I found that an important part of developing my characters further was to research different elements of the character's personalities to focus on and questions to ask myself about them. When deciding on the individual and specific details about each character, I will incorporate my researched tips into their development.
Character Development: Creating Characters [1]
On this research page about character development, I found the following tips about the best ways to create a character's types, physical features, personality and history...
1. Physical Details: 'Readers want to be able to imagine a character'. The considerations to be made in this section are focused on senses: what the character looks like, how do they smell, what do they feel like (soft skin/hair etc.), how do they touch things (gentle, aggressive etc.).
2. Physical Environment: 'The setting can help move the story along and define the character'. Where does the character live, work and play and do they fit in or stand out?
3. Other Characters: 'Other characters can serve as points of comparison or contrast. Seeing your character from someone else’s perspective can be revealing'. Who do they associate with, how do they interact with family and friends?
4. Activities or Daily Routines: 'The narrative must weave around the character’s schedule, so it’s good to examine it'. How does the character spend their time, what hobbies do they have?
5. Virtues and Vices: 'Even if these virtues and vices don’t appear directly in what you’re writing, they help define your character and his or her motivation'. What are their strengths and weaknesses?
6. Pet Peeves: What annoys the character, what gets under their skin?
7. Fears: 'Fears provide information about a character’s psyche as well as events that may have occurred in the past'. What is the character afraid of?
8. Motivation: 'Understanding what drives your character is crucial to seeing how your story will develop'. What does the character want?
Types of Characters:
'1. Protagonist: The central character of the story and the person we identify with. A story may have more than one protagonist.2. Antagonists: The characters aligned against the central character. They can be internal or external.
3. Flat Characters: Extra characters whose purpose is to highlight what the protagonist is experiencing. They typically don’t change in the course of the work.
4. Round Characters: These characters are complex and three-dimensional; they are included to help the reader understand the scene in a way that advances the action.
5. Stock Characters: Characters who are so obvious and predictable that their roles and personalities are clichés. Don’t rely too heavily on these characters or you work will seem lifeless.'
The Four Nested Masks [2]
I've found that a strong way to narrow down the step by step personality traits of a character alongside how they portray themselves to the world is by using the four nested mask technique below...
Starting with how they act in front of other people, their unique personality traits, why they act the way they do to the rest of the world, and who they really are at heart.
The 9 Ingredients of Character Development [3]
With more of an in depth analysis of the characters and their lives, I found these nine ingredients extremely helpful on deciding each of these for my own characters.
'1. Communication style: How does your character talk? Does she favor certain words or phrases that make her distinct and interesting? What about the sound of her voice? Much of our personality comes through our speech, so think about the way your character is going to talk. Her style of communication should be distinctive and unique.
2. History: Where does your character come from? Think out his childhood and adolescence. What events shaped his personality? What did his father do for a living? How about his mother? How many siblings does he have? Was it a loving family or an abusive, dysfunctional one? What events led him to the career choices he made? You may not need to provide all this background to your reader, but it’s good to know as the writer. It helps give him substance in your mind as well.
3. Appearance: What does she look like? This may be the least important ingredient to make your character a person to the reader, but you should still know it in your own mind. Not every character needs to be drop-dead gorgeous, by the way. Most people aren’t.
4. Relationships: What kind of friends and family does he have? How does he relate to them? Is he very social or reclusive, or somewhere in between? People can be defined by the company they keep, so this can be a good way to define your character.
5. Ambition: Just as this is the central letter of the acrostic, so too this concept is absolutely central to your character and plot. What is her passion in life? What goal is she trying to accomplish through your story? What is her unrecognized, internal need and how will she meet it?
6. Character defect: Everyone has some personality trait that irritates his friends or family. Is he too self-centered? Too competitive? Too lazy? Too compliant? Too demanding of others? Don’t go overboard on this. After all, you want your reader to like the character. But he’ll feel more real if he has some flaw. This is usually connected to his unrecognized need (see Ambition) and often gets resolved through his character arch.
7. Thoughts: What kind of internal dialogue does your character have? How does she think through her problems and dilemmas? Is her internal voice the same as her external? If not, does this create internal conflict for her? In real life we don’t have the benefit of knowing someone’s innermost thoughts, but a novel allows us to do just that, so use it to your advantage.
