The Importance Of Character Opinions For Development

[LadyLekku]

Just thought I'd share something I've been thinking about in regards to writing developed and three dimensional characters. Typing this on my phone so apologies for typoes and whatnot.

Anyway I recently heard someone make the case that "personality traits" were a very small part of a developed character when compared to "opinions". I began to think in terms of famous characters like superheroes, and the reason why their love interests are commonly two dimensional and relatively interchangeable.

If you think about it, many of them have very similar personality traits. They're loyal, bold, kind, and supportive. Think Agent Carter from Captain America, Pepper Potts from Iron Man, or Jane from Thor. Really the main requirement for superhero romantic interest seems to be "the first girl I met in the movie" or "the girl I happen to spend the most time with during my journey." I feel this happens when too much importance is placed on personality traits, and not enough detail is given about their personal opinions.

Also worth noting is that no personality trait can be consistent at all times. While some core aspects like temperament or patience or morality may be the basis for other feelings and personality shifts, the truth is we change personalities quite often. They depend on our mood, who we are around, how much sleep we've gotten, how we have been treated lately, and all sorts of things. Even something as simple as a stomach cramp will change our personality for a time. A character who is kind and patient with a child may be short and rude to another adult. While upset over something, a character may act entirely different from when they're peacefully content. I believe this level of bleed from one context to the next is why we as humans seem to actually have quite similar traits in most instances. Most people are more or less reasonable, emotional, understanding, narrow minded, hot headed, and patient at various times in various situations.

One thing that does not change with context is a particular opinion. Someone who does not enjoy the company of children may display this in different ways at different times, such as a biting comment when agitated or a bleary contempt at best. Someone who believes that the law is more important than morality will uphold it whether they find it fair or not, in any context.

And if you say "but Maggy. This isn't right. No one can always follow their code or their opinion at all times." Well that's what I'm getting at. The true shift of a dynamic character may not come from the change of their personality at all, rather, it may just come from the changing of their opinions. In the brief moment where a staunchly conservative old man realizes that his rebellious daughter is stronger than his old views of women allowed him to see her, he has experienced a character shift. It may not change his personality. He may continue to be brash and stoic. However, a switch within his mind has been flipped, and therefor his actions will no longer be predictable.

These are the moments that climaxes aim for. These are the moments that give you goosebumps while reading the interactions between two characters. It doesn't have to imply someone has changed the characters mind on purpose, but it does imply that they had a certain way of thinking before, and a new way of thinking now.

Even without focusing on the potential shift of opinions, I would suggest writers try to consider their characters opinions on as many things as possible. Consider why they feel the way they do. Consider their upbringing, the opinions of their parents, or a particular event which taught them to think this way. Then, no matter the situation, mood, or whatever else, we will know how a character should react, and be in properly surprised or impressed if this changes.

Some prompts:

Consider two or three core beliefs your character holds. They should be entire sentences. Then detail what exact experience(s) taught them to think this way.

Does you character hold an opinion that is contrary to their parents'?

Look up moral dilemmas online and consider how your character would respond based on their opinions, rather than their personality traits.

Take a test online that is meant to determine your political party, from the point of view of your character.

List the following words from least to most important: family, righteousness, law, duty, equality, tradition, honor, compassion, wisdom, strength, popularity.

More prompts:
Consider what opinions come into play when determining how your character responds to the following situations:

A shendar is harassing you for money. He is dressed in rags and obviously has recently been beaten and bruised. He isn't polite. He doesn't seem willing to leave you alone till you've given him money for food. If you call the guard he will likely be beaten again. If you faught him, you'd likely not be punished at all. If you gave him money, he may come back for more.

A nobleman's son asks you to give up your seat for him. He asks politely, but seems to be assuming you'll do as he's asked. There isn't another open seat and he wants to sit near his family, but you will have to stand or sit in a less desirable place, near the open door on a snowy night. He is already moving forward, assuming you will leave.

