Exercising Your Character

“The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” Abigail Van Buren

1. How does your main character treat others?
2. Choosing three other characters in your book, decide how they really are, by the way they treat people they know.
3. By the way they treat strangers.
4. How does your MC feel about animals? Why?

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters” Albert Einstein

1. Does your character lie? Why or why not?
2. What would happen if she did lie? How would the story be more compelling?
3. What is the worst thing your character could do? Why is this the worst?
4. Write a scene where your character lies, and is caught, by someone who is important to her.
5. Do only the *bad* people lie in your book?

 

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Jesus

1. I think another way of saying this is, Actions speak louder than words. How does your character show her love? Her commitment? Her anger?
2. Write a scene where your character harms someone by her actions.
3. Our bad characters cannot be purely evil. How is your antagonist good?

 

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln

1. Your MC ends up with information she shouldn’t have. What does she do with it?
2. All characters must have weaknesses. What are your character’s weaknesses?
3. There should be a point, in every character’s growth, when they realize they have all the power, or none of it. What happens to your character when they hit this place in the book?
4. If you MC realizes she is more like the bad guy than she thought, well, that can be very interesting. Write a scene where your MC comes up against the darker part of herself.