10 Days of Character Building: A Day in the Life
October 21, 2007 by J.C. Hewitt
This is Day 2 of 10 Days of Character Building
The day in the life approach to developing a character is focused on describing a normal day in the character’s life before something important happens to change it. Most central characters begin a story in their normal world. At some point, an event happens that takes them out of their normal world and sends them on whatever journey the story has in store for them. Until that journey begins, your characters probably have a normal routine to their day that says a great deal about who they are and how they conduct their life.
- The beauty of analyzing a character’s day is that there are always opportunities to delve as deeply into their actions as you want. You can take an event as simple as a person’s drive to work and learn a great deal about them.
- What kind of car do they drive?
- Do they keep it clean or is it messy?
- What, if anything, do they listen to on the radio?
- Are they the sort of person that fiddles with the radio as they drive, never satisfied with what they are listening to?
- Are they the sort of person who puts on makeup or shaves while they drive?
- Do they talk on the phone as they drive?
- Do they get upset with other drivers?
- Do they tailgate?
- Are they careful or nervous drivers?
- Do they plan their day as they drive?
- Do they speed or run red lights?
As you assemble a person’s day you get a good idea of their traits and flaws. You can also determine who they interact with and care about, what their economic status is, what their general level of happiness or unhappiness is and plenty of other details. The key is to go deeply enough to get comfortable with the character and feel like you know them and know how they react in general to the events in their lives.
When approaching the daily routine, you can go a number of ways. You can move chronologically, go by major events, or just ask random questions about their day and see what the answers are. You can write it as if it were a short story, a daily planner or surveillance. Find an approach that you are comfortable with and explore the character.
Related links
- 10 Days of Character Building: Brainstorming (0.500)
- 10 Days of Character Building: Building a Character Using Multiple Perspectives (0.500)
- 10 Days of Character Building: 12 Questions (0.500)
- 10 Days of Character Building: Basing Characters on Real People (0.500)
- 10 Days of Character Building: Character Bio Sheets (0.500)
The Shaman
It was the weekend he waited for
The nights reading cards for e-bay patrons
Kept him going through the week,
But striding through the factories back door on
Friday afternoon, his great body almost
The width of the door frame and his
Head slightly ducked, he was a giant man
An ugly fat boy, he called himself, in modest
Approval of his size, no less gigantic than
His astounding insatiable curiosity and
Intellectual thirst, the new white dooly truck with it’s
Stereophonic wrap around better than Dolby
Sound waiting expectantly in the middle management
Parking area, the very projection of his purity of intent
The epitome of his naïve phallic projections
The weekend belonged to him, only an emergency
Such as a security breach of the highest integrity
Would take him back to the project
Tonight was the full moon and he had work to do
The Oil of Abramalin would be consecrated
At the nadir
The next day, sitting at the head of the round table he remembered
The night before, under the full moon, naked before
The consecrated cauldron except for the Top Hat
That perched like a security blanket on his thin hair
His great arms raised to the Gods dedicating and purifying
The oil of Abramalin that would be used for the table
Sitters starter oils, the fermenting for days before
Complete, and the sudden chilling ringing of bells
With no source that forced his horrified frightened retreat
Through the backdoor into the safety of his office
And the security of the cyber world where he officially
Was omnipotent diviner and King.
Tonight he would announce the success of the dedication of the
oil of Abramalin and offer his services to the others.
Most intriguing, Connie!
Thing one
Thing two
I’m not really the best at these things but here I go.
Thing 1 and Thing 2 where in love, so much in love that when ever they have to part they hurt so bad, they can barley breath. The pain is so deep that they didn’t know they had that in them. Crying takes over but they know that they have to be strong and hold in there because they now that soon in the next year or so they will beging there true life together. Even though they’ve already started it, but soon they will be living and waking up in each other’s arms. Thing one knows that big girls don’t cry, so she trys so hard to stand her posture around her love, Thing two, knows that he needs to compose and he does it wonderfully. His beautiful hazel eyes twinkle as She wips away his tears letting a few escape herself. departure is hard but knowing there future together is definate puts a smile on both of there faces.
Josh,
I would love to talk to you about your characters and what you think about mine
Connie,
You have a wonderful sense of character.
Rosemary,
Hi
This is good stuff, thanks. It’s interesting trying to write for a game character, because I can’t take control away from the player. But when I sit down and think about it, there are a lot of things that I can do.
Michael,
I’m so excited for you,
I just got off the phone with Josh and we where just talking about you, about how we were going to hopefully be the first to buy your game. So what do you have so far? Do you have any characters, main playing field? Yeah, sorry, I’m just so excited for you, 
If you ever need to talk about it out of the web, Give me or josh a shout, just click on his name and you’ll get to where you can email him, me it’s Rianon@familyabode.com or you could just email him. I’ll see it there as well.
Everyone,
If you would like to see me and Josh click on his name, we are the first picture there on top of the page.
Peace……..
Rianon,
That Was A Really Great Story… I Think Thing Two Has To Be The Luckiest Thing Around To Have Someone Who Cares About Him As Much As Thing One Does
Josh,
Your right, That is exactly what I was trying to get across. Thing one feels crazy, dissoriented, dizzy, sick, palms sweaty, blurry vision and just amazingly…..in love. Thank you, I hope to improve it, but that wont be a problem because thing one is planning on spending the rest of her life with thing two. So the story will most likely take a while, but I feel that it will be the best story I write, and I think maybe thing two as well. Thing two does feel exaclty the same.
I think I’m going to add this to the story:
Thing one asks thing two: Will You Marry Me
Thing two answeres: ……… Yes, but I thought I was supposed to ask that.
Thing one says: Be quiet and just kiss me……….
