: Re: How To Develop A Character For A Character-Driven Story? What is essential for a character-driven story - except, obviously, appearance?

@Kevin153

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I see three keys to character-driven stories:

The character wants something strongly enough to struggle for it.
The character has a unique reason for wanting the thing.
Something about the character makes the struggle more difficult.

The first one is common to all stories.

I'm not sure the second one is essential, but it sure helps. Give the character a unique reason to want the thing, and to want it so badly. This distinguishes this character from others who, on the surface, might want the same thing.

The third factor is, for me, what distinguishes a more character-driven story from a more plot-driven story. In a plot-driven story, it's often enough that external forces keep the character from achieving the goal. But for character-driven stories, something about the character must be a key obstacle. That's what forces the character to change.

Those three things combine to tell the reader a great deal about the character.

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