While running some final errands well into the night, you see a woman being screamed at by her husband. Eventually he slaps her, and she tries to move behind you in fear. You don't know these people, nor what they're fighting about. The woman is frightened, but is definitely the man's wife and therefor the husband has the right to correct her behavior in public. Your intervention may spare the woman now, but may cause her more trouble later. Not to mention you'll be grievously insulting the man. And yet, her feeble plea for help is sincere and pitious.

You are given the task of determining which of your children will become heir to your family's priceless heirloom sword. The oldest son was brought up to assume responsibility over your holdings. He will one day be head of the household and must be respected by the others. The second son is a soldier who would likely use the sword with the most skill, but it would see many years of hard battle and could be lost or broken in his care. It would also be an insult your oldest son if the heirloom was passed below him. The third son has lived in the shadow of his brothers, and you fear he may resent them for all they have. Giving him the sword would repair that bridge and make him happy, ensuring his loyalty to his brothers.

I hope these prompts have at least brought up some ideas for your characters. As elementary as some of you may see it, I honestly hadn't put too much thought into opinions. They came second, after personality had been established, rather like passive assumptions than well thought out core aspects of the character. I now believe that a great character may benefit from being built based on opinions, with personality coming later.

Examples of opinions:

While every situation needs to be assessed properly, the importance of the law is keeping order, and defying that order on the grounds of morality would inspire chaos in the realm. A guards duty is to preserve order, even if that means justice is sometimes overlooked.

The law exists to protect people from being wronged. If defying the law is what it takes to keep society fair and just, then it is justified for a guard to overlook some rules.

A person who is loyal to me will always have my respect, despite their previous actions and sins. I would rather have a friend who is loyal over one who is a good person.

I could never fully trust someone I disagreed with, even if they were good to me.

Women should obey their husbands. There is a bond of trust that a husband is always making decisions for the good of the wife's family. Therefor, women should trust in their every command. If he is incompetent, or untrustworthy, she should persue divorce rather than disobey him routinely.

Women have a duty just as men do, and should be respected for upholding it. This means a wife/mother deserves an equal say in matters of the home, on a personal level. Even if the law will side with the husband, a husband should side with his wife.

No amount of money is worth one's dignity.

No amount of pride is worth more than feeding my starving family.

Would love to hear your feedback!

 

[AtticCat]

This was really great!

Now I want to answer these prompts.

 

[LadyLekku]

This was really great!

Now I want to answer these prompts.

Click to shrink...

Thanks! I've been mulling over this for a while! Obviously everyone knows their characters have opinions, I just think they've been a passive byproduct of personality as opposed to the driving force of it.

 

[Optimalfriskies]

I adore the idea behind the thread, and your explanations were great! In all honesty, I believe your characters opinions can change over time as well, but at a much slower rate than their personality. If you don't mind, I'll try out some of the prompts you wrote up with one of my own characters real quick.

Spoiler: Answering the prompts

A shendar is harassing you for money. He is dressed in rags and obviously has recently been beaten and bruised. He isn't polite. He doesn't seem willing to leave you alone till you've given him money for food. If you call the guard he will likely be beaten again. If you faught him, you'd likely not be punished at all. If you gave him money, he may come back for more.

Click to shrink...

Alexei's patience ran out quickly, and he decided to solve the problem through violent means. A quick jab for the Shendar's nose would probably be enough of a warning, he thought. Alexei left him in the gutter, moving on with his day. Alexei had a distaste for Shendar, and a much larger distaste for the lazy complainers and the ones that cry for others to solve their problems. As he says, "A man carves his own path in life, not the state, not their friends, only him."

A nobleman's son asks you to give up your seat for him. He asks politely, but seems to be assuming you'll do as he's asked. There isn't another open seat and he wants to sit near his family, but you will have to stand or sit in a less desirable place, near the open door on a snowy night. He is already moving forward, assuming you will leave.

Click to shrink...

