Character Development Exercises: How to Create Unforgettable Characters
Every gripping story, no matter how packed with action or plot twists, hinges on one essential element: compelling characters. You can have a world-ending disaster, an epic sword fight, or a mind-bending mystery—but if your characters fall flat, your readers won’t stick around.
That’s where character development comes in.
What Is Character Development, Really?
Let’s break it down: Character development is the process of building multi-dimensional, believable characters who grow and evolve throughout your story. These aren’t cardboard cutouts—they have dreams, flaws, past trauma, internal conflicts, and quirks (yes, even an irrational fear of jellybeans counts).
So, what is character development? It’s the art of transforming your characters from simple concepts into fully fleshed-out individuals with emotional depth and purpose. Done right, it gives your readers a reason to root for (or against) your characters as they navigate the story world.
Whether you’re plotting your novel or pantsing your way through a first draft, strong character development is the glue that holds it all together.
Related: Static vs Dynamic Characters: What They Are and Why They Matter in Storytelling
How to Develop a Character: The Three-Phase Framework
We’re going to build your characters layer by layer, using a mix of fun character development exercises and strategic thinking. The process is divided into three stages:
Discover their internal motivations
Understand their context and backstory
Bring them to life on the page
Ready? Let’s dig into each stage with hands-on exercises and juicy character-building ideas.
Phase 1: Dig Into Internal Motivations
Characters don’t act randomly. They want something. Badly. And that “something” is the engine of your story.
Why It Matters
Without a goal (internal or external) your story lacks momentum. Even worse, your characters might feel… fake. If you’re asking, “What is character development?”, this is the core of the answer: understanding what drives your character and why.
Let’s unearth those internal drivers.
Exercise 1: Ask the Hard-Hitting Questions
Channel your inner therapist and dig deep with these character development questions. Some are serious. Some are silly. All are designed to help you get to know your character like a best friend (or a sworn enemy).
Try answering these in your character’s voice:
Your house is on fire. You can save one object. What is it and why?
Do you want to be famous? For what?
What’s your happiest memory?
What’s your greatest regret?
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
What do you most dislike about yourself?
What’s one thing you would never admit out loud?
Pro Tip: Use a character development template to record these answers and keep everything organised. It’s like a passport for your character’s inner world.
Exercise 2: The Moral Dilemma Gauntlet
Throw your character into a tough situation. Moral dilemmas reveal true values—and weaknesses. Here are two classic thought experiments:
The Robin Hood Problem
Your character sees someone rob a bank. But instead of pocketing the money, the thief donates it to a struggling orphanage. Your character knows who did it.
Do they tell the police and risk hurting the kids, or keep the secret?
The Trolley Problem
A runaway trolley is about to hit five people. Your character can pull a lever to divert it, but doing so will kill one person on another track.
Do they act? Or let fate decide?
Write their internal monologue. Better yet, change their role—what if they were the ones on the tracks?
Exercise 3: Shake Things Up
Characters resist change, just like people do. So what would it take to change your character at its core?
Think of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. It took ghostly visits and a vision of his lonely grave to wake him up.
Ask yourself:
What extreme event would force your character to break their own code?
What’s the line they swore they’d never cross—and what would make them cross it?
These questions are the keys to powerful arcs and emotional payoffs.
Phase 2: Context Is Everything
No one is born in a vacuum. Your character’s choices and beliefs are shaped by their past—and by how others see them.
Why It Matters
When readers understand why a character is the way they are, even villains become sympathetic. That’s character development meaning in action.
Exercise 4: Throwback Timeline (#TBT)
Sketch a timeline of the major events in your character’s life. Use Post-it notes, a spreadsheet, or a digital board. Then, highlight 5–10 moments that shaped them most.
A devastating loss?
A big win?
A betrayal?
A time they felt truly seen?
Knowing these key life events adds richness to your character and clues you into how they’ll react in your plot.
Exercise 5: The Gatsby Method
In The Great Gatsby, we hear about Gatsby before we meet him. Gossip and rumours build mystique—and then the man himself walks in, larger than life.
Try this: write a scene where your character is described by others. Friends, enemies, strangers—what do people think about them?
Are the perceptions accurate… or not?
This technique gives your character depth and opens opportunities to surprise readers with contradictions.
Phase 3: Make Them Real on the Page
Now that you’ve built your character from the inside out, it’s time to show who they are through voice, behavior, and physicality.
Exercise 6: Tell Me About Yourself…
Picture your character in the following scenarios. How do they present themselves?
In a job interview
On a first date
Texting an old friend
Flirting at a party
Writing a Twitter/X bio
Talking to a border patrol officer
Do they reveal too much? Hide behind sarcasm? Bluff with bravado? These moments show how your character adapts based on context, and reveal their true personality underneath.
Exercise 7: Actions Speak Louder
Forget laundry lists of hair colour and shoe size. Instead, describe your character through what they do.
Take this line from Ulysses:
“A light wind passed his brow, fanning softly his fair uncombed hair and stirring silver points of anxiety in his eyes.”
You can feel the anxiety and imagine the character clearly, without a bland description.
Try this: list your character’s physical traits, then write a short scene (cooking, walking, arguing) and sneak in those traits through motion, interaction, and sensory detail.
Bonus: Use a Character Development Template
Need help organising all these juicy details? A character development template can keep you from getting lost in your notes. Look for one that includes:
Backstory
Strengths and flaws
Physical traits
Motivations and goals
Key relationships
Dialogue samples
Turning points
You can even create multiple templates for side characters, antagonists, and love interests.
Final Thoughts
So, what is character development? It’s the difference between a forgettable character and one that sticks with readers long after they’ve closed your book.
By asking the right character development questions, putting your character in sticky situations, and using tools like a solid character development template, you’ll craft a cast that leaps off the page with personality, purpose, and unforgettable flair.
Remember: plot keeps the story moving, but character is what makes readers care.