Love stories are my thing, I was thinking of a scene to be placed anywhere because when it’s just Thing one and Thing two, everything else around them kinda dissapears and all they see are each other. I’m still trying to find the names to put in place of Thing one and Thing two, maybe after the wedding. That way the names will be the same. I.L.U
I think that Thing two is going to be engaged to thing one in one year. It will be perfect and give time for thing one to get everything together. They will both know each other for two years and about a couple of months of knowing each other. And having there love grow and get stronger and stronger. XOXOXOXOXO
Josh,
Read the (10 days of character building posessions.)
John: Thanks, this was very useful too. I found out heaps more about my character, just getting him out of bed and to work. Have now researched what kind of car he’d be likely to drive and what kind of building he’d live in.
Rianon and Josh: Nice picture!
Rosemary,
Thank you!!!
Thank You Rosemary!!!!
Mike Cove is forty years old and lives in Tucson, Arizona
A typical day in the life of Mike Cove
Mike gets up at about three o’clock. He fixes himself breakfast, usually a large bowl of cold cereal and a cup of coffee. He sits in his recliner with the bowl in his lap and watches Jeopardy, playing along with the contestants and getting most of the questions right. He then flips over to catch the afternoon version of Sports Center before he goes to take a shower and get dressed. By the time he gets out of the shower his girlfriend Ella is just arriving home from work. She is in her late twenties and works as a dental assistant. If the mood and the timing is right, they have sex, otherwise they sit around and watch TV until 6:45, when Mike heads to work.
Mike walks to his job at a bar in the neighborhood near his apartment. He arrives just in time for his shift or a couple minutes late. He stocks the bar for the nightshift and then takes over for his friend Marisol, the daytime bartender. She usually sits at the bar for another few minutes having a drink and helping Mike out if he needs it. The bar is usually pretty vacant when he starts his shift, unless Monday Night Football is on, and then it will be about half full. Mike will usually talk to the regulars about whatever the minor issues of the day are until business starts to pick up at around nine o’clock. On Thursday and Friday nights he has a waitress to help him out, but otherwise he is on his own. He’s an efficient and friendly bartender, with years of experience, so customers rarely have to wait too long for service and they leave happy. Many of the customers consider him to be a friend.
At 1:45 he announces last call but it often takes until 2:15 or later to get everyone out of the bar. Mike does the remaining dishes, picks up the trash, wipes down the bar and the tables, mops the floor and takes out the trash. He then counts out the register and counts his tips, which are almost always over $100 and as much as $200. He usually finishes at about three or a little later. He then walks home. There’s a 24-hour convenience store and sandwich shop in his neighborhood, and he will usually either get a sandwich there or pick up a TV dinner.
Once he arrives home, he eats his dinner and plays online poker. There’s a nightly $22 entry tournament that starts at four in the morning. If he does well, the tournament tends to last until about seven in the morning when his girlfriend gets up. If he is eliminated early, he usually reads or watches movies. He tends to do well though, making it to the final table at least twice a week. He has won the tournament twice, with first place usually paying between one and three thousand dollars. He is hoping to win enough to enter next year’s World Series of Poker Main Event. Entry is $10,000 and he is about two thousand short of that goal.
At about 7:00, his girlfriend gets up. Once he hears her moving around, if he isn’t still playing, he begins cooking her breakfast, usually an omelet, toast and coffee. The eat together and after she heads for work, he goes to bed.
On Saturday nights he takes Ella to dinner and a movie except for once a month when they have game night with his friends Anna and Roland.
John,
I would love to know how you can just come up with everything. It’s amazing, I’m so excited to hear the rest of the story. It’s very mind catching.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
It starts with the alarm clock,
this ordinary beautiful day
in the sunshine city.
The arm that gropes
to turn it off is tanned.
He’s home; he wakes alone.
When there’s a woman,
he goes to her place.
He gets up willingly
to shower, shave and coffee.
Just one cup for now.
He’ll grab a quick breakfast in the café
on the ground floor of his office block.
He drives efficiently, enjoying it;
enjoying his space-grey BMW 3.
The parking bay has his name on it.
First up, a check-in with the old man.
They like each other. He likes
working for his Dad,
working with him, trusted.
He straightens his shoulders.
Desk, computer, figures, phone.
Calculations, decisions,
in the sleek office with the river view.
How can anyone believe
accountancy is dull?
It’s licensed piracy!
But the pirates wear suits
and twist the law to support them.
After a fine day of plots and strategies,
he eats at that little place near home.
Superb food, and they know him by name.
On Fridays he’ll go to the vodka bar
that only the cool people know,
hidden away in a back alley
with a small, happening band
that you can’t hear everywhere.
Then finally back to his apartment,
his niche in the inner city.
He savours its clean, modern lines.
The underground car park, the lift,
and in. A stainless, polished space.
One last drink on his balcony, the view
of familiar city lights…. He’d laugh
if you said he was lonely.
© Rosemary Nissen-Wade 2007
Hmmm, change second “view” to “vista”.
Rosemary,
Your character sounds like a person who values his privacy. He clearly has some money, most of which came to him without a great deal of effort. He likes what that money can do for him, and accepts it without question. He tries to add more drama to his life than is probably there by treating his accounting job as if it were an action movie. It will be interesting to see what happens to him if his life truly gets interesting.
Thanks for the feedback, John. I’m glad to have conveyed him accurately. Except, re the accounting, there will be a bit of corporate raiding going on, but he’ll be victim not perpetrator. And that’ll be the least of his worries, lol.
Of course I am using these exercises to flesh out a novel already written in first draft. And they are just what I needed!
I love the idea of the “day in the life of” very much like an old school actor (al pacino?) getting into role. or like wimino ryder going shoplifting.
art brightons last blog post..Madame Geisha