How to Create Original Characters

In the process of how to create original characters, there are many possible approaches. Unfortunately, many writers are not very intentional about this subject, and prefer to rely on their own preconceptions of sometimes worn out, stereotypical, shallow tropes. The Conflict Motivation Diagram (CMD) was the method Phranqenlu ("Frank-and-Lu") developed as a unique way to create original characters. The CMD was originally developed around the sun and moon cycles of the quad-city, Qualx (Qualx is the backdrop-city where the story of Blueprints of Destruction.).

Designing the Conflict Motivation Diagram

The CMD uses a series of randomized coordinates, established by a set formula, in order to determine how to create original characters. To be able to show the process, we will start with what the randomized coordinates looked like for Phranqenlu. The point here is to show that the raw starting points matter less, and switches the focus to consistency. To determine exactly who a character is in a comprehensive way, but still allowing a character to be generated randomly outside of the author, Frank and Lucy decided to be intentional about a baseline for interpreting the data.

The CMD is generally broken down into twenty sections that mimic the face of an analog clock. {The coordinates are in the format 20.8.10.10.10, which is in the order hour, minute, elevation, saturation, and size. Initially, the format design was little more than a way to be able to map the look of the sky as it related to the celestial bodies. Literally, it was to determine the locations of the suns and moons, so that a snapshot of the sky could be described. An "event horizon" of sorts.

Hour (1-20): The largest category, this would resemble the twelve numbers on a standard analog clock, and circles all the way around the face. The number twenty on this chart is located at the "three o-clock" position, and counts backwards (clockwise), ending at the number one, located just above the three o-clock position. Having said that, the system for the hours on this clock actually move counter-clockwise, and start at the number one (Obviously, still located just above the three o-clock position).

Each of these "hours" is broken down into eight "minutes" on this clock.

Minute (1-8): The "minute" designation is a rather arbitrary one for the purpose of this "clock". The only real point of having this separate distinction was so that placement of the suns and moons in the sky (or against the horizon) would not come across as choppy. These additional lines of divisibility were to create a more fluid look and feel to the chart as a whole.

Elevation (1-10): Elevation, is set at ten units from the center of the "clock", allowing for the suns and moons to sit higher or lower against the horizon. Rather than using artistic license to decide what phase each moon might be in, this system determined whether or not one of the suns or moons was partially (or completely) hidden by the landscape. It would allow a clear designation for whether each body was visible at all, and if so, how high in the night sky a moon rested (for example).

Elevation is an indication of how far from the center of the "clock face" each celestial body was located. With ten being the furthest from the center, the horizon (on this "face") runs from the ten (which is located at the 9 o-clock setting of a standard clock) and twenty (which we have already mentioned is located at the 3 o'clock position). This represents the horizon of the city, and was interpreted by Phranqenlu, that anything determined to be "below the horizon" was literally below the horizon and unseen by the characters.

Size (1-10): There was some discussion as to whether there should be a variation of "sizes" when it came to moons (and especially the suns), since neither the suns nor the moons actually ever change physical size. How, then, would there be such a huge difference in the visible "size" of anything orbiting this world? Having the sizes range from 1-10 meant there might be nights where one of the moons was visible to the onlookers as the size of a pencil eraser, but on another night might appear be the size of a volley ball, when seen from Qualx.

After many attempts, unhappy with the results, Phranqenlu chose to commit to "size" being established as a coordinate point for randomization. In the end, it stuck. It turned out not be be related to the suns or the moons in any way, so was less of an issue (and less of a frustration when trying to iron out the physics behind why such things might happen). In this much revised, currently-final version, "size" simply represents a character's predisposition to growth in one of the randomized areas.

Saturation (1-10): Originally, this was a way of creating crescent moons during the various phases of the night cycle. (To be fair, "night cycle" is a bit of a misnomer. There have been science fiction representations of planets with multiple suns, wherein they often set at the same time. It turns out, when one does the math and puts it into a functional diagram, that it is not very often that a planet would see "true" night if it had more than one major light source.) In the same way that elevation started out as one thing and became another (though debatably in a way reminiscent of its original design, so too did the idea of the "crescent moon" also cement in place as a standard feature. The saturation presents as varying degrees of waxing and waning, even though it no longer has anything to do with celestial bodies.

Saturation, when applied to how to create original characters, became the level to which a character had developed (or the intensity to which a character held to certain aspects). It is still seen as a crescent shape on the "clock face", but it now illustrates how far a character has to develop within his or her randomized predispositions. Because of how the process was developed, Work Ethic (Yellow element) was originally the position of the primary sun, and all the crescent's directions are based on the elements' position in relation to that element.

Establish a Design of Your Own

When establishing your own design for how to create original characters, it can not be emphasized enough:

It is less important how you do it, and more important THAT you do it.

Frank and Lucy (Phranqenlu) figured out a system that works for them. Initially, that system started with five elements of characterization, along with a system to be able to implement unexpected strengths and weaknesses. This was originally for the purpose of randomizing characters, so they could meet the characters in the same way their readers meet them. What it turned out to do was to build instantly deep, relatable (and sometimes disagreeably mysterious), flawed individuals. It also allowed the two of them to be able to meet their characters for the first time, but to have an immediate, intimate knowledge of what motivates and drives them. It provides unexpected facets to the story line, which often proves to be the unseen personality strengths and weaknesses. The characters in the story are just that: they are three-dimensional beings who are never an accidental clone of another character with in the story.

The CMD is more than a character sketch. It is a solid, stable, consistent structure. Frank and Lucy never have to wonder what a character is going to do. Their CMD dictates the outcome of behaviors. Depending on how the story unfolds, the CMD is the plan for success. But sometimes things can take unfortunate (sometimes disastrous) turns, and when that happens, it is not uncommon for the CMD to become...

The Blueprints of Destruction.