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Building a comprehensive character profile

June 4, 2023 No Comments

Examining some important elements that should go into every character profile, before, during and after the writing process…

As you’ll have seen in previous posts on this site, along with pretty much every other writing blog out there, character should be the writer’s Number One consideration. Crafting three-dimensional characters is a gradual process. They fill out as you progress with your work. Having a profile for each major player in your story can help you keep track of their development, their personality, their reasons for being themselves. This post centres around building a comprehensive character profile, and what things you should consider to inform their development and the greater story.

Relationships with other characters

Like real life, you can tell a lot about a person based on how they interact with others. When building a character profile, one of the first things I note is that character’s relationship to others in their sphere. Who their closest allies are, and their enemies. Are they close family or estranged siblings? Are they co-workers locked in a rivalry? Or are there ex-lovers and ex-partners who have made a return to the scene?

Also, it doesn’t matter if these other characters don’t actually feature in your story. Your main character may have a sister that they don’t speak to. That fact alone can tell your readers a lot about your main character. Perhaps family ties are not important to them, or maybe they’re stubborn and have stood their ground in an argument. We never have to meet the estranged sister. The readers will be looking deeper at your main character.

Religion, politics and social attitudes

Remember, the core of a good story is conflict. What’s often at the centre of a good conflict? Religion, politics, and/or society. So when you’re outlining your characters, take a moment to consider… what’s their political leaning? Are they conservative or more liberal? Do they have a religion? If so, how devout are they? What’s their take on social issues? Are they vocally in favour of one thing, or virulently against another?

Remember that all of these will be affected by the period you’re setting your story in. And they all go back to our previous point about relationships with other characters. How will a controversial opinion or decision by one character affect their friendship circle? Do they form a united front, but with some reluctance by one or two members? How is that reluctance dealt with? In short, how do these attitudes inform the conflict of the story?

What is their core principle or philosophy?

These may be tied to politics, religion etc. if you wish. Essentially, when you boil your character down to the bare bones, what’s the one thing that’s driving their existence, their actions and their thoughts?

If I’m to give examples from my own work, in Sin & Secrecy, Lady Vyrrington’s core principle is to love as few people as possible, to stop anyone getting punished for her sins. Abel Stirkwhistle’s philosophy is that he is the judge, jury and executioner for anyone he sees as a sinner or criminal.

In You Can Hear Chopin, the core principles of my main antagonist Leopold Upfauer are tied to those of the Nazi Party, with focus on their idea that mentally ill people were unworthy of life. That philosophy directly affects my main protagonist Heinrich Oeunhausen, whose wife Sofie has schizophrenia. All the same, he has to suppress his own principles and join the Nazi Party in the hope that he will be better protected. Which takes us back to conflict again. Mapping the core principles out can lead you to examine how they clash with those of other characters.

Do they have any quirks, eccentricities, or defining characteristics?

Use your character profile to note down anything unique about each person. Do they have a catchphrase? Or any tics, tells or quirks that stand them out from the crowd? They don’t even need to be anything extraordinary. In You Can Hear Chopin, Upfauer is always cold and stands by a fire when there’s one in a room, and complains when there isn’t one. Meanwhile, Heinrich often refers to his watch, always conscious of time, as anyone who works in a hotel should be. They don’t necessarily have to affect the story, but they add believable human qualities to the characters. Which is what readers want to see.

The question of good and evil

What side is your character on? Are they hero or villain? Good, evil, or neutral? Or, as with real life, are they capable of being more than one? Can your protagonists occasionally make a decision that will take them down an evil path? Or is your antagonist capable of occasional kindness? What does this say about them as characters? A villain who does the odd bit of good could be construed as manipulative, for example.

Don’t forget to answer WHY?

When you’re defining all of these elements in a character profile, don’t forget to be conscious of the reasons behind your decisions. Why don’t these two siblings speak to each other anymore? Was it a childhood disagreement that festered into adulthood? What broke down this ex-couple’s marriage? Was it a difference in politics? Knowing the answers to these can enrich characters’ backstories. It also gives you a much clearer image of the characters when you’re writing your story.