8. Everyman-ness: How relatable is your character? While James Bond is fun to watch on screen, most of us aren’t uber-trained special agent-assassins so it’s a little hard to relate to him on a personal level. On the other hand, Kurt Russell’s character in the movie Breakdown was far more ordinary and relatable, creating a more visceral experience. Be careful not to make your character too elite or he may be too difficult to live vicariously through. And that, after all, is the key to suspense.
9. Restrictions: More than a personality flaw, what physical or mental weakness must your character overcome through her arch? After all, even Superman had Kryptonite. This helps humanize your character, making her more sympathetic and relatable.'
Answering The Above Questions
Working backwards from the grandmother, I will answer each individual question from all three research sources (incorporating this mostly into the 3rd resource's layout) for the characters to build up their persona and to make a start on my character profiles...
Evelyn Porter
Character Type:
Flat Character
How does your character talk?
She has a feeble voice from her illness, growing old and being on her deathbed. She's a well spoken Southern English lady with a soft voice.
Where does your character come from?
She grew up in Surrey in a conventional two parent family, an only child to William Porter, factory worker and Mary Porter, housewife. She married at 19 years old and had two children, Joan Porter and Frank Porter. The major life event she experienced was her daughter's death at 9 years old, changing her family dynamic forever and causing her to become a bit of a loner and withdrawn from her son. Later, her husband George dies of heart failure at 53.
What does she look like?
At 80 years old and dying, she's pale, frail and thin with greying hair. She has a delicate and aged moderately (once) attractive facial features.
What kinds of friends and family does she have?
With no existing family members but her son Frank, she has a very small family of him, his wife Kathleen and their daughter Amanda. She became a slight recluse after her daughter's death, but became more social over the years. Until her son's unborn daughter was stolen. When she helped him to replace her, she eventually became consumed by guilt from covering the secret. Detaching herself from her family she moved away from them and eventually tried to find her real, stolen granddaughter in America.
What is her passion or goal in life?
In the present day, now that she knows she's going to die, she wants to confess to her granddaughter that she helped cover up her kidnap and clean her conscience before it's too late.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
Her biggest flaw is that for the last few decades (since Joan's death) she is a detached person and doesn't show family members any warmth or compassion.
How relatable is your character?
She's been through two unusual traumatising situations in life, but she's relatable to anyone that has suffered a tragic loss, anyone that has drifted from their family and anyone who wants to make up for their wrong doings.
World Mask:
Cold and isolated from other people.
Self Image:
A woman who has lived through a lot of tragedy and heartache, but still holds her head high.
Conscience:
She doesn't want to risk having to suffer again, so she cuts everyone in her life off to protect herself.
True Self:
She's a vulnerable woman who wants the loves she lost back in her life.
Hobbies & Interests?
Before becoming ill, Evelyn enjoyed crafts such as sewing, as it was a form of escapism for her and could be done alone.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
Her strength is that she is a strong person and has managed to survive a lot of troubles in life, her weakness is that she doesn't know how to get through anything without doing it alone.
Pet Peeves?
She doesn't like people who don't appreciate what they have, after losing everything, she feels that people should be grateful for their lives.
Fears?
Her current fear is losing her life before she gets the chance to tell her granddaughter the truth about her life and past.
Frank Porter
Character Type:
Antagonist
How does your character talk?
Similar to his mother he is well spoken with a Southern English accent. His voice is deep and stern.
Where does your character come from?
As his mother and father remained in Surrey most of their life, he was raised by housewife Evelyn Porter and car salesman George Porter in Surrey. His older sister Joan died when he was 6 years old and that changed his life. His parents showed him little warmth and love which caused him to become an apathetic person. At 25 years old he married Kathleen Wilson and moved to Hammersmith. He has a career as a real estate agent in London.
What does he look like?
He has fair to brunette hair that is slightly greying, he's average weight and tall. He has a slightly harsh looking face and dresses effortlessly (when casual) but with clean, well presented clothes.
What kinds of friends and family does he have?
He keeps a small amount of associates, his closest being his wife who he keeps close to him. His daughter who he keeps an eye on but isn't very affectionate towards, he rarely speaks to his mother since she moved away and he keeps a small amount of business associates and clients. He isn't a very social person and usually stays home outside of work.
What is his passion or goal in life?