Alexei would not respond to the nobleman's son, instead he held his ground, remaining seated on the chair. His movements would only get a stern glare from Alexei, he would not bend or move over for a boy, regardless of what his father's name was. Unlike some of his peers though, Alexei didn't reply with spite or anger towards the boy; the boy didn't choose to be born of nobility, and Alexei has no right to despise him just because the boy is richer than himself.

While running some final errands well into the night, you see a woman being screamed at by her husband. Eventually he slaps her, and she tries to move behind you in fear. You don't know these people, nor what they're fighting about. The woman is frightened, but is definitely the man's wife and therefor the husband has the right to correct her behavior in public. Your intervention may spare the woman now, but may cause her more trouble later. Not to mention you'll be grievously insulting the man. And yet, her feeble plea for help is sincere and pitious.

Click to shrink...

Alexei would make no move to save the lady. Having grown up in a Vladno household, this was commonplace for him; additionally, he saw it fit to not meddle with other people's affairs, as long as they had no effect on him. Had the man made a move against Alexei, he would have stopped him, but if the man didn't, Alexei would move onward. His errands were much more urgent to him than the affairs of two strangers.

You are given the task of determining which of your children will become heir to your family's priceless heirloom sword. The oldest son was brought up to assume responsibility over your holdings. He will one day be head of the household and must be respected by the others. The second son is a soldier who would likely use the sword with the most skill, but it would see many years of hard battle and could be lost or broken in his care. It would also be an insult your oldest son if the heirloom was passed below him. The third son has lived in the shadow of his brothers, and you fear he may resent them for all they have. Giving him the sword would repair that bridge and make him happy, ensuring his loyalty to his brothers.

Click to shrink...

Alexei would have decided to hand the blade over to the runt of the litter. He sees it as a golden chance to bring the youngest closer to the others, as well as forming a bond of trust between the boy and himself. Family comes above all to Alexei, and if giving the sword to the youngest can aid in tightening family bonds, then he would gladly do so.

 

[HoshiWomp]

Yes! I totally agree with this!

 

[AtticCat]

I answered the prompts because I got bored. :>

Spoiler: Juliette

Consider two or three core beliefs your character holds. They should be entire sentences. Then detail what exact experience(s) taught them to think this way.

1) A woman should be able to defend herself and not have to rely on her father or husband to protect her. Juliette learned this when she original came to Regalia and was quickly thrown into the chaos of the Rise of Freya Lo, in the midst of the Kronau Resistance she picked up the sword and shield to begin learning how to defend herself, a skill she kept close as she is now apart of the Ivory Inquisition and was apart of the Regalian Guard previously.
2) *Can't think of one at the moment*

List the following words from least to most important: family, righteousness, law, duty, equality, tradition, honor, compassion, wisdom, strength, popularity.

Tradition, Equality, Popularity, Compassion, Wisdom, Honor, Strength, Righteousness, Law, Duty, Family

A shendar is harassing you for money. He is dressed in rags and obviously has recently been beaten and bruised. He isn't polite. He doesn't seem willing to leave you alone till you've given him money for food. If you call the guard he will likely be beaten again. If you fought him, you'd likely not be punished at all. If you gave him money, he may come back for more.

Juliette paid the Shendar a glance, pausing a moment before retrieving a tenpiece from her pocket and tossing it towards the road for him to collect. She'd continue on and if he followed her, he would be told to shoo- if he did not leave still she'd call the guards on him and have him arrested.

A nobleman's son asks you to give up your seat for him. He asks politely, but seems to be assuming you'll do as he's asked. There isn't another open seat and he wants to sit near his family, but you will have to stand or sit in a less desirable place, near the open door on a snowy night. He is already moving forward, assuming you will leave.

The Wodenstaff gave the son a look over before stating bluntly, "How rude of you to ask a Lady of a High Noble family to move for you, my apologizes, but non." Following her rather rude statement, she'd place her hands in her lap and continue to observe whatever events they happened to be at.

