes sense. Another problem I'm having is deciding what she likes and does not. Overall it's a mess.


    Well she's born and raised in Germany, from Munich. But in this fantasy world, she's from the "German territory."
     
  5. Megs33

    Megs33 Active Member

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    i've really enjoyed "interviewing" my characters. i have a notebook by my bed and i fill a page just talking to each character before i go to sleep. sometimes the back-and-forth feels a bit contrived, but i've found a few comment gems hidden in the pages that have helped me hash my characters out a lot better. it's especially helpful to do it and then leave it alone for a week or so; when i come back and reread with fresh eyes i find it a lot easier to tease out characteristics and personality traits that i want to hang on to.
     
  6. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    It took me over a year to realize that one of my favorite characters – a post-traumatic serial killer – was also a military history nerd who used to play Sid Meier's Civilization with her baby brother. This makes her feel so much more real to me just as a self-contained nugget of information, but more importantly, it also impacts how she approaches her life when the plot starts happening (what weapons she uses in what situations, how she uses them, what she avoids using...).

    General research tip: googling "misconceptions about X" (in this case, "German personality") will get you better information than just googling "X" ;)
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2017
  7. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    This is a fantastic idea. I'll give it a try tonight. Putting it together on paper is always better.
     
  8. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    I could believe that. I made it where there are German lines in the story, obviously because she's German but because I speak some German myself.

    And sometimes, in certain situations in the story, I know what I want to say (since I'm one of the main characters) but I have NO IDEA of what to make her say. It makes my blood boil.
     
  9. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    Another issue I'm having is how tall to make the character. This is not too important, but it helps put things in perspective at points in the story. Especially since I'm aiming to put romance in the story.
     
  10. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    5ft 5-5ft 10 ish.

    Honestly IDK. I am pretty vague on my
    character heights, but they range from 5ft 7-8ft +
    depending on Species. :p
    And rarer exception 9ft tall.

    But you can look up the average height of women
    in Germany, to give you a decent range to work with. :)
     
  11. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I use the dialog with my other characters to let the personality break through.
    Like you, I know how my MC would act in a situation, but sometimes I'm surprised how some of the characters react to him.
    For instance my MC was in love with a girl he was never going to get rid of, two chapters later he caught her with a female gym instructor. I didn't see that coming, except when I look back. She didn't feel there was any right or wrong, just good and bad. I guess what I'm saying is, let it develop. I wouldn't care where shes from, unless it is a period piece.
     
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  12. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    This is a good idea. I just won't include scenes like "she had to bend down to kiss him" or "she had to practically climb up a ladder to kiss him"

    Just scenes that indicate that she's 5'7" to 5'9" but how do I create such a scene? How do I put in words she's in that height range without saying that directly?
     
  13. Kevin Teichman

    Kevin Teichman Active Member

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    I'll let it develop, i just hope that when its all said and done I can follow the character along with images in mind. Fiction is MUCH harder than I expected! But I love things that are challenging, and things that make me better.
     
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  14. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Sounds like you just did ;)

    Also, it's generally preferred that you multi-quote in posts instead of making a new post for every single quote.

    Like this :)
     
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  15. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    No you don't. Just say she leaned down to kiss him.
    simple and effective.

    The only characters I even bother with noting actual
    height are the ones that are in the 20cm range. Every
    one else either looks up or down depending on who
    it is. :p
     

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