In the present day, he wants to try and live a quiet, normal family life and ignore his dramatic past. When his real daughter comes into the picture, he wants to ignore that she exists and keep her away. His goal is to keep in control and be 'normal'.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
He is a controlling person, due to his past where things have gotten out of control this has come into light more and more. He is also stubborn once he has made a decision about something.
How relatable is your character?
Similar to the how relatable his mother Evelyn is when referring to losing loved ones, Frank is relatable in this sense. He is also relatable for wanting to keep his family together and live a normal life.
World Mask:
Similar to his mother, he is cold and stubborn.
Self Image:
He is a man who values keeping his family safe and together, while keeping an emotional distance.
Conscience:
He refuses to let his family fall apart like his did as a child, so matter what the consequences, he has kept them together.
True Self:
He is scared of being destined to relive his childhood of losing his family, he feels vulnerable about this.
Hobbies & Interests?
He enjoys reading fiction novels, watching documentaries and playing golf, all of which feel calming to him.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
His strength is that he is a determined person who refuses to let any harm come to his family, his weakness is that he makes bad decisions in doing so - such as replacing his daughter.
Pet Peeves?
He hates invasive people who want to be too heavily involved in his life.
Fears?
His fear is losing his family and having anything get in the way of that.
Kathleen Porter
Character Type:
Round Character
How does your character talk?
She's very soft spoken with a delicate voice, she's also Southern English with well spoken communication skills.
Where does your character come from?
Kathleen grew up as an only child in Cambridge with parents Tom and Amanda Wilson. Tom was a corporate lawyer who ran away with another woman when Kathleen was a teenager, her mother Amanda worked as an office secretary and raised Kathleen alone. Kathleen grew up very loved by her mother with a close relationship, but when Kathleen was 26, her mother died of lung cancer. When she was 23, Kathleen married Frank Porter and moved to Hammersmith. She follows the career path of being a doctor's surgery nurse.
What does she look like?
She has mid length brunette hair, with attractive but slightly aged facial features, she's thin and average height and dresses neatly and respectably.
What kinds of friends and family does she have?
Kathleen remains in touch with her remaining relatives, such as aunts and uncles. She is disinterested in where her dad left to when she was a teenager, and tries to keep her family of her husband and daughter in a close knit. She wants to show her 'adopted' daughter Amanda love, but struggles because of constantly remembering the truth. She has a small amount of friends but mostly keeps to herself.
What is her passion or goal in life?
Her goal is to live a happy life with the family she has. When her real daughter Lauren turns up, she wants to get to know her, but is held back by her husband.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
She's quite inconsistent, causing her to be a push over. Her husband makes a lot of decisions for her because she doesn't decide things for herself in fear of what her actions could lead to.
How relatable is your character?
Suffering from the loss of her mother and her stolen daughter, she is again relatable in this sense and of a grieving mother. She is also relatable for woman who feel that they don't have their own voice and care deeply about their family.
World Mask:
She is shy and quiet, but gentle and kind to those she interacts with.
Self Image:
She is a devoted mother and wife, who tries to keep a neat and happy home, although struggles to do so.
Conscience:
She cannot forget the awful memory of her baby being stolen and deciding to replace her, but tries to block it out every day and make the most of the family she has now.
True Self:
She's a broken woman who feels that she's living a lie, she doesn't have much say in her life and feels like a failure as a mother.
Hobbies & Interests?
To escape her life she tends to read upbeat fiction novels, watch entertaining periodic dramas and meeting up with her close friends on occasion.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
Her strength is that she has managed to carry on as if life is normal and be loyal to her family, her weakness is that she is a push-over who does everything her husband says.
Pet Peeves?
Similar to her mother in-law, she dislikes it when people do not appreciate what they have and don't have loyalty to their family.
Fears?
Her biggest fear is never getting to meet her real daughter and living a lie for the rest of her life.
Amanda Porter
Character Type:
Antagonist / Round Character
How does your character talk?
She has a feminine and confident voice, slightly bubbly when being positive and frantic when she's in a panic. She's slightly less well spoken than her parents, picking up London accents, but still with a well spoken Southern English accent.
Where does your character come from?
Amanda was originally from Romania, born in 1987 and left in an orphanage by her mother. In 1988 English couple Frank and Kathleen Porter travelled to find a replacement daughter for their stolen baby. Amanda was given the name of their original daughter and raised in Hammersmith as their own. Not receiving the love and approval from her parents that she desired, she slowly turned to a path of drugs during her university years and ruined her chances of becoming a doctor. She now lives in her parents' old house, currently out of work.
