Character Development Type 1: Astrology

Whether or not you believe that the stars can tell you your future is irrelevant. The use of astrology in order to create a character is a great way to create someone with depth.

There are two types of astrology: Chinese and Sun Signs. (I do hope that if you create a character, s/he is real enough to you that you would give him/her a birthday. ) Chinese Astrology is the type that has to do with the years. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “Year of the Rat” or “Year of the Dragon.” Sun Signs have to do with monthly readings, such as Aries, Virgo, Cancer, etc.

The point of using these is to make sure that your character is a complete person. Often we fall in love with our characters so much that we refuse to give them weaknesses and bad traits. This is ridiculous. Can you think of anyone you adore that doesn’t have at least one trait that bothers you? Big or small, weaknesses and bad habits are important to a character.

Another good use for this strategy is for character compatibility. A lot of astrology sites can show you compatibility with two people regarding work, romance and friendship. People can’t agree on everything, and what they do and don’t agree on you can use to your advantage.

I’m going to do two sample characters to give you an idea of how useful it is: Marc and Dhara.

Marc’s birthday is going to be February 3rd, 1984. This is going to make him an Aquarius, Year of the Rat. Now, I don’t have to use ALL the traits mentioned in one of these sites. None of us meet all of these, and some of us barely meet any of them whatsoever. The point isn’t to have as many traits as possible, its to have depth and dimension to the character.

Here are Marc’s traits using Sun Signs: Original, independent, and honest. He also has a dry sense of humor, doesn’t forgive easily, and has a tendency to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing just for the heck of it. Some traits from the Year of the Rat that I can use for Marc are that he has his own agenda and is quite persuasive.

With these traits working together, I’m sure Marc will end up getting on my nerves frequently, but wondering what he’ll do next will keep me interested.

Next is Dhara. I’m going to make her birthday November 22, 1982. This makes her Year of the Dog and a Scorpio.

Here are some traits of Scorpio: Forceful, intuitive, emotional, and passionate. However, she’s also going to end up being secretive, compulsive, and is almost never satisfied with the results of something. Traits of the Dog that I will add in for Dhara are a firm code of personal ethics and a love of physical activity.

Now, I just made up birthdays before creating these characters. I had nothing pictured in my head for either one of them. But I can all ready tell that no matter the plot, these two are going to have some interesting chemistry. I don’t have to use a guide to tell me that Dhara won’t take any crap from Marc, but if Marc wants what he wants badly enough, he’s eventually going to stick around and use Dhara’s traits against her to get it for him.

If I want these two to be romantic, I’m going to have to use some of their traits in order to create reasons why these two would even fall for each other. Whether or not the compatibility tools on a site agree or disagree means nothing. They’re just helpers if you can’t think of something yourself.

For Dhara, I’m going to make her slightly impressed by Marc’s honesty. Even if he’s persuasive and tricky, he’s not going to be dishonest. She’ll also end up being intrigued by his original and inventive mind.

Marc is going to be excited by the challenge Dhara presents for him. Putting his mind to work in order to get her to help him for his tasks may frustrate him at times, but ultimately he’s going to love the mental exercise. And sooner or later, whatever emotional reasons Dhara reveals for passionately perusing what she’s doing is going to get him to think a little more about himself and get him to understand and empathize with her.

As work partners, I can tell these two will be quite competitive; as friends, they’re going to try to outshine the other with quick wit and personal accomplishments.

The story can almost be seen through the personalities of these two characters. That’s the point. The characters are the most important part of the story. Stories are character driven: not plot driven. A great plot is awesome, but without characters that drive the circumstances, these plots end up weak and typically cliche. Make sure that you have characters that people love or love to hate, because those characters are what keeps people interested in what happens next!

Here are some good Astrology sites:
http://www.astrology-online.com/persn.htm
http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/dog.htm
http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/zodiacs.htm
http://horoscopes.aol.com/astrology/zodiac-central/aquarius
http://www.astrologycom.com/zodiac.html
http://horoscopes.astrology.com/index/dailychineseindex.html