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94 Examples of Character Development

John Spacey, January 21, 2022

Character development, not to be confused with character building, is the process of planning a character for a work of fiction. Characters may be developed at great depth to give them a personality and past that may not be fully revealed in your story. This can create a sense of mystery and realism that bring characters to life. Writers may develop characters independently of stories and look for chances to use this pool of characters. It is also common to use short stories to craft a character such as a slice of life scene from the character's past. The following are common elements of character development.

Adversity / Hardships	Appearance
Areas of Incompetence	Atonement & Redemption
Biases	Character Flaws
Character Strengths	Childhood
Creative Capacity / Static Traits	Cultural Memberships / Influences
Decision Making Approach	Delusions
Dilemmas	Disappointments
Doubts	Dreams
Eating Habits / Diet	Education
Emotional Disposition	Emotional Scars
Failures	Family
Fashion	Favorite Songs / Films / Art
Favorite Words / Phrases	Fears
Feelings of Guilt	Friends
Gait & Movement	Gratitude
Grit & Resilience	Grudges
Habits	Haunts (businesses or places they frequent)
Health	Heroes
Imagination (of the character)	Inabilities
Inconsistencies	Injuries
Innocence / Naivety	Intentions & Goals
Languages	Learning From Failure
Life Changes	Life Journey
Life Stories	Likes / Dislikes
MacGuffin	Mannerisms
Mental Weaknesses / Strengths	Moods
Moral Compass	Motivations
Nightlife	Opinions
Parenting Approach	Passions
People / Institutions They Trust	Perceptiveness
Personal Presence	Philosophy
Problem Solving Approach	Profession / Career Path
Rebellious Streaks	Regrets
Relationship to Parents	Relationships With Other Characters
Religion & Spirituality	Romantic Inclinations
Romantic Relationships	Routines
Secrets	Self-Pity
Sense of Humor	Sensibilities
Situational Reactions	Sleeping Habits
Slice of Life	Social Status
Social Tendencies	Stranger Than Fiction
Talents	Things They Are Proud Of
Things They Respect / Hold Sacred	Traditions
Travel Experiences	Voice
Wants & Needs	Way of Life
Way of Speaking	Way of Thinking
Work Ethic	Worldview

Stranger than fiction is the idea that real characters and events tend to be stranger than fiction such that writers, directors and actors may go to far in making a character logical and consistent when real people may be fully illogical and inconsistent.

A macguffin is a hidden motivation that is never revealed to the audience.

Slice of life is an arbitrary sample of a character's regular life.