forum Need help with my character

Started January 15, 2018 by @childoftheuniverse

tune

He is a 16-year-old boy, named Micah Jacob Carter, brown curly hair, average height, lean, extremely good liar, which lands him a job with the military in his countries war

Okay. What do you need help with? (Also fun fact I just looked over one of Mish's characters and his name is Micah too).

I need help with giving him some dimension. Make him relateable

Okay. What sort of person do you want him to be? Funny? Shy? Lighthearted? Short-tempered? Dark and brooding? Strict? Business-like? Friendly? Sarcastic? Innocent? Does he have any strange quirks? Does he have any soft spots like family or friends or a romantic interest? How does he act towards people? Is he very opinionated? Is he a social butterfly or does he like to keep to himself? I'd start with broader parts of his personality and then once you get a feel for who he is add in things like little quirks and other small details about him.

He is some sort of a comedian, although brooding at times, he tends to stay lighthearted. He is extremely friendly but doesn't get to share his opinion much because he is automatically deemed untrustworthy due to his appearance. He has a soft spot for any kids who have lost family members in the war going on in his universe (his dad died fighting) He was a social butterfly when he was young but has become more distant due to the misjudgments about him. I guess I need help developing what his inner dialogue would be like, I can't seem to get it right. Thank you for helping me this far!

You're welcome! If you need any more help, just ask. :)

I know this is sort of off topic from earlier, but I have another character I'm writing who has ADHD but doesn't know it, but I want to make sure it isn't stereotypical or cliche, any tips?

Well I don't really know much about ADHD. Actually I'm only vaguely aware of what it is. I guess I'd just do research on it, maybe if you know someone with ADHD you could talk to them about what it's like or find an interview with someone who has ADHD or something. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. Best of luck!

Thank you!

Hi!
Just reading your first description of Micah I immediately want to get to know him. He sounds like an interesting and cool guy! Kind of reminds me of my brother :)

One way to give Micah more dimension is to take a character questionnaire. I use the Gotham one and the Proust one, both are equally good and they help me out a LOT.

You can also force Micah into a bad situation and figure out how he gets out of it. By forcing him into something difficult, you, as the author, is also forced to figure him out and to find something new. You can give him a really bad side (Because everyone has a bad side, right?) or a surprising side (Like, he can hum really well and does so under stress.)
I find that after understanding my characters first, I can really add more to who they are, because I know them, know what I mean?

Another way is to find lists of characteristics and just add some to Micah. Choose the ones that speak to you. For example, you said he is friendly and tends to stay lighthearted, well, you can write down somewhere that he's bouncing on his toes and smiling. Maybe he does that when he's happy. Also, add some bad habits.

Hope that helped! I think Micah is already pretty relatable, just throw in a few weaknesses and write down a few failures in his life, make it hard for him and see what he does. With any of his possible reactions, I'm sure someone would be able to relate to him…like my brother ;D

Thank you so much for your advice <3 <3 :P

You're welcome! Happy to help! <3 <3