🥑 your drawing board

Let’s talk foundations.

There are approximately one billion* character formulas out there. You can use whatever system helps you write good characters, but I’m going to draw from John Truby’s work from The Anatomy of Story because 1) I love it 2) it’s the best and 3) let’s get on with it already.

Every character has stuff. Desires, goals, motivations, etc. We’re going to focus on six things every character has, even if they only show up for one scene. These tools will help you make your characters consistent.

For the sake of fun, let’s name this character the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Psychological Weakness: What flaw, lie, or character defect is holding the Dread Pirate Roberts back? This is internal, primarily affecting himself.

Example: He wants to escape his hum-drum life on a farm.

Psychological Need: What would resolve or fix the Dread Pirate Roberts’s psychological weakness?

Example: He needs to enjoy the simple pleasures of farm life.

Moral Weakness: What flaw, lie, or character defect is hurting at least one person around the Dread Pirate Roberts?

Example: He neglects the woman he loves because he’s dreaming of escape.

Moral Need: What would resolve or fix the Dread Pirate Roberts’s moral weakness?

Example: He needs to demonstrate his love through clear action.

For the next two items, let’s skip to the climax of the story.

Psychological Self-Revelation: What does the Dread Pirate Roberts learn about himself? This usually means recognizing the psychological weakness.

Example: He realizes that running away from the farm cost him years of happiness and peace.

Moral Self-Revelation: What does the Dread Pirate Roberts learn about the way he interacts with others? This usually means recognizing the moral weakness.

Example: He realizes that his choices left the woman he loves vulnerable to marrying a man named, let’s say, Prince Humperdinck.

I said earlier that every character has these things. This is true, but only the characters your story emphasizes will see them on the page. Even minor characters will have weaknesses, needs, and self-revelations.

So what do we do now that we have these tools? We track the journey.

On Friday: charting the course.

*Obviously that’s not an accurate number. I rounded down.

Have a question about your characters? Send me a message and I may feature your dilemma in a future newsletter.

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