46 Best Character Development Writing Exercises

Establishing how your character is perceived by others is a great way to give them greater context. It can provide the author with expectations to subvert for the reader and add an interesting mystique to the character. To give the Gatsby Method a go, write a scene in which your character is only present through the candid descriptions of him/her by others.

Your character's story has been Disney-fied. At what point in the arc does your protagonist break out into song - and what is that song about?

Write about the hero of your story going on the most mundane errand you can think of. Rely solely on the character to make the story interesting.

Have each primary character free-write what they think about the other characters in the story. This will also deepen the secondary characters.

Here is your challenge: for the next week, collect fun names. I've collected them for years in a little notebook - from obituaries, news stories, random lists, and spam. Spam is great for funny names.Then go through your notebook, choose a name, and write a short character sketch based off that name. It's amazing how the names make the characters come to life and start moving the story in fun directions you never expected.

Describe the same character twice. Once as the hero of a story and once as the antagonist.