While running some final errands well into the night, you see a woman being screamed at by her husband. Eventually he slaps her, and she tries to move behind you in fear. You don't know these people, nor what they're fighting about. The woman is frightened, but is definitely the man's wife and therefor the husband has the right to correct her behavior in public. Your intervention may spare the woman now, but may cause her more trouble later. Not to mention you'll be grievously insulting the man. And yet, her feeble plea for help is sincere and pitious.

As the woman moved behind her, the young member of the Inquisition held her right arm out as if to shield the woman as she'd tell the husband off for being an abusive drunkard- or something along those lines. Following which, she'd loop her arm with the poor woman's and lead her off to the clinic to be inspected for other wounds.

You are given the task of determining which of your children will become heir to your family's priceless heirloom sword. The oldest son was brought up to assume responsibility over your holdings. He will one day be head of the household and must be respected by the others. The second son is a soldier who would likely use the sword with the most skill, but it would see many years of hard battle and could be lost or broken in his care. It would also be an insult your oldest son if the heirloom was passed below him. The third son has lived in the shadow of his brothers, and you fear he may resent them for all they have. Giving him the sword would repair that bridge and make him happy, ensuring his loyalty to his brothers.

Juliette considered who would take the sword carefully, finally deciding that the first son would eventually come to understand her decision to pass it onto her youngest to repair his bond with his elder siblings. The second son would be told he could buy himself a proper sword to fight with and would not cause as much heartache should it be broken in battle.

Spoiler: Merina

Consider two or three core beliefs your character holds. They should be entire sentences. Then detail what exact experience(s) taught them to think this way.

1) Anyone should be given the chance to survive no matter where they came from or what they did, they deserve a second chance. This was a belief that Merina learned the hard way, following a life of crime and an abusive childhood in Eriu-Innis she was arrested and nearly killed by a noble man that was apart of the Undercrown's Bastion. He gave her a second chance after her retelling of her life and taught her that no matter how you grew up or what you did, you can still become a great person.

Does you character hold an opinion that is contrary to their parents'?

That everyone deserves to live. Her mother and father both thought only strong children should be allowed to survive, causing them to plot to kill their second daughter, Merina herself, as she is a frail and occasionally sickly girl. She believes that even if someone might not be the most physically fit that they still deserve to have a chance at life.

List the following words from least to most important: family, righteousness, law, duty, equality, tradition, honor, compassion, wisdom, strength, popularity.

Tradition, Righteousness, Honor, Popularity, Law, Family, Duty, Strength, Equality, Wisdom, Compassion

A shendar is harassing you for money. He is dressed in rags and obviously has recently been beaten and bruised. He isn't polite. He doesn't seem willing to leave you alone till you've given him money for food. If you call the guard he will likely be beaten again. If you fought him, you'd likely not be punished at all. If you gave him money, he may come back for more.

She would quickly tell the Shendar that she has no coin to spare, hurrying along to hopefully lose him and if she could not get him to leave her be then the Claith would change course for the home of the people she works for in hope that they would help her rid of the Shendar.

A nobleman's son asks you to give up your seat for him. He asks politely, but seems to be assuming you'll do as he's asked. There isn't another open seat and he wants to sit near his family, but you will have to stand or sit in a less desirable place, near the open door on a snowy night. He is already moving forward, assuming you will leave.

The young maid would quickly stand, bowing to the nobleman's son before shuffling around him and towards the seat by the doorway. Following sitting, she'd wrap her arms around herself in a feeble attempt at keeping warm as she continued to watch the event in hopes of forgetting the cold outside.

While running some final errands well into the night, you see a woman being screamed at by her husband. Eventually he slaps her, and she tries to move behind you in fear. You don't know these people, nor what they're fighting about. The woman is frightened, but is definitely the man's wife and therefor the husband has the right to correct her behavior in public. Your intervention may spare the woman now, but may cause her more trouble later. Not to mention you'll be grievously insulting the man. And yet, her feeble plea for help is sincere and pitious.

