6 Exercises to Develop Better Characters

[@m.j.johnsonbooks7856]

That cyberpunk intro was sick

[@Jed_Herne]

Cheers Michael! Trying to do my best replicant impersonation

[@davidmauriciogutierrezespi5244]

Rt

[@joshuastclairmusic]

I have what I call ‘wildcard characters’. In my first book, there were 3 side characters that really came through by the end of the story and unexpectedly had a major role at the end and are now in the main cast of the series. I love side characters. I think character is my strong suit.

[@Jed_Herne]

Nice! I love when a side character comes into their own like that.

[@joshuastclairmusic]

@@Jed_Herne Yeah I totally didn't expect it either! A side character literally became my favourite character and I can't wait to explore him more in the next book with some of these great points you've discussed!

[@Reacher101]

Jed, I'm a complete beginner to writing a book. Started writing things down in my notebook, found your channel its helping massively! Please keep these videos up 👍 thankyou!

[@Jed_Herne]

You're welcome, Jacob! Good luck with the writing :)

[@mattfarr137]

I’m literally in the same boat as you. Just decided I wanted to write last year

[@emjayygleghorn9173]

I've just started writing my novel, it's tough 😅 but it's also so rewarding seeing my idea on the pave and being able to read it back. Wishing you all the best in your efforts!

[@xicola2339]

I'm a psychology student and never thought about using Johari's window for character development. Such an amazing idea. Your advice makes so much sense and you make your points clear and very easy to follow. Thank you!

[@SilentPhoenix__]

I'm in the midst of developing my characters right now so thank you for this!

[@Jed_Herne]

You're welcome!

[@mjplaysgenshin]

Great advice? check. Sick intro that catches your attention? check. Did it help me? double check. Absolutely amazing channel, I am subbed, and I'm gonna spend the next couple days binging these videos (not only for entertainment but also to improve my writing!) To really dedicate myself to this practice, I wrote these exercises down on paper, almost two papers for every character. It was definetely really interesting to think of my fantasy characters as normal people in the living room rather than adventurerers in different parts of the world every day. Big thanks, Jed!

[@lindapenttinen3382]

Usually my characters develope themselves as I write though I have some information about them beforehand such as appreance, gender, background, powers and some family members. I notice that they tend go completely different route than I originally planned for them

[@casualdragonslayer9655]

There are some great ideas here! I’ve got a full biography written up about each of my main characters, but it would be fun to dig into some of these exercises and see what else I can discover. I particularly like the Johari Window idea!

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks! And good luck with slaying those dragons

[@wordonice4457]

This was incredibly helpful. I've taken these exercises and started incorporating them in developing my characters!

[@LA-es8wo]

Jed, I’m brand new to your channel but have already done so much binge watching in the last 24hrs!! Such valuable, mind-shifting advice across all your videos. Thank you so much for taking the time to develop and post these!

[@Jed_Herne]

You're welcome, glad it's useful!

[@Drudenfusz]

I would not call the Tony Robbins "needs" that, since for fiction the need is usually something the character has to discover and find to through inner change, the things Robbins speaks of are more like urges. and thus more akin to the wants a character might have.

[@TeddyCrafter84]

Definitely going to add these to my methods. I found a character quiz several years ago (can't remember where I got it but I should still have the file in a word doc on my PC) that was really helpful. You ask your character questions like; Do you need a hug? Do they have any bad habits? etc. It's great for building your main characters. For side characters, I tend to just pick the questions that are likely to apply to them in the story otherwise I'd end up spending far too long doing the quiz for every single character both significant & insignificant and never write the story.

[@infernovoltage3378]

Wanna drop the link?

[@TeddyCrafter84]

@@infernovoltage3378 Unfortunately, as mentioned, I can't remember where I found it & sadly, my PC died last week & wiped all my files (the joys) so I don't have it any more. I may still have a version of it written in a notebook, which I'll be hunting for at some point 💙

[@infernovoltage3378]

@@TeddyCrafter84 ahh i see... sorry about all your files, that really sucks man :(

[@johannageisel5390]

I once tried to figure out point one for one of my characters and wasn't able to figure out what a gardener on a space station would have as a hobby. ^ ^ Some folks in a writing forum said with the setting and all the stuff going on she wouldn't need to take up macrame to be a rounded person. But yeah, I still have the feeling I don't know my characters that well. :/ The point with the ghost is really helpful though. I think I may have to make my character a liiiittle bit more panicky in order to make people understand what the situation triggers in her and why she is so adamant on taking action bordering on recklessness. In general my characters have a flat arc, though. Not sure how I could change that. They have no major personal flaws, although their approaches to life may differ from each other. There is not any big lesson they need to learn. And I wouldn't know how to invent one.

[@lorenaa_h]

im planning to write a story with a more complex motivations that i’m used to, so this video really helped me. i really like how you added different perspectives and ways to do it. thanks for sharing

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks, I hope it helps!

[@WGPhil-uw5cs]

Will you do a video on how to do dialog or describe scenery? I kinda go into too much detail in my description that feels a little too much for the reader.

[@edh9999]

You might add fear/phobia and wordly goals to the list.

[@easytriops5951]

A whole-hearted thank you from me for everything that you made accessible to the writing community! If it is possible for you, I would greatly appreciate a video on how to form compelling sentences and how to find the right words to describe the experiences you have. I find myself desiring to share an experience, but not finding the words, that precisely reflect that, leave alone forming clear und compelling sentences for my writing. So advice illustrated with some examples would be heavenly for me, and, perhaps, many others as well, as this is a fundamental problem of writers. Grateful greetings!

[@dinsfire8489]

great exercises. godspeed everyone

[@topbattler7592]

This is the first time I’ve commented on a KZbin video and I just wanted to say that your videos are super helpful. I’ve got a character in my work in progress that I’m not happy with and I think I’ll try some of these exercises for the character.

[@Jed_Herne]

Wow, I'm honoured to be the first! Glad to know you're finding them useful - good luck with your writing!

[@davidmauriciogutierrezespi5244]

We were just seeing this in my class today 🤩🤩🤩

[@Jed_Herne]

Ha, that's awesome

[@poetofthestreets]

Fantastic video!! I can’t wait to get back to writing now

[@Jed_Herne]

Good luck with the writing!

[@DamakriaStudios]

This is really helpful. Im making a world of fantasy and making the characters that live in it and how they work. I already have the idea of what will happen to this people based on what happens to their world, but Im going more in depth in what makes them tick, how they react and most important, why. Thanks for the video, found your channel today and I listen to you while I draw and write.

[@joshuaparker7095]

Awesome video! Definitely going to be using this for my current characters.

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Josh! Hopefully it leads to some good insights

[@valentinaegorova-vg7tb]

GREAT! VERY USEFUL, EXTREMELY MOTIVATING, TRULY INSPIRING! MANY THANKS!

[@leolightfellow]

Another helpful video. Thank you.

[@Jed_Herne]

You're welcome, Leo!

[@kinenoona1702]

Wow!

[@nickprocter1560]

Another great video of practical tips so thanks again Jed. These prompts and tools will be very useful. The production quality of your videos is superb as well. Bravo sir 👏.

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Nick! Always good fun to go hard with the editing :)

[@AutisticBrain]

This was really informative.

[@Thathumanoverthere1701]

What an Intro! Dayum that was 🔥