Keep your character profile updated

As we know, a lot can change in the course of writing a story. That’s why it’s important to check your character profiles regularly. Update them according to the latest version of your manuscript. If two characters you had down as friends suddenly have a falling out, make sure that’s noted down. Again, include the reasons why. These decisions might affect other character development and plot points.

Thank you for reading. Is anything missing from this list? Get in touch via my Facebook and Instagram pages. Also, read further posts out more about my latest novel, and stay up to date with my podcast.

Continue reading
Reading time: 5 min
Written by: Dale Hurst
Lust & Liberty

Why did I decide to kill off this character?

May 17, 2023 No Comments

Diving into one of the more divisive creative decisions I made on my first book. Why I chose to kill off a certain character…

As a rule, reader feedback as to the ending of Lust & Liberty has been good. The words have been featured as Instagram captions. Some have even reported shedding tears. But on the flipside, a couple of readers told me they would have preferred a different, happier ending to the book. One that did not require me to kill off a certain character. Needless to say, this post contains spoilers. So if you haven’t read Lust & Liberty and plan to, you’d probably best not read on.

I am generally quite selective when it comes to the readers from whom I’ll take feedback. And I’m even more selective in how seriously I take that feedback these days. A reader made a point about an earlier draft of Lust & Liberty. Specifically that it didn’t really appear to have an ending. The main reason for the open-ended nature of the book was so that it would indicate more was coming in its sequel, Sin & Secrecy. However, if a more definitive ending was what they wanted, then that’s what they’ll get. How to definitively end a story for a character? Kill off that character, or one that’s significant to them.

Jesse Blameford, in the earlier versions, was never meant to die. Under circumstances I now forget, our favourite butler George Whitlocke compels him to leave Berylford and let the grieving Lady Vyrrington go, which he does. Riding off into the sunset, you might say. His last contact with her is, as it is with the final book, a letter. In it, Blameford reveals how he found marriage, children, happiness et cetera, all the while Lady Vyrrington loses her humanity piece by piece as her loved ones die all around her. It set the Countess up for her frozen emotionless state that we see in Sin & Secrecy. But apparently it wasn’t satisfying enough for Blameford to have a happy ending by comparison. So, I decided to kill him.

It took a lot of skewing to the story, allowing me to get a murder trial in the mix as well. And then, Blameford decides to make a move of true love, in his mind, at any rate. He decides to sacrifice his life to give Lady Vyrrington another chance of happiness. To spare her continued suffering. Which of course doesn’t work. It did, however, give her a better reason for closing herself off emotionally. Both loves of her life dead in the space of a year. So, that’s why I decided to kill off Jesse Blameford. To provide a much more cohesive and emotionally provocative ending to the story and to his and Lady Vyrrington’s arcs, but also to provide a more convincing setup for the Lady V we come to know in Book Two.

Thank you for reading. Want to know more about my writing process? Get in touch via my Facebook and Instagram pages. Also, read further posts out more about my latest novel, and stay up to date with my podcast.

Continue reading
Reading time: 2 min
Written by: Dale Hurst
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ANNOUNCEMENT: New Book in Progress

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No Time Like the Present…

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The Berylford Scandals (1. Lust & Liberty, 2. Sin & Secrecy) 📚
Podcaster | The Dale Hurst Writing Show🎙️

