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Character Development Workshop

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Character Development Workshop

Writers make characters feel real through their goals, choices, actions, dialogue and change. Read the short scene, then complete the activities. In the final task, create a character who faces a difficult choice.

Read the scene

The creek had swallowed the footbridge overnight. Mara tightened her grip on the box. Inside, a kitten gave a tiny, unhappy mew. “Wait here,” she told her little brother, Eli. He had already taken one step towards the water. Mara wanted to reach the animal shelter before it closed. She had promised to return the kitten she had found behind the shops. But the quickest path crossed the creek, and the water was moving fast. Eli pointed upstream. “There’s a fallen tree. It might make a safer crossing.” Mara glanced at the dark clouds gathering over the hills. She could hurry across the footbridge remains, or take the longer route with Eli and risk arriving late. She swallowed, then handed him the box. “We go the safe way. You hold this with both hands.”

1.What is one personality trait Mara shows when she tells Eli to wait and chooses the safer route? Use an action from the scene as evidence.

2.What does Mara want to achieve, and what promise influences her?

3.Which choice creates the main conflict for Mara?

Whether to keep the kitten or give it a name
Whether to take a risky short route or a safer, longer route
Whether to tell Eli about the clouds
Whether to search behind the shops again

4.Complete the chain using details from the scene: Mara wants to , but , so she decides to .

5.The scene does not say, “Mara was worried.” Copy one detail that helps the reader infer her feelings, then explain what it suggests.

6.Match each detail from the scene to what it helps the reader understand.

Mara hands Eli the box.
The creek has swallowed the footbridge.
The kitten gives a tiny mew.

The setting creates a practical danger and obstacle.
She trusts him to help and gives him a responsibility.
The sound makes the animal seem vulnerable.

Build a character with depth

A convincing character is more than a list of adjectives. Give them something they want, something that gets in the way, and a choice that reveals what matters to them.

7.Invent a character for a story set during a stormy afternoon in Australia. Give them a name, one clear goal, one strength, one flaw, and one important object they carry. Make the strength and flaw affect what they do.

8.Give your character a problem that makes their goal harder. Then write two possible choices: one that is tempting but risky, and one that is more responsible but difficult.

9.Write two lines of dialogue between your character and another person during the problem. Use the words they choose to hint at their personality or feelings.

10.Write a short ending in which your character makes a choice and changes in some way. Include one action, one line of dialogue or thought, and a clue that shows how the character has changed.