character-development

Character Development

Build a complete character profile — psychological depth, arc trajectory, relationship map, and distinctive voice.

Step 1 — Load book context

Read book-profile.md. Note genre, tone, protagonist(s), antagonist, core conflict.

Step 2 — Which character?

Ask:

"Which character do you want to develop? You can do multiple — tell me who to start with."

Typical priority: protagonist first, then antagonist, then major supporting characters.

Step 3 — Gather what the author knows

Ask:

"What do you already know about [character name]? Tell me anything — appearance, personality, backstory, quirks, role in the story."

Accept any level of detail. Use it as the foundation; fill gaps with specific suggestions.

Step 4 — Build the psychological profile

For each character, work through this framework. Make specific suggestions for each field based on the genre, tone, and what the author has shared — don't leave items as questions for the author to answer alone.

The core wound, want, and need

• Wound: What painful event or circumstance from their past shapes how they move through the world? (Be specific — not "loss" but "abandoned by their father at age 9 when the family business collapsed")
• Lie they believe: What false belief did the wound create? (e.g., "I am only valuable if I am useful to others", "Love always ends in abandonment")
• Want: What does the character consciously pursue in this story? Their external goal.
• Need: What do they actually need to be whole? This is often the opposite of what they think they want, and is what the story's theme is about.
• Fear: What does achieving their need require them to face or give up?

Arc trajectory

• Start state: How does the wound/lie manifest in their behaviour at the story's opening?
• Midpoint shift: What cracks their worldview open? What forces them to question the lie?
• Dark moment: How does their flaw cause the worst moment of the story for them?
• End state: Do they overcome the lie (positive arc), succumb to it (tragedy arc), or refuse change (flat/steadfast arc)? Which fits this book?

Genre-specific archetype alignment

• Romance: Identify the romance archetype (wounded hero, grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers role, etc.) and note how this character's wound feeds the central relationship conflict
• Thriller: Note the competence level — how capable is this character, and what is their specific blind spot the antagonist can exploit?
• Fantasy/Sci-fi: Note their relationship to the world's power system — do they embrace it, fear it, or reject it, and why does the wound explain that?
• Horror: Note what they stand to lose — horror works when the reader is invested in the character's survival of something specific

Voice and dialogue

• Speech patterns: Do they speak in complete sentences or fragments? Formal or casual? Verbose or terse?
• Vocabulary register: Educated, street-smart, regional dialect, professional jargon?
• What they never say directly: What topic do they deflect, change the subject on, or joke about rather than address?
• Distinctive phrase or habit: One memorable verbal tic or phrase (use sparingly)

Step 5 — Relationship map

For each significant relationship this character has:

• Other character's name
• Nature of the relationship (ally, rival, mentor, romantic interest, mirror)
• What does this character want from the other person?
• What does the other person's presence force this character to confront?

Step 6 — Save output

Append to or create planning/character-development.md:

## [Character Name]

### Core Profile
- **Wound**: 
- **Lie**: 
- **Want**: 
- **Need**: 
- **Fear**: 

### Arc
- **Start**: 
- **Midpoint shift**: 
- **Dark moment**: 
- **End state**: 

### Genre archetype notes

### Voice
- Speech pattern: 
- Register: 
- Avoids discussing: 
- Distinctive phrase: 

### Relationships
| Character | Relationship | Want from them | Forces confrontation of |
|---|---|---|---|

Ask the user if they want to develop another character before closing.