"WALKING TALL"

                                               

                                         Fundamentals of Character Building



            I’m a fan-girl of both movies Walking Tall. Although I must say, Dwayne Johnson, was hella sexy in the remake. Take a moment ladies to fan yourself as you imagine Dwayne BKA The Rock shirtless. Okay, enough of that! Now let’s move on to Character Building 101.

            Still, if there was a reason for studying ideal character traits, Dwayne has them on lock. Let’s start with his handsomeness, muscular body, and another purpose that we can build a robust character study based on his attributes alone.

            In Character building, we learn that these are significant traits for designing heroes in stories.

            We’ve seen Dwayne as a WWE pro wrestler, then in blockbuster movies, and Disney tales. He personifies the image of every hero we’ve ever read about in books.

            So now that we have a few talking points let’s expand what you might not realize goes into character building. To help me out, I’ve researched a few details from my favorite info-hub Google.

            According to thinkwritten.com/character, development gives five reliable tips.

 Here are the 5 Steps of Strong Character Development to Create Memorable Characters in Your Novel:

1.    Step 1: Identify Your Characters & Their Roles in the Story. ...

2.    Step 2: Get Inside Your Character's Head. ...

3.    Step 3: Research, Research, Research. ...

4.    Step 4: Strong Dialogue = Stronger Character Development. ...

5.    Step 5: Show, Don't Tell.

I know many writers struggle with the last one, showing, instead of telling, trust me, you will learn how to do this expertly over time.

Other sources also share information that pertains to Showing not Telling. Narissasingh.com-9-qualities-:

Here are nine qualities that exhibit good character.

1.    Living a life of integrity. There is no more critical personality trait than integrity, especially for those who lead. ...

2.    Telling the truth. ...

3.    Being loyal. ...

4.    Willing to sacrifice. ...

5.    Being accountable. ...

6.    Exercising self-control. ...

7.    Accepting outcomes. ...

8.    Valuing commitment.

Okay, this applies to character creation as well real life. Great food for thought.



If you need a jumping-off point on how to create character development and don’t know where to start, here’s some excellent info you can find at www.teachingcollegeenglish.com:

Describing a character for a character analysis

1.    A strong character analysis will:

2.    Consider the character's name and appearance.

3.    Consider if he/she a static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) character. ...

4.    Consider how the author discloses the character:

5.    Look for these things within the creation of the character:

If you are stuck on starting a character description, here’s help, according to www.carvezin.com:

10 Tips for Writing Physical Descriptions of Your Characters

1.    You don't always have to be specific. ...

2.    Use figurative language. ...

3.    Describe facial expressions. ...

4.    Make the descriptions match the tone. ...

5.    Scatter physical descriptions throughout the prose. ...

6.    Describe actions that reveal physical characteristics. ...

7.    A first-person narrator can give biased opinions about appearances.

But if you need help with this, you can go here: https://examples.yourdictionary.com/character-trait-examples.html

What is an example of character?

Character traits are valued aspects of a person's behavior. Everyone has character traits, both good and bad, including our favorite fictional characters. Character traits are often labeled with descriptive adjectives such as patient, unfaithful, or jealous. ... This would make honesty one of her character traits.

           

            Okay, we don’t have time for the full lesson on character development, but I hope what I shared with you today helped.

Remember, writing is a great way to express your creativity, but before you start the journey, have all the details and learn how to character build while you're at it.