CHAPTER 5
Developing Characters
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How to Begin
Put in as much time as it takes to develop characters that are really original and interest-
ing! You’ll want each of them to be as different from the others as possible. Those differ-
ences allow your characters to conflict and to relate to each other in funny ways. You’ll
probably want to start by writing a biography or fact sheet for each of your main charac-
ters. If you’re an artist, you may prefer to start by drawing the characters. Often writers
choose to script scenes between characters to see how they’ll react. And actors sometimes
prefer to improvise scenes out loud to develop their characters. Whatever works best for
you is fine. Think of your characters as real actors. Get to know them so you know what
they’ll do. Lucky for you, your actors won’t indulge in gourmet lunches and then demand a
trainer to get in shape for the big battle scene or insist on a stunt double to fight the fifty-
foot, flying monster with two robotic heads!
Types of People
People have been characterized by types and traits for eons. In the Middle Ages there was
black bile (melancholic, sentimental, thoughtful), blood (sanguine, amorous, joyful), yellow
bile (easily angered, obstinate), and phlegmatic (calm and cool). Another method divides
the body into centers: head (soul, link to God), pituitary (integrated mental, emotional, and
physical), throat (conscious creativity, intellect), heart (greater love, brotherhood of man,
self-sacrifice), solar plexus (aspiration, group power, personal power), sacral (sex, money,
fear), and root center (survival). Carl Jung classified types as the introvert or the extrovert,
and then further into those who experience life mainly through sensing, thinking, feeling, or
intuition. People have been characterized as being dependent, independent, or interde-
pendent. Whether or not you believe in these kinds of classifications, any of these methods
might help you to develop your characters. Of course, there’s also astrology.