You're almost Done
You should know:
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The role your character plays within society.
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The major aspects of their personality
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Their motivation.
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Their wants
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Their needs
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Their character arc.
1
What do they Value?
How did your character gain these values? Is it cultural? Did they learn them from a parent? A teacher? A bully? What event or which person influenced your character the most during their childhood/teenage years? How?
2
What is their Backstory?
Are their parents alive? Dead? Do they pressure your character or support them? Did your character grow up in poverty? Rich? How did this affect them?
3
What do they Rely on?
Is it a person? An object? How will they lose this thing they rely on? How will they overcome this loss?
4
What do they Look Like?
What is their hair color? Eye? Skin? What’s their style? Gender? Anything else that is noteworthy?
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If you answered those questions with more than one word each, ask yourself how useful the extra information is. You could describe a character as fiery red-haired with sage green eyes, pale skin dotted with freckles who wears ripped, studded, black goth clothing who has many piercings, or you could say that your character is a pale goth redhead. It’s important to remember that the inside of your character, their traits, actions, words are more important than their physical appearance.
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My last statement isn’t a golden rule. For example, suppose you are writing a character who is a person of color. In that case, their physical appearance may be crucial to the story, not because of the color itself, but because of how people react to it.