What does she look like?
She looks slightly similar to Lauren, the original daughter. She has brunette hair, she's thin, average height and attractive (although with slight dark circles around her eyes) and dressed casually and femininely.
What kinds of friends and family does she have?
She has a typical distant relatives relationship with her mother's remaining family, she isn't close with her grandmother as Evelyn left while she was young. She spent her life trying to reach out to her parents and get their affection but hasn't had it returned. Leading her to be closer to friends that she parties with.
What is her passion or goal in life?
Her goal has always been to get her parent's approval, but addicted to drugs and a drinker, she's stuck in a loop where she doesn't know how to better herself. Her goal used to be to be a doctor, but pressures of pleasing her family got to her.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
She suffers drug induced paranoia that causes her to act rationally, she also reacts to problems with emotion and acts in dramatic ways.
How relatable is your character?
She is relatable for audiences that have spent their lives seeking the approval of their families, young adults who crumbled under pressure, people who have experienced addiction problems and people who are scared of losing their family.
World Mask:
To those she wants to impress, she acts a polite and together young woman. But to those that she feels casual and comfortable in front of, she's sarcastic and slightly aggressive.
Self Image:
She pretends not to care that she has a very distant relationship with her parents and ignores the fact that she's doing badly in life by abusing drugs and alcohol.
Conscience:
She really wants the love and approval of her parents that she's been craving all of her life, but feeling that she's not achieved this over and over again in her life, she tries to escape from her feelings by shutting herself away in the day and partying at night.
True Self:
She's an extremely unstable and vulnerable young woman who craves love and attention.
Hobbies & Interests?
Amanda used to be interested in studying medical science and meeting up with friends, but she gave that up and now days enjoys listening to music, drinking, taking drugs and partying.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
Her strength is that deep down she is an intelligent young woman who could have had a bright future, her weakness is that she has no self belief and suffers with paranoia.
Pet Peeves?
Similar to her father, she doesn't like people that get too involved in her life and have the risk of coming between her and her family.
Fears?
Her biggest fear is completely losing her parents and never being able to get herself out of the destructive loop that she's in.
Helen Daniels
Character Type:
Round character
How does your character talk?
She has a Central American accent, she's well spoken and talks with warmth to her voice.
Where does your character come from?
Helen (originally named as Julia Drennen) moved from city to city as a child with her mother, Joyce Drennen (a high school teacher), and never knew her father. They eventually settled in Seattle when Julia was a teenager, she grew up with her mother's love and guidance. She moved to England at 19 with the ambition of being an artist in London, when things didn't go as planned and not able to find work without a visa, she decided to try to make money in other ways - leading her to take part in gestational surrogacy at the age of 24 and meeting Frank and Kathleen Porter. When she eventually ran away with their unborn baby, they settled hidden away in Southwest Schuylkill, Philadelphia. Now she works as retail store manager.
What does she look like?
She's got short to mid length blonde hair, she's average height and thin, moderately attractive and dresses in a casual 'mom' style.
What kinds of friends and family does she have?
She used to be close to her family and stayed in touch even when she moved to London. But after she ran away and had to change her identity, she decided that she had to cut off all contact from her family to not cause them any problems or have the authorities find out where she is. She's lived a close life with her daughter Lauren, and has her closest friend Chris Hillman living nearby, and blends in by socialising with her neighbours.
What is her passion or goal in life?
As a young woman she wanted to become a famous artist, but once she became a gestational surrogate and got pregnant with the Porter's daughter Amanda (who's name she changed to Lauren), her main goal and purpose in life was to look after Lauren and try to be a good mother for her.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
Helen can be spontaneous - especially in her decision to run away with Lauren, she acts on instinct, and while that can be bad in a lot of ways, it's also quite typical of a loving mother to act on instinct.
How relatable is your character?
She is relatable to anyone who has been a surrogate and has struggled to part with the baby, anyone who acts as a guardian to a none biological child but still loves them and wants them to be happy, and to any mother that loves her child.
World Mask:
She's your average, American mother who works a simple job and lives a quiet life.
Self Image:
She prides herself in being a good mother and a friendly neighbour, she blends in to the community very well and has a positive attitude.
