Creating a Character for a Story

This is my favorite part of creation, besides the creation of the map in a story! Using my imagination and creativity, I create characters with individual personalities and happening realities. Children of all ages (this means you adults too since we are all children at heart), can create wonderful people in their stories based on personalities they know in real life to imaginary Kings who rule an imaginary world listed on a map.

Characters in a story are very important. You want them to seem realistic and you want them to be remembered. Here are a few ways of accomplishing this for your next story or for use as practice.

 

• Create a full name.
  • Henry John Smith.
  • Loret Piel Smit.
  • Sir Lancelot of Targus.
  • Little Penny Shoemaker.

 

• Create character visuals.
  • Scenery.
  • Black leather jacket.
  • Motor bike.
  • Favorite Book.
  • Blonde hair.
  • Purple purse.
  • Blue Suede shoes.

 

• Create character flaws.
  • Chipped tooth.
  • Doesn’t do homework.
  • Mole on his right arm.
  • Forgets to hold his tongue and rabbits away.
  • She always keeps forgetting her gloves.
  • He has a terrible time remembering his name.
  • Can not ride a horse without falling off.

 

• Create General Ideas.
  • Talented youth of his day.
  • He speaks volumes with his words.
  • She writes so eloquently.
  • Her voice is as soft as a velvet cloth.
  • The angry bee stings with all of his might.
  • He is a very responsible and brilliant son.

 

• Create more focused ideas that will relate to your story.
  • He speed reads every novel, but “The Mystery of Tapet”.
  • His self discipline works well with his Karate training.
  • She learned to ride when she was four years old and has become a professional rider at age fifteen.

 

• Create different scenes with your character and see how they relate. These do not have to be brought into the story at any time, but can be referenced so that you know and understand how your character reacts and thinks. You can also create the major scenes of your story this way too.
  • A bike accident. Johnny sped through a traffic signal light and he lost all control of his bike when he hit the water. He ended up in the hospital in traction for several weeks. None of his friends but Shelly came for a visit.
  • Johnny had to return to the hospital for various doctor appointments and he visited the nurses that took good care of him. On a few occasions he brought them flowers as a gift to say “Thank you”.

 

• Create other characters to compliment your character. So if you have a bad guy, create some ruffians to go along with the bad guy character. If you have a King, have several subjects, guardsmen, and family members that support him. When you begin to have different sets of characters and their subjects, try linking them together and form a story.
  • King Richard, Sir Gregory, Sir Thomas, Lady Helena, Queen Pauline, Prince Morton.
  • Wizard Drates, Apprentice Jaques, Guard Henry, Castle guards that support the Wizard.

 

• Create a timeline for your main character. Start with the date and time of when your character first appears on the scene. These do not have to be specific dates or times, but can be a timeline of events as well.
  • Freddy was born in 1367.
  • Freddy lost his parents in 1372.
  • Freddy was left at the palace gates.
  • Freddy was taken inside the castle.
  • Sir Freddy became in Fall 1372 with a coronation by the Good King Thomas.
  • Sir Freddy learns and grows within the castle walls for many years.
  • In 1382, the castle was under attack and Sir Freddy led an army to defend his castle.
  • In 1383, Sir Freddy lost his father, the good King and Sir Freddy becomes King.
  • As a young King, King Freddy learns how to rule the kingdom with a fair and firm hand.
  • In 1393, King Freddy weds the young maiden Leaona.
  • That same year Queen Leona has twins.
  • Celebration for the births of the boys begins and last for several months.
  • King Jared of a neighboring kingdom, send out a gift for the two princes. Two slaves from the Far east.
  • In 1395, the two slaves kidnap the two princes and take them to the neighboring Castle of King Jared.
  • For several months the princes are lost to the world. News reaches King Freddy in the early months of 1396 since King Jared plans to hold them for ransom.
  • The Kings best guard secretly brings the boys home.

 

Have fun with these creative ideas towards building unique and wonderful characters. Your story will unfold as you imagine and dream about one main character and then expand on him/her. Place these thoughts on paper and create a story around them.

I find this works well with older children simply because they enjoy hearing stories and wish to create a magical story with depth just like books in print. Now with a few tools to help them expand a simple idea, such as the ones listed above, their stories can grow and bring in more substance to help them on their story making experience. This is a great exercise for one that believes they simply cannot create a story too. With help from parents, teachers, and friends a story can be built on the discovery of character building. See what you or your class can come up with.