Character Development Checklist – 13 Points To Consider

We love to read about believable characters in books. You can do this by using this infographic as your character development checklist.

‘Character is plot, plot is character.’ ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

In an ideal world, novelists would perfectly combine plotting and characterisation. Instead of having character-driven novels or plot-driven novels, we would have unforgettable characters reacting to the events created by a brilliantly paced plot. If writers tie the character’s motivation and story goal to the plot, they won’t have a problem with this. The character should suit the plot. The plot should suit the character.

[Use our Character Creation Kit to create great characters for your stories.]

The novels I remember best have empathetic characters whose motivations I understand – even if I don’t agree with them – and a plot that I can’t stop thinking about. The best novels make me think – that could happen, and what would I do if it happened to me?

‘As authors we like our protagonists. We are tempted to protect them from trouble. That temptation must be resisted.’ ~Donald Maass

The best way to take protagonists out of their comfort zones is by creating impressive antagonists. If your story were told from the antagonist’s viewpoint, he or she should be strong enough and complicated enough to be the hero of the story.

One of the ways of creating great characters for your story idea is by filling in character questionnaires, giving them flaws and strengths, and asking them difficult questions.

Suggested reading: How To Show Character Development Through Body Language

Character Development Checklist

Here is a great checklist to see if you have created a worthy protagonist and antagonist for your plot.

© Character Checklist Infographic by Martina Boone (@MartinaABoone)

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by Amanda Patterson

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