How to Understand Your Characters
You step into the small café, looking around until you see them, waving you over.
Sliding into your chair, you study them, some details are bright and direct, others are still a little blurry.
“Nice to meet you,” you smile, shaking their hand, “I’m the author writing your story.”
They smile back, “Charmed. I’m your character.”
You and your character are chatting easily until you hit that awkward jolt in the conversation. Why?
“But why?” you ask, interrupting your character as they tell you a story. “Why did you do that? Why did you think that?”
They fall silent, looking down at their coffee. “I… don’t know.” They finally whisper.
And neither do you, which is the problem.
Okay, maybe you didn’t reach this block while having a conversation with your character over espressos, but maybe you reached this while typing on your laptop or writing in your notebook.
One second your character is doing something heartbreaking or astoundingly vile, and then the next you stop and realize you don’t really know a reason for them to act or think that way.
One second your character is doing something heartbreaking or astoundingly vile, and then the next you stop and realize you don’t really know a reason for them to act or think that way.
There are several things to analyze when trying to figure out your character’s motive or way of thinking.
1. What do they fear?
Fear is a powerful thing. From simple things like dogs, to bigger things like failure and being alone, fear influences many of our actions.
The fear of rejection can make people become followers or bullies, simply because they don’t want their peers to reject them.
What is your character’s greatest fear, and how does it affect their everyday lives?
2. How did they grow up?
A study conducted by researchers at UCLA (read more about it here) came back with results that show that abuse and neglect greatly affects the way a person thinks, even stating, “Childhood abuse increases adult risk for morbidity and mortality."
3. What were / are their surroundings like?
From poverty to mansions, your characters surroundings throughout their lives changed the way they see things.
From poverty to mansions, your characters surroundings throughout their lives changed the way they see things.
What were their surroundings like (school, home, church etc.)?
How did said surroundings make them feel? Threatened? Loved? Rejected? 
4. Who do they love? And what lengths would they go to keep or protect them?
Love and misguided adoration can make people do terrible things (especially characters).
An example of this in fiction is Anakin and Padme. Anakin adored Padme, causing him to be able to be manipulated to do horrible things when it came to the promise of saving her life.
5. What do they believe in?
Is your character religious? If so, what religion and how does it affect their everyday life and way of thinking?
If they aren't, why not? How does this affect their everyday life and way of thinking?
What kind of person are they when it comes to believing in something? Do they blindly follow, or are they more cautious?
I hope this helped!
Do you have trouble getting to know your characters?
How do you evaluate them?
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