Have you been wondering
how to develop a character
in your writing?

Well, you've come to the right place. It's really quite easy to learn how to develop a character. Just take a look at some of these beginnings to stories, and see how the characters rapidly develop into ones you want to learn more about.

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This first example is from a young adult novel-in-progress that I have been working on:

Phillip Martin always had a problem making friends. The only friend he ever had was Justin Fisher, since the fifth grade. But that all ended when Justin moved to Corkton, Wisconsin, over two hours away from Phillip's small town of Marks, Minnesota.

Let's see what we know about Phillip, our protagonist, from this very first paragraph of the story. Character mapping relies heavily on key words and phrases to help explain the character's background, personality, and motivation. Finding ways to incorporate all of these things into the character description is one aspect of how to develop a character properly.

Firstly, we know that Phillip is not too popular. Otherwise he wouldn't have such a problem making friends. His friend Justin liked him, but when he moved away, we can only assume that Phillip was heartbroken, and worried that he wouldn't find anyone else. This beginning is supposed to make you believe just that - that he can't find anyone else and is going to have a hard time until he actually does find that companionship.

We also know that Phillip lives in a small town. He doesn't have too much opportunity to meet new people, as he has probably known the same people all his life, and not too many people are likely to move into his town.

From this first paragraph we have learned a lot about our main character. Every other character in the story has to revolve around Phillip, as he is now the one I have attempted to get you to root for and encourage.

Not only do first paragraphs help, but so do first words, and even chapter titles, if your novel, short story, or other piece of writing has those included. These are some other methods that make it easier to work on how to develop a character.

Let's take an example from Mark Twain's classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This novel, especially after having been followed up by The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, proves the point that character mapping can prove very fruitful. Without having introduced Huck Finn in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, readers would not be so familiar with him, and his character would have to essentially be described yet again in his own novel. Having read about him already, readers know how Mark Twain developed his character, as they have learned what to expect of him, what type of boy he is, and what kind of mischief he just might get into on his own, without the aid of his pal, Tom Sawyer.

Back to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, though, the title of the very first chapter of the novel is, "Tom Plays, Fights, and Hides". That says a lot already, doesn't it? Then, as we lead into the first chapter, the first word is merely, "Tom!" When he doesn't answer, and the person screaming his name does so again, weknow that he's most likely off creating some mischief, based on the title of the chapter. Mark Twain has encapsulated just the type of personality young Tom has by having someone searching effortlessly for him before the novel has even begun. This character mapping technique of letting on only so much, but at the same time, just enough information about a character to fulfill readers' curiosity, is a perfectly employable technique that writers of any genre can use.

No wonder The Adventures of Tom Saywer is such a classic, since Mark Twain knew just how to grab your attention and keep you reading, wondering what kind of trouble Tom and the other characters might get into next.

The Catcher in the Rye is another such novel that employs the character mapping tool. Holden Caulfield is a character that you immediately know, from the first sentence of the book, is a lackadaisical, unmotivated boy who really just needs some guidance and someone to talk to about his life.

The first sentence of the novel reads:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

Holden wants to make you believe that he doesn't care about anything, but even though he has that trait within him, he is held back from doing much of what he encounters in the novel, because he is still trying to learn the difference between right and wrong, as well as trying to figure out not only what other people expect of him, but what he expects of himself. The whole first sentence of the novel is quite ironic, as he proceeds throughout the novel to do and say many things that bring his feelings about all of the ideas he brought up in the first sentence to the forefront. Readers begin to understand why he said all those things, and why he feels the way he feels about his life and the people in it.

Writers employ character mapping because it helps guide them through writing their own stories. Once they have the protagonist, antagonist, or any other character plotted out, they can proceed to make the other characters in their work fall into place, and flow well together. If all of the characters in your story, poem, or other piece of writing have no connections at all, your story is more of a moot point than anything else.

Even if your characters are never meant to meet in your writing, find some thread that connects them together. Maybe they will have the same personality trait, or ride the same bus at the same time on the same day. They might not think they know each other, but find out that they are in fact half-siblings. Connections are vital to your character mapping. You must sort out your ideas and bring them to fruition through this character map. Knowing where you're going with a piece of writing is half the battle. Once you know where you're going, you just have to find your way there.

Think about how you get to work, school, or home every day. What if you switched up that route? You would have to find the directions to get you there, or you might just try turning down different roads and see which route actually goes the fastest.

Just as if you have found a route that works best for you while driving, you want to find a path in your writing of each individual story, poem, or anything else you choose to write. Plot it all out, and direction will just come to you. You will find a path that just works, and which you can find your way down without too much of a hassle. If you constantly drive down a road with a traffic jam, you tend to avoid that route if you know it's coming up, right? Do the same with your writing. Avoid road blocks, or writer's block for our purposes. Map it all out in your mind, on paper, or however else works best for you, and you'll be on your way to joining the likes of Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger through your character mapping in no time!

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