Conscience:
She's happy with her life with her daughter Lauren, but is aware that it could all be taken away from her in an instant if she was tracked down by the police or the Porter family.
True Self:
She has regrets over what she did to the Porter's but she knows that she gave Lauren a good life and feels happy with the results of their lives so far.
Hobbies & Interests?
She enjoys painting from memory in her spare time, seeing her family friend Chris, spending time with her daughter and socialising with her neighbours.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
Her strength is that she is a good mother and a very strong and (now) selfless person, her weakness is that she is spontaneous and impulsive.
Pet Peeves?
She doesn't like people that seem nosy about her and her life - due to the fear that they know more than they let on or could find out too much, and she doesn't like anyone who treats her daughter badly.
Fears?
Her biggest fear is losing her daughter in anyway, her finding out the truth, or being found by the police and having their lives ruined.
Lauren Daniels
Character Type:
Protagonist
How does your character talk?
She has a 'typical' American accent with a feminine voice and a relaxed style of speech.
Where does your character come from?
Lauren was supposed to be raised in Hammersmith as Amanda Porter by parents Frank and Kathleen Porter, but was stolen as an unborn baby by her surrogate mother, Julia Drennen - who changed their names to Helen and Lauren Daniels. Unaware of this, she grew up in Southwest Philadelphia thinking that Helen is her biological mother, she never doubted that Helen was her mother, as she was given lots of love and attention throughout her life, albeit a sheltered life. Lauren worked in a diner in Schuylkill until she started to find out the truth about herself. She then travelled to England to find out more and meet her parents.
What does she look like?
She has long, brunette hair, she's average height and thin. She's attractive and dresses in a casual/tomboy way.
What kinds of friends and family does she have?
Living an unawarely sheltered and hidden life, Lauren only really knew her mother Helen and family friend Chris Hillman. With often changing friends and boyfriends throughout school and work. She's someone who craves more of a social life but never has the means to do so.
What is her passion or goal in life?
Helen is a lost when it comes to what she wants to do with her life, she doesn't know what she wants to do or who she is but craves adventure and change. Once she finds out that her life isn't what it seems, her goal in life is to find out where she comes from, who she was supposed to be and who she is.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
Lauren has a tough exterior, not letting people know what she's really like (caring and loving) and has a sarcastic approach - although this does allow for her to be funny at times.
How relatable is your character?
Lauren is relatable for anyone in their twenties who doesn't know who they are and where they're going in life yet, anyone who's had any revelations that changed their life, anyone who has found out that their parents aren't their biological parents and anyone who craves change and adventure.
World Mask:
She's a tough young woman who doesn't let anything hurt her.
Self Image:
She has good family values and works hard, but feels like she blends in too much and wants adventure.
Conscience:
She always feels like something big needs to happen in her life to give her an excuse to get out of her home town, she's almost glad when she finds out the truth.
True Self:
She doesn't feel like she knows herself, and craves finding out who she really is.
Hobbies & Interests?
She enjoys seeing her close friends and going out in the evenings, but mostly spends her time at home watching TV.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
Her strength is that she is a caring and strong willed person who wants to achieve a lot in life, her weakness is that she is a vulnerable young woman who doesn't have a real identity.
Pet Peeves?
Lauren dislikes arrogant people who seem to have it all and people who lie.
Fears?
Her biggest fear is not experiencing anything major in life, not finding out who she is and hurting the people she loves.
Ethan Briggs
Character Type:
Flat Character
How does your character talk?
He also has a typical American accent with deep and masculine voice and relaxed speech.
Where does your character come from?
Ethan grew up in Philadelphia with parents Marques Briggs (restaurant owner) and Sheree Wade (housewife). With the support of his parents, Ethan did well at school and went to college, following on a business path, he became a fraud investigator in Philly. He met his senior Chris Hillman and learned of how Chris helped Helen to change her identity when Chris needed him to help Lauren. With Chris as his friend he wants to help and finds Lauren to accompany her on her trip to find the truth.
What does he look like?
He's African-American with short hair, tall and muscular build. He dresses casually but stylish.
What kinds of friends and family does he have?
He's close to his family and has a variety of friends, being a charismatic and kind young man he keeps people close to him.
What is his passion or goal in life?
