Uhhh..... character help?

[Kojiro Highwind]

Ok, so I've been trying to make stories lately in my head but the characters in them don't flesh out too well cuz well... they are all too happy and helpful .... I figured that it's because of my own personality ( happy and helpful :P) and it gets rare when I make a character that isn't happy and helpful that works well ( like a character i made that i played in a current Big Eyes, Small Mouth campaign im in :: anime based tabletop rpg::.)

Maybe someone can help me find a way to make better personalities for characters I make? Writing tips pretty much. ( I already know the golden rule of writing.... Write what you know.)

[Drybones]

What works for me is using my feelings and apply how I act under those feelings onto new characters.

So think about how you act when you feel angry and turn those feelings into a character.

[resiz3d]

Give characters conflicting goals they need to achieve. Each one has to believe what their doing is "right" from their point of view.

Look up the 'Writing Excuses' podcast on iTunes, it's a good show.

[Jake T Catt]

Making characters that don't sound like you is tricky. One way is to model different characters on people that you know.

Or practice making up characters who are very different from each other. Try to get inside their heads. Even if your story is short, and one of the characters is just consistently mean, maybe they have a good reason for their behavior. They're secretly jealous, or something is bothering them that no one else knows about.

One exercise you could do would be to try to write about the meanest character you can possible think of. Just be sure to to dial it down a little if you end up using this guy in your writing. One note characters aren't very believable.