Building a character

I flesh out my characters through writing (and, sometimes, tabletop roleplaying), but when it comes to getting a basic starting skeleton that I can build on, it helps me to figure out the following:

• Name (Having a name gives my brain a focus point where I can layer on character traits.)
• Virtue (The thing the character most aspires to be--brave, caring, tenacious, protective, ambitious. This doesn't have to be one of the seven holy virtues--I've just played a lot of Chronicles of Darkness, so the term stuck for me.)
• Vice (The character's baser self or default state--stubborn, greedy, cruel, timid, obsessive. Again, doesn't actually have to be one of the seven deadly sins--I just really like the way CoD characterizes things.)
• Aspirations (What does the character want? I like to have one or two short-term goals in a scene, along with one larger-scale overarching goal.)

One thing Jim Butcher said that's stuck with me is that, when you introduce a character, you want to do so in a way that highlights one or more of the protagonist's major character traits. The reader is going to make assumptions about your character based on said introduction, so you want to give them the right impression. (For example, if you have this big, muscle-bound character planting flowers, the reader will make very different assumptions than if that character gets introduced as the instigator of a massive barroom brawl.)

I liked how Robin Hobb went about it in writing excuses -- https://writingexcuses.com/2016/10/12/11-bonus-01-characterization-and-differentiation-with-robin-hobb/ -- where she talked about getting to know your characters. Certain things I've learned always go into it, mainly: What does the MC really want? What does he think he wants? What kind of thing would make him act against his nature?

@disgruntledpeony, thank you, that helps! Those four basic character starters are really good. I'll definitely try that.

@reuben I'll check out that episode, thanks!

I use list of questions that I got from Holly Lisle's site Forward Motion.

Interesting. I flush out through writing, but usually they start out as a variation of a personality I met. I just started using one note to create backstory notes.

I am curious does character development come before or after plot development for you? 

Posted by: @craydimensional

Interesting. I flush out through writing, but usually they start out as a variation of a personality I met. I just started using one note to create backstory notes.

I am curious does character development come before or after plot development for you? 

I tend to have a story idea then think up characters. The character development always affects the plot though. 

Posted by: @craydimensional

 usually they start out as a variation of a personality I met.

I do this a lot. I've known a lot of people over the years. A large percentage of them well-intentioned but barely competent. I've also observed my own attitudes regarding what constitutes reasonable behavior change as time goes by. The problem is making the real person unrecognizable in the story. Your friends, co-workers, and acquaintances might not be amused.

@agathon Thanks for your words of wisdom. I have been changing things up quite a bit lately.

@pdblake, thank you, I'll check it out!

@craydimensional, I think it's a mixture of both. I get an idea for a plot then I'll start developing a character, then I'll work on the plot more once I get a better understanding of who my character(s) are. 

Posted by: @britty4760

@craydimensional, I think it's a mixture of both. I get an idea for a plot then I'll start developing a character, then I'll work on the plot more once I get a better understanding of who my character(s) are. 

Same. I get a cool idea, think of what would cause conflict in such a situation, and who would be the most affected/conflicted, that sort of thing. By then I have a basic character and a basic plot. I explore those, trying to find ways to emphasize conflict and also deepen the characters' motivations which would, in turn, deepen the conflict.

Posted by: @craydimensional

I am curious does character development come before or after plot development for you? 

Depends on the story. Sometimes I get character ideas first, sometimes I get plot ideas first. I have some favorite characters who tend to summon new stories to them every so often...

@reuben, yes exactly!

@disgruntledpeony, that's cool!