Rather then fight the man or talk back to him, Merina would simply try to take the hand of the beaten wife to rush her away form the scene- if the woman didn't come then the Claith would quickly leave her behind as she didn't want to be attacked herself, though the situation would leave her rather shaken.

You are given the task of determining which of your children will become heir to your family's priceless heirloom sword. The oldest son was brought up to assume responsibility over your holdings. He will one day be head of the household and must be respected by the others. The second son is a soldier who would likely use the sword with the most skill, but it would see many years of hard battle and could be lost or broken in his care. It would also be an insult your oldest son if the heirloom was passed below him. The third son has lived in the shadow of his brothers, and you fear he may resent them for all they have. Giving him the sword would repair that bridge and make him happy, ensuring his loyalty to his brothers.

Merina would gift the sword to her second son, the soldier as he had the most benefit of having it. She had no care if it was lost or broke but only that it was put in good use- as for her other two sons she simply hoped they would understand her decision that it was best to give an item use rather than let it sit useless.

 

[GoodDreamer]

I enjoy these prompts, so I'm going to drop my answers down as well.

Spoiler: Nal Roh

Consider two or three core beliefs your character holds. They should be entire sentences. Then detail what exact experience(s) taught them to think this way.


One must find their greatest strengths, and grow them to their greatest extent, rather than put time into one's deficiencies.

Nal Roh's vision has been suffering from a young age, growing worse and worse as he grew older and larger. In Gana-Eeshtar, this meant problems in the identification of others, but that was as bad as it got. Everything else could be offset by training, as everything else was combat based. However, once he reached the surface, his worsening vision became crippling in the worst of ways. Facial expressions, small or distant objects, reading, identification of anything and everything from poisonous potions to healing salves, all impossible as his world devolved into a mess of color. His eyes and training forced him onto a path of close-combat, and he was more than a little bitter about it. As time passed, he turned his bitterness into pride, telling himself that he needs none of what he lacks, and will refuse any opportunity to learn or adapt.

To run away from commitment, combat, or comrades is to fail. To fail is to be unworthy of the good that may come to you.

Before the Chrysant war, Nal Roh spent much of his time with an aging, crippled Sa-Allar named Joss Dosso, who held honor and virtue in high regard. Seeing the veteran as a mentor, Nal Roh took many of Joss' philosophies and made them his own. Despite this, Nal Roh's perception of commitment is quite flimsy, and he has a poor track record when it comes to commitment. He never returned to Hadar after the Chrysant war, searching for his own kind rather than rebuilding what had become his new homeland, and he has had multiple children, all of whom he has abandoned in Arlora without second thoughts. Combat and comrades are a simpler matter to him. He is aggressively loyal, and simply aggressive in combat, and running from either sickens him. The same goes for his bent sense of commitment.

Total and absolute faith.. in himself!

Whether he is driven by pride, fear, or impulse, it cannot be said that Nal Roh lacks confidence in himself. No specific events or occurrences caused this to happen so much as a lack of occurrences. Nal Roh commits himself primarily to strength and fearlessness, and has for as long as he can remember, never dipping away to dabble in things that are new or strange. The result is that he excels in everything that he does, seeing himself as second to no-one. He knows that he is a true warrior, loyal friend, and a hard worker. He knows nothing else. He has driven himself into a hole and repeats the same actions every day. He fights, drinks, talks, and fights, utterly terrified to try anything new and fail at it. His outlook on new activities is one of disdain, thinking that if he ever really needed those things, he'd already have done them and done well at them, therefore he doesn't need to do them.


Does your character hold an opinion that is contrary to their parents'?

Nal Roh hasn't interacted with either of his parents in about forty years, and hasn't the slightest clue what opinions they may or may not hold. If he did interact with them, he likely would. His view on religion is much like that of the Al-Allar, where all faiths are true, and has simply devoted himself to Hael more than he has the other gods. That seems like a solid point of contention.


