There's No Place Like Home (With Family) Worksheets – Build the Character Sheet – Build a Story Mode. Worksheet – Build the Character Worksheet – Build the Story There's a little bit in all of us. Your character could do this through their experiences in the story - or they can't.
FLIP THE SCRIPT
Open - the idea that they don't know what to do with themselves after a certain time. The script must have a logic to it - even if that logic only makes sense in the character's own mind. He believes that he will never achieve what he really wants - his father's acceptance and love.
PIECES OF ME
For the writer, this provides an opportunity to give the character a defining moment in their development. The events of the plot require the character to dig deep, access and strengthen parts of themselves they had previously ignored or been unaware of, and behave in a new way to resolve the crisis. This is also a really good way for a writer to develop a good understanding of the character's flaws - especially for the villains.
They may want to be loved, or to be safe, or to prevent the loss of something they care about - and the part of them that feels these things believes that the way to do this is to gain power and influence and manipulation. Part of her loves the limelight and thrives on the attention it brings, but part of her also craves something normal. Part of her appreciates William's efforts, but part of her thinks it won't make any long-term difference.
Another part of her has learned that it's better to ignore such comments and to this part joins a part of her that fears what the media will say. This part, along with the part of her that has an excellent witty sense of humor, eventually takes over and she does talk to the men and very deftly shoot down their egos. After that, the part that is aware of her public persona says, "I shouldn't have done that."
When can an inappropriate part of a character take control of their actions and cause an increase in tension or additional problems.
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR
Each person in the relationship is fluent in one, maybe two, of the languages, but they may not be the same two as their partner and this causes a lack of understanding in what is being communicated. Part of the therapist's job is to help the couple understand each other's language and begin to use languages their partner understands. For a writer, this mismatch of love languages is an ideal way to show problems and build conflict between characters in your story.
Part of the characters' journey is learning to understand where each other is coming from—or not, depending on what you think of those characters. Another great way to show relationship conflict between characters is to use John Gottman's Four Horsemen of the Relationship Apocalypse. The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, by Gary Chapman, Northfield Publishing, 2014.
What opportunities are there in the story for the characters to face criticism and how do they deal with it. What opportunities are there in the story for the characters to confront Contempt and how do they deal with it. What opportunities are there in the story for the characters to face defensiveness and how do they deal with it.
What opportunities are there in the story for characters to encounter Stonewalling and how do they deal with it.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME (WITH THE FAMILY)
Nor is it just the others in the system who will work to pull a character back into their established role. A common element in storytelling is the need for previously unfriendly characters to unite against a common enemy. Cersei's role is to marry advantageously and serve the family by producing the future king.
Jamie has to play the family hero, and Tyrion, no matter how hard he tries, how brilliant he is and how much he achieves, is never allowed to let go of the family disappointment. Every time one of them tries to achieve more than their role within the family system allows, the other in the system acts to pull them back. Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your characters.
How does the character try to escape or evolve from their established role over the course of the story. Remember, it has to be significant enough to overcome the pressure from the rest of the system that wants to keep things the same. Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your plot and heighten the conflict.
What do other characters do to prevent the main character from breaking out of their normal pattern in the system.
STATE OF BEING
Victim – feels wronged in the situation, persecuted and needs rescuing Persecutor – the aggressor in the situation, stalks the victim. They bring emotional turmoil and conflict, and in the case of a story, they keep the reader on their toes. One of the stories in the film Love Actually by Richard Curtis involves the recently widowed Daniel and his stepson, Sam.
They bond over play and movies while both in the kid ego state and Sam starts talking about falling in love. Sam, who shows surprising maturity for his age, responds from the mature ego state to refute this and simply point out that he is. Daniel switches to his own adult state for the logical discussion, then back to a nurturing parent-ego state to support Sam's efforts.
In the popular movie and book Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, there is a love triangle between Bridget, Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy. Which other characters does he spend the most time with in the ego state of the Parent. Which other characters does he spend the most time with in the Adult ego state.
Along with which other characters he or she spends most time in the child's ego state.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
When faced with a conflict, the character tends to face it, avoid it, or freeze. When dealing with a conflict, what order do the characters have to deal with it. what if the Logic, Submit, Anger options tend to use first, second or third. Remember that the intensity increases as the character moves from 1st option to 2nd option to 3rd option.).
Remember that the intensity increases as the character moves from 1st option to 2nd option to 3rd option.). What other characters in the story have an opposite order of anger/submission/logic response. How can the difference in conflict styles between characters clash and increase the tension and conflict in the story.
How do the events of the story force each character to move from their 1st option to the 2nd, to the 3rd? How can you use escalating styles of conflict management to speed up the story and work towards a climax?
PERSONALITY PLUS
The names on this scale are a bit confusing, but the best way to look at it is probably based on whether the character likes to plan ahead and follow a plan, or makes things up on the fly. Someone on the judging side of the scale plans carefully and sticks to a step-by-step plan, but has trouble adjusting when things change. Someone on the perceptive side of the scale tends to leave things to the last minute and act without a plan, making things up on the fly, but adapts well to change.
In the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, Belle is seen as a classic introvert. She loves books, spends a lot of time in her own world and can be mistaken for a bit confused by those who don't know her. Gaston, on the other hand, shows the worst side of an extroverted nature, loud, boastful and desirous of attention from the crowd.
It is not so strange that they do not get along, and the disparity between the understanding of this creates a dramatic conflict. If they are strong minded, how can the story require them to deal with another character's emotions.
GIVING GRIEF
How does this affect their ability to cope with the demands of their lives/story actions. How they accept loss and find a new way of understanding the world. What story events can happen to push a character beyond what they can currently deal with in their grief.
THERE’S A LITTLE BIT IN ALL OF US
On a problematic level, they skip meals and don't eat enough to nourish their body as a way to feel like they have some form of control in their life. On a problematic level, it is binge eating to cover up deep emotional problems and then purging through vomiting or overeating. Schizophrenia – in mild form it may be a tendency to believe in the mystical, ghosts, messages from angels or ancestors (quite normal in many cultures), strange thinking, social isolation.
This outline is intended as a starting point for giving your characters minor traits and flaws. If you're thinking of giving your character a full derangement, be sure to research it more thoroughly. There are many misconceptions in the public awareness of mental health conditions and you will want to portray them as accurately as possible.
More information on these and other psychological issues can be found in the DSM-5, which is a manual for diagnosing and categorizing psychological disorders. In the hit TV show, Friends, Monica is portrayed as a character who likes to be in control, cleans when she is stressed and was also significantly overweight in her younger years. If the show was a drama rather than a comedy, these traits could develop further throughout the story to develop into actual deviations.
What events in the story might pose a problem for the character's particular set of tendencies.
ME AND MY SHADOW
What behavior shows these qualities to the reader and to other characters without the character being aware of it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CURRENTS OF CHANGE
SHIFTING WORLDS