Dale Hurst | Author
I love creating characters. It's the greatest joy I love creating characters. It's the greatest joy of storytelling, I think. But to make sure they all don't end up as one-dimensional cardboard cutouts in the story, I create comprehensive profiles for all my principal players. Some of the things to include in such profiles are discussed in the latest post on my website (#linkinbio) ✍️✏️🖊️📝📖📚📘📙
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#writingcommunity #writersofinsta #writernetwork #writingwisdom #authornetwork #amwritingmystery #amwritinghistoricalfiction #charactercreation #characterprofile #creativewriting
Another very popular episode and one of my persona Another very popular episode and one of my personal favourites, featuring filmmaker Jamie Webb of @jkw.media talking about true crime documentary and drama and the trials and creative processes behind both. Here's a snippet. You'll have to listen to the whole thing to hear the flipside 😉🔍🎥🩸📝🎙️
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Find it on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music 🎙️
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#podcastersofinstagram #podcast #podcastsofinstagram #podcastaddict #writernetwork #writingpodcast #writingwisdom #thedalehurstwritingshow #amwritingtruecrime #truecrimeaddict #truecrimecommunity #documentary #filmmaker #drama #writingcommunity #authorsofinstagram #filmmakinglife
One of my favourite characters to write. Love her One of my favourite characters to write. Love her or hate her, there's no denying Mrs Urmstone is devoted to Lady Vyrrington and won't hear a word said against her. This quote from Lust & Liberty pretty much sums that up 📖📘📚
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#amreadingmystery
#amwritingmystery #amreadinghistoricalfiction #theberylfordscandals #lustandliberty #summerreading #summerreads2023 #bookquotes #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #igbooks #histfic #historicalfiction
5 whole years ago, I published my debut novel, Lus 5 whole years ago, I published my debut novel, Lust & Liberty 😱🤯🎉 letting loose all the scandals in Berylford and the dramas of its people. 
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Everyone's support and responses to the story have been overwhelming and I'm continually grateful 🥰
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(If you haven't read it yet, add to your summer reading list and grab a copy on Amazon now 😘📚📖)
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📸 Patrick Cermak
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#summerreading #summerreads2023 #theberylfordscandals #lustandliberty #bookiversary #publication #anniversary #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #igbooks #readingcommunity #readingtime #regencyromance #amreadingmystery #amreadinghistoricalfiction
How can we as authors continue to think outside th How can we as authors continue to think outside the box with female characters in the sci-fi genre? Fellow Star Wars enthusiast, writer and cosplayer @aimocreative joined me on the podcast with some of her thoughts. Full episode on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music as always 📚📖🎙️📝✍️
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#podcastersofinstagram #podcast #podcastsofinstagram #podcastaddict #writingpodcast #thedalehurstwritingshow #writingwisdom #amwritingscifi #amwritingsciencefiction #writingcommunity #authornetwork #authorsofinstagram #authorscommunity
Enjoy these covers while you can... They might be Enjoy these covers while you can... They might be changing soon... In light of the recent announcements from Amazon that they'll be hiking up their printing prices, we need to do some down-sizing. More news to come! Both books are still available from Amazon as always (#linkinbio) 📖📘📚📙 
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📸 @jkw.media 
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#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #igbooks #theberylfordscandals #lustandliberty #amreading #amreadingromance #amreadingmystery #amreadingcrime #amreadinghistoricalfiction #historicalfiction #histfic #mysterynovel #crimefiction
Spoilers ahead if you haven't read Lust & Liberty Spoilers ahead if you haven't read Lust & Liberty but are planning to.
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In this new blog post, I reveal the reason behind killing off a fan favourite... a decision that more than one reader has called for me to change 😆
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Link to the new post is in the comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️
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#theberylfordscandals #lustandliberty #writingwisdom #writingcommunity #authorsofinstagram #authornetwork #writersofinsta #amwritingmystery #amwritinghistoricalfiction #creativewriting #spoileralert🚨
This month, Lust & Liberty celebrates its 5th anni This month, Lust & Liberty celebrates its 5th anniversary 😱🤯🎉🎆 picking out some of my favourite excerpts, beginning with this from everyone's favourite anti-heroine, Lady Vyrrington 📝✍️🖊️📖📘
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#theberylfordscandals #lustandliberty #amwritingfiction #amwritinghistoricalfiction #amwritingmystery #amwritingromance #periodfiction #periodpiece #regencyromance #writingcommunity #authorscommunity #authorsofinstagram #writersofinsta #writerslife
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Dale Hurst

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