Developing Multiple Characters

JStar King · Sep 4, 2015

This is one of my biggest topics, when it comes to writing. Developing multiple characters can be a bit repetitive, which is why I only put like 10-15 characters in my storylines, which makes it less stressful. However, if I was planning on writing a story with more than 20-30 characters, what would be the easiest method to develop them?

It's always confused as to how someone like Oda does it. One Piece has so many characters, I've lost count. I can barely remember all their names sometimes. Plus, I know it's difficult to put them all in the storyline, which is why I resorted to setting up story arcs, but that's barely helpful. So, please, can someone please give me some advice?

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Chakra Wizard · Sep 4, 2015

Well, for one, remember that any character you create will be unoriginal in some way. Personalities are bound to look similar, which is why the best way to differentiate your characters is to mix and match all sorts of traits so that they're all somehow unique (OP has a huge cast, but it is still mostly one-dimensional characters).

Also, if you've already got a storyline planned out, your best bet is to determine the roles of all your characters and form their profiles from there, either suiting them to their particular roles or giving them more bizarre traits, depending on your type of story.

wanderingcactus · Sep 4, 2015

Normally id have 2 building blocks i deal with.

I call em the base.

1) what is his/her/its goal
2) what is his/her/its emotion towards... (you could put in the goal here as well)

As soon as you do that, you could branch out and that character will be given their own personality based on how you answered.

The personality would then give influence on what theyd look like, how they dress, etc.

Then as your story evolves, so do your chars. So if you dont wish for them to become static, youd wish to ask those two first questions again.

Do they still have the same goal? Or is it a different one?

How do they feel?

And thats how i create then develop my characters.

I hope this helps when making more characters in the future