In Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict and the Build A Cast Workbook, I introduce sixteen character mannequins or prototypes based on personality types. I track them from cradle to grave and talk about their strengths and weaknesses and how to warp them. I use male or female pronouns based on the percentage of the population that fell in that category, but all mannequins can be anything you make them. The traits discussed are starting points. You can alter their temperaments depending on the purpose they serve. Their traits give them strengths to build on and weaknesses to exploit.
RIVER
As a hero, River is the one with the vision or paranormal ability to save the world. She toils against dark forces to restore the light.
As a villain, River works against anyone she deems a threat to what she considers “good.” What she deems “good” might be pretty insane. She is the most mystical and could be a charismatic leader or guru.
River's empathy and insight can solve the overall story problem. She is a deep thinker and understands how the past, present, and future interconnect. She is eerily perceptive, perhaps psychic. She intuits motive. She genuinely enjoys helping other people. She is spiritual and highly empathetic. She is aware of and absorbs other people's distress. She believes in good versus evil and thinks most people are good. River is not easily fooled and uses powers of intuition to get back at someone evil. She has a talent for problem solving and anticipating needs. She hears what people don’t say. She is tuned into emotions and body language. She is highly moral in her way and sways people to her side.
On the dark side, she is naturally suspicious and sees the world as a cruel place. She can become detached and disillusioned. If stressed, she seeks immediate gratification. She yearns to live spontaneously but rarely does and is susceptible to depression. Her belief system is fixed and may not be rational. Her mystic bent is either reinforced by religion or runs alongside it. If the authority is deemed unfit, she'd work against it.
River can't handle criticism and withdraws. Anxiety makes her critical and self-absorbed. She avoids conflict and represses anger then explodes viciously when she reaches a breaking point. She risks everything to prove she is right.
She is a gifted communicator in person and on paper. She naturally picks up on nonverbal communication and microexpressions. She seeks to understand herself and others. She values integrity and high ideals. She is not interested in fame, she just wants to save everyone. She can be highly self-critical and is not motivated by praise. She is a good listener. She loves to help people but her advice is not objective. She champions the oppressed.
River understands complex issues and complex people. She has deep concentration and laser focus. She keeps information to herself. She understands the emotional cost of complete honesty. She has a vivid imagination, excellent recall, and comes up with creative solutions. She modifies information to fit her bias. Her strong feelings annoy thinking types.
River relies on her gut instinct, but her hunches can be wrong. She ignores evidence in favor of intuition and can rely on faulty data. She struggles when there is no win-win solution. She is more focused on the future than the present. She sees the big picture but is fuzzy on details. She makes personal, highly emotional decisions based on how they impact people she cares about. She is softhearted and easily swayed by emotional appeals. She isn't comfortable with snap decisions. She can't ignore a problem once she is aware of it. She sticks with a decision and won't reconsider. She isn't interested in power or glory. She upholds the rules she agrees with and she evaluates rules based on whether they are good or bad for the people involved.
River thinks long and hard before she acts. She is a diligent worker and service oriented. She exerts subtle influence behind the scenes and does not like to go out in the world. She'd have to be dragged there by highly personal stakes. She works quietly to change things that don't work. She makes plans and respects deadlines. She likes a backup plan. She has no trouble coming up with a plan and seeing it through to completion but needs it to have a benevolent outcome. She struggles with responsibility for fear she will make a mistake. She finds it hard to trust people. She resists improvising. She just wants the challenge over with. Changing plans and shifting priorities make her anxious. She takes the path of least harm. When an argument arises, she rehashes feelings instead of fixing the problem. She blames other people.
River's natural allies are Wynn, Cam, Taylor, and Shelby. Her nemesis is Kelly. River is not a joiner. She does not enjoy large parties of strangers. She relies on her small faithful inner circle. She loves to give and receive. She cares deeply for those she forms attachments to. Those who admire her intuitive, almost otherworldly, demeanor are protective of her. She spends most of her free time with her family if she has one, her inner circle if she doesn’t. She is highly involved in her religious or spiritual community.
Friends admire her dedication to humanity and her high personal standards. She isn’t interested in being famous and doesn’t care what other people think of her. She wants to be known and to know others on a deep level. River puts her family and spiritual needs above those of friendship. She drops anyone she considers dishonest or corrupt. She isn’t interested in flighty, slightly dangerous extroverts. She cuts off anyone who offends or disappoints her. She may end up isolated.
As a hero, River is the earth mother, goddess, and healing light. She is the purest in motive and deed. She wants to save the world, though she will have to be dragged from her sanctuary to do so.
As a villain, River is the coven mother, the evil around whom acolytes rally. She has a keen understanding of people and their motivations. She will know the best way to strike at the enemy's core but prefers her minions to do the work.
This concludes the sixteen heroes and villains. You can learn more about character building from the Mastering Character Development post.
You can download free character information sheets:
