A Character Development Writing Exercise

But Why?

Keep asking your characters why. Here's an example:

• Why are you grumpy? I have a hangover.
• Why do you have a hangover? My friend was in a bad accident and I thought he might die?
• Why did you think he might die? His girlfriend lied to me about how serious the accident was.
• Why did she lie about that? She's jealous of our relationship.
• Why? I think she's insecure and has trust issues.

Do you see how much that question will dig into a character?

A Day in the Life

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.

"You"

Second-person point of view is an intimate way of looking at a character's thoughts. As an exercise, take a scene from the book you're writing. Choose a character, and then re-write the scene entirely from a second-person POV, noticing what details shift because of this perspective change.

A Whole Week

Describe each day of the week as if it were a person. Give each one personality traits, a job, and a goal. Write a short story about them.

The Next Great Author

Develop a character that's an author. Write a short story from the point of view of that author.