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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
Blog You Can Hear Chopin

5 Things I Already Know About My New Book

March 17, 2023 No Comments

As the weary first draft battle continues on, I’ve already learnt a few things about my new book that I’ll need to address when I’m finished…

Retrospect is a cruel thing. And overthinking is even crueller. They’re both my bedfellows at the moment. Especially when it comes to this new book, You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic. As I mentioned in previous posts, including my latest update, writing my new World War II thriller has been a labour of love. At one point I considered starting the whole thing from scratch, despite reaching the 100,000-word mark.

The key takeaway with any first draft is to just get it down on paper. Don’t look to please your beta readers or whoever you turn to for feedback. It’s highly unlikely they’re going to say it’s perfect. Your characters will be inconsistent, and your plots will have holes in them. However, it’s good to be mindful of these possible issues. Here are five from my own work-in-progress.

1. We may be following the wrong protagonist

I took you through my main characters in my new book more than once, so I won’t do it again. Least of all because the hierarchy might shift in the re-drafting process!

The main storyline in You Can Hear Chopin concerns Heinrich Oeunhausen, the owner of the hotel where most of the action takes place, and his wife Sofie. As a schizophrenia sufferer, Sofie would be considered ‘unworthy of life’, or words to that effect, under the Nazi regime. And so, to protect her, Heinrich conceals her existence from all but a few close allies, yet hides her in plain sight in his own hotel. He exploits the trust of his family friend Standartenführer Upfauer to keep the hotel’s Nazi clientele from throwing their weight around. In essence, keeping Sofie relatively safe.

However, the emotional and developmental journey I’m taking Heinrich on might not be that interesting or thrilling when told through his eyes. Like my other books, there’s more than one point-of-view character in You Can Hear Chopin. Heinrich and the other major protagonist Cordelia Knesebeck make up the bulk of them. But the one character that observes their actions and decisions the most is the concierge, Alois. A character I happen to enjoy writing a great deal. Not least because he serves as an outlet to satirise even present-day attitudes towards hospitality workers. He says and thinks all the things I would have loved to have said to customers in my hotel days! I have half a mind to rework the story and tell it all through Alois’ eyes, which will (hopefully) add more suspense and mystery. Undecided yet, but there’s a good chance I’ll give it a go.

2. This new book is too long

Can imagine looks of horror and astonishment when I say the plan for this new book is, currently, 73 pages long. That includes all the notes I made during my research, links to relevant articles and so on; a list of dishes that could potentially make up menus for the hotel, plus whatever cocktails and other drinks were available; extensive character bios, and, most notably, an in-depth treatment for plot and character for each of the 110 chapters.

Yes, you read that correctly. 110.

BUT!

I have already decided that what I considered the final quarter of the novel can be cut. Not necessarily forever. It would comprise a courtroom drama, prison turmoil for certain characters, and missing crucial evidence with a ticking clock to find it. Arguably the most thrilling part of the book. But it’d take place two years after the main action. Half the major characters wouldn’t be involved. In my opinion, it would serve just as well as a potential sequel.

3. Repetition, repetition, repetition…

As we don’t change settings all that much in the course of the story, I often find myself repeating phrases and words. Even some that, when I first used them, seemed quite fresh and clever. There’ll be three questions I’ll ask myself when I do my editing and redrafting in these cases. A) Can I shift the action elsewhere, to a different setting? B) Can I touch on another storyline in between and break this up? Or C) Can some of these scenes in the same setting be condensed down into one?

Plus, I keep a trusty list of unusual or uncommon words in my phone that’s proven useful in the past. We’ll turn to that again in due course.

4. Some characters need more attention

I came into this new book with a very clear idea of which characters are major and which are minor. But over the course of writing, some have proven much nicer to write than others. And indeed others just haven’t featured as much in the story as they should. It’ll be one of the first things I make a note of in my re-drafting process. Where could we pick these characters’ threads up earlier or more often?

5. Some characters seem familiar

This one actually came from a follower off the back of another post. A truly invaluable bit of feedback. It was pointed out that the character of Heinrich seemed to bear similarities to another character from one of my other books! Namely, George Whitlocke, butler to Lady Vyrrington in Lust & Liberty and Sin & Secrecy. And while I can’t confirm or deny whether or not it’s correct yet, it definitely had me wondering. How many of my other You Can Hear Chopin characters have the same voices and personalities as the Berylford cast? Is Standartenführer Upfauer a National Socialist analogue for Abel Stirkwhistle? Could Mrs Urmstone have been reincarnated in Cordelia Knesebeck by accident?

I like to think I’ve created enough of a disparity between them. But at the same time, on paper, maybe there are dangerous similarities! It’s something I never thought to look at before. A cracking piece of feedback, and sincerest thanks go to that follower.

Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think. And if you want to know more about my new book, leave a comment or follow my Facebook and Instagram pages. And read further posts out more about this novel. 

Continue reading
Reading time: 5 min
Written by: Dale Hurst
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ANNOUNCEMENT: New Book in Progress

November 15, 2018

No Time Like the Present…

July 1, 2018

“To Err is Human…”

August 4, 2018

You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic: A Brief Overview

January 24, 2019

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

Dale Hurst | Author
Not everyone's experiences in independent publishi Not everyone's experiences in independent publishing are positive, sadly. 
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I spoke with fellow author @thehsmatthews – who wrote these lovely books – about her recent gripes with Amazon KDP and what she recommends for other writers who find themselves in the same position (God forbid...)
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The full interview is on my website (link in comments 👇👇👇)
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#indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #authornetwork #authorscommunity #authorsofinstagram #writingcommunity #writersofinsta #writernetwork #amazonkdp #indiepublishing
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🚨
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