His passion is to excel in life and do his best in his career, he feels that this may be tainted having helped people that he knows have broken the law. But once he meets Lauren and falls for her, his goal is to be there for her and help her.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
He can be overly trusting, which while is a good trait in some respects, is a dangerous personality trait to have as it can get him into trouble.
How relatable is your character?
He is relatable to anyone who feels that their family and friends is important to them and wants to help them no matter what, and anyone who falls for someone and wants to be there for them.
World Mask:
He's a funny, intelligent and charismatic person.
Self Image:
He strives to do well in life and values the people close to him, who he will do anything for.
Conscience:
He worries where his mistakes and choices will lead to, but being a selfless person, he thinks it's more important to put other people first.
True Self:
Ethan is a genuine and caring man, but with a small amount of skeletons in his closet building up as he breaks the law to help Lauren.
Hobbies & Interests?
He enjoys socialising with his friends and family, going to work, playing casual American football and gaming.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
His strength is that he's a caring a selfless person, but his weakness is that he can be overly trusting and doesn't think about himself enough when headed for trouble.
Pet Peeves?
He dislikes disingenuous people with shallow values and personalities.
Fears?
His fear is that his tendency to help people could get him in trouble and ruin his future.
Chris Hillman
Character Type:
Stock Character
How does your character talk?
He has a central American accent, a deep voice and relaxed speech.
Where does your character come from?
Chris was raised in Seattle by parents Richard and Rita Hillman. He grew up in a slightly unhappy home, becoming rebellious and going on the wrong track. But he met Julia Drennen at the age of 13 and their friendship helped him to want to try harder in life. He left for college in Philadelphia at the age of 18 and eventually became a fraud investigator. Remaining friends with Julia, he helped her when she contacted him about wanting to run away with her (the Porter's) baby and provided her with a new identity and a place to stay in Philadelphia. When Lauren Daniels came to him as an adult to find out the truth, he told her, and soon called his work friend Ethan Briggs to help Lauren.
What does he look like?
He has short, fair and greying hair, he's average height and slightly overweight. With aged, average looking features.
What kinds of friends and family does he have?
Chris rarely talks to his parents and other relatives, he considers Helen and Lauren as his family and only keeps a small amount of work friends, being an antisocial person that keeps to himself.
What is his passion or goal in life?
His goal was to improve himself and begin to do well in life, which he achieved when he went to college and got a career. This was tainted when he broke the law to help Helen, but he has no regrets and regards his family as the most important thing.
What personality trait do they have that irritates people?
He's an antisocial person, he only has time for people that interest him, becoming friends with people with the same interests and hobbies. But the people that he does have time for are incredibly important.
How relatable is your character?
He is relatable to anyone who would drop anything to help a friend and people who regard friends and family as the most important thing to them.
World Mask:
He is a slightly nerdy and antisocial person, but someone with a good heart.
Self Image:
He has a great deal of love for his family and looks out for the people he cares about, but makes sure to only keep a small amount of people close to him.
Conscience:
He feels that he could have gone further in his career if he hadn't illegally helped Helen in 1989, but he has no regrets as he helped her in the biggest way possible.
True Self:
At heart he has a small amount of feelings for Helen but respects that they want to keep their family dynamic as it is. He loves Lauren like a daughter and puts them both first.
Hobbies & Interests?
He enjoys watching documentary and thriller television shows, reading fiction novels, and working on his computer.
Strengths & Weaknesses?
His strength is that he values the people in his life and puts them before himself, his weakness is that he hasn't made an effort to create his own family and lives a detached life.
Pet Peeves?
Chris dislikes people who are disrespectful to those who care about them.
Fears?
His fear is that he and Helen will be found out for their crime and have the lives they love changed forever, along with Lauren's future.
Results
I found conducting all of the above research extremely helpful as when I put it into practice for each character description, as it allowed me to make a large amount of decisions about each person. I think that if I hadn't decided to create back stories and personalities for each character, they would not have become dimensional and entertaining characters, and now I feel that they all have a great amount of depth. Which can add a lot of value to the story, whether each detail features in the story or not - this allowed me to get to know my own characters. I will now put the information on the characters into specific individual character profiles.
References
1. Character Development: Creating Characters
2. Interactive Storytelling: The Four Nested Masks
3. The 9 Ingredients of Character Development
2. Interactive Storytelling: The Four Nested Masks
3. The 9 Ingredients of Character Development
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