Narrative - Character Development

Photo by gg.
 This character development resource centers on going deep with your characters, through music. But first some quick overall tips on developing your characters, plus an exercise to do:

• Before you start writing, know what the story is about: Define your story in 15 words or less; then define it in a paragraph.
• All characters should have a want or need; the dramatic tension is their attempt to get what they want and how they get past the obstacles in the way of that goal.
• Know your characters -- their physical attributes, habits, mannerisms, speech, backstory.

Getting to know your character means making them a real person. Think about the personality you have given your character. What do they like? Dislike? What type of people are they friendly with? Who do they hate? Why? What are the backstories behind their emotions?

What kind of music does your character like? 

This may sound kind of whacky but, it sometimes helps you get a real sense of your character. So, for fun, why not create a blog post about a character. Tell us about her, or him. Everything. Find a photo you think might represent the character. And then post some music clips, your character's favorite playlist. Hopefully, this will do a few things: 1) make you think more deeply about your characters emotions and goals and motivations and 2) might inspire someone else who is reading your post to make their characters deeper.

To help, here is a list of copyright free music, courtesy Laura Abbene, Library Media Specialist, Winooski. 

• Audionautix

• Classic Cat

• Creative Commons Mixter

• Creative Commons Search

• Free Loops

• Free Music Archive

• Free Sound

• iBeat

• incompetech

• Internet Archive

• Internet Archive Audio

• Jamendo

• JamStudio: The Online Music Factory

• National Anthems of the World

• MobyGratis

• Open Music Archive

• Partners In Rhyme

• Purple Planet Royalty Free Music

• Soundation

• Sound Cloud