Take a test online that is meant to determine your political party, from the point of view of your character.

Most politics are beyond his knowledge or caring.


List the following words from least to most important: family, righteousness, law, duty, equality, tradition, honor, compassion, wisdom, strength, popularity.

Strength, honor, duty, righteousness, compassion, equality, tradition, popularity, law, wisdom, family.


Consider what opinions come into play when determining how your character responds to the following situations:

A Shendar is harassing you for money. He is dressed in rags and obviously has recently been beaten and bruised. He isn't polite. He doesn't seem willing to leave you alone till you've given him money for food. If you call the guard he will likely be beaten again. If you fought him, you'd likely not be punished at all. If you gave him money, he may come back for more.

Nal Roh cares little for money. He lives without a house, bed, or many belongings, and may not be far better off than this Shendar. Nonetheless, he'd hand the Shendar enough coin to buy some bread or ale. If it comes back, so be it. He can take care of a nuisance if it comes down to it.


A nobleman's son asks you to give up your seat for him. He asks politely, but seems to be assuming you'll do as he's asked. There isn't another open seat and he wants to sit near his family, but you will have to stand or sit in a less desirable place, near the open door on a snowy night. He is already moving forward, assuming you will leave.

It would depend on if Nal had any friends nearby. If he does, he'd decline, telling the boy to sit elsewhere, not understanding that the boy is moving forwards to take the seat, and that there are no other seats available. Otherwise, he'd feel out of place anyway, and would likely give his seat up and stand outside after realizing he has no other options. The cold bothers him less than being in a seat without anything to do or anyone to talk to. Eventually, he'd leave.


While running some final errands well into the night, you see a woman being screamed at by her husband. Eventually he slaps her, and she tries to move behind you in fear. You don't know these people, nor what they're fighting about. The woman is frightened, but is definitely the man's wife and therefor the husband has the right to correct her behavior in public. Your intervention may spare the woman now, but may cause her more trouble later. Not to mention you'll be grievously insulting the man. And yet, her feeble plea for help is sincere and pitious.

Nal Roh is just going to come to a halt and stare at the man. He doesn't know what's going on, and might not even know that the person behind him is a female (not that it really matters to him), but he's tired and annoyed and doesn't feel like pinning his newfound annoyance at a clearly scared individual using him as a meatshield. He's just going to watch and see what the man does. If he storms off, that's good. If the man moves forward, it likely only takes a moment to floor him. Either way, the immediate problem will be defused. No thoughts towards what comes next will bother him as he leaves to do whatever he was doing.


You are given the task of determining which of your children will become heir to your family's priceless heirloom sword. The oldest son was brought up to assume responsibility over your holdings. He will one day be head of the household and must be respected by the others. The second son is a soldier who would likely use the sword with the most skill, but it would see many years of hard battle and could be lost or broken in his care. It would also be an insult your oldest son if the heirloom was passed below him. The third son has lived in the shadow of his brothers, and you fear he may resent them for all they have. Giving him the sword would repair that bridge and make him happy, ensuring his loyalty to his brothers.

It's a stretch to assume he would have an heirloom anything, or that three of his many children would grow close to him, but it's an even further stretch that he would place the oldest in a position of favor, or that only the second would be a warrior. His children are all Sulptron Dakkar; prone to anger and aggression, and it is likely that any surviving children are warriors of some sort. Anything that he can pass on in his life would likely not even be passed on to his children, even if he grew to know them. Any businesses or wealth that he manages to gather will go right to his closest, most competent friends. To get anything, including this heirloom sword, one of his children would need to prove that they deserve it for reasons other than, "I'm your kid that you abandoned. Give me things!". His children, and their unity, mean nothing to him.

If for the sake of the question, he had a sword, three children, and that these three children weren't all warriors, the sword would go to the eldest. In this twisted Nal Roh's eyes, the sword is the birthright of the eldest and should be passed down from eldest to eldest. The second could only break it, and the third needs to find his own way.