How should I develop my character?

Okay, so, I'm making a story about a guy who's family was killed by a werewolf when he was seven, and he was bitten. He's taken in by this agency that protects the world from monsters, magic, the supernatural, etc. and the series begins when he is 13. I was going to establish that he is also a magikae (human with magical potential) and he goes to train in their society. Now, I just don't know where to go from here, I already had a relatively full plot, all he major villains, and the ending, however, the magikae thing is a new addition, so, should I add it? If I do, I wanted to make a 40s-esque world, with the main character (Drew) going to hone his abilities in a magical school, how should I play this out? Also, no, the plot is not like Harry Potter.

Make him revenge-driven.

...No, it really depends. How much have you established his personality so far? Is he the type to do everything he can to get revenge? Is he a saint who'd forgive all? How much does his justified hatred for werewolves go? Does he also start hating other magical beings? Himself(Since he got bitten)? Does he fear them instead?

Just throwin' out random thoughts.

Well, he's not so much revenge driven, but since he's been trained like a soldier since he was seven, he's not very well adjusted. He knows werewolves don't really control their actions, so he doesn't hold malice, though he knows they can be very dangerous.

Uh... the same as you'd develop any character? What are his life goals? Aspirations? Where does he hope to be when he's older? What does he hope to be doing? How do his goals, or the methods he uses to achieve those goals, change between the beginning and end of the story? What state is he in at the start of the narrative, compared to his state at the end?

That's what character development actually is. Slapping some superpowers onto a character just for the hell of it is not the same thing.

It's also odd that you claim to already have a plot figured out, despite your protagonist being so undefined and mercurial that you're happy to turn him into a wizard at the drop of a hat. You can't have a plot without a solid main character, because characters and their motivations are your plot. What a character wants, and the obstacles stopping them from achieving those wants, are what drive a story. If you think you can give your protagonist magic powers without derailing your intended narrative, then I'm inclined to believe your narrative is a complete mess already.

edited 12th Aug '14 4:05:53 PM by Tungsten74

Dang, I don't know any of that about myself!

Nobody does, real people are far too complex for that, but that's why we read fiction, because characters are simplified versions of ourselves.

And I don't think I've ever come across a character who's made me go, "oh yeah, I've been there". At least not in a good way.

Dude, I hear ya. I never did encounter a character that really resembled me to any significant degree. But that's not the point... There are characters who possess one or more traits that I can identify with, at least in an idealistic "gee I wish I was more like that" way. And there are characters who are depicted in situations that I find really fascinating (Game of Thrones most recently). And I find that that's enough. The point of fiction is to simplify and isolate- "What would happen if a Sherlock Holmes type hyper-intelligent person was lost at sea? What would happen if a well adjusted attractive young woman had to pretend to be shy and withdrawn? Fiction is somewhat like a scientific experiment in that the result doesnt necessarily translate directly into real life, but will tell us something useful about ourselves nevertheless.

I dont think I would make a very good fictional character anyway. None of my major characters resemble me all that much.

And most of the time, I don't even get that "hey, I can identify with that" feeling. At most, "oh hey, that's kinda cool, but not something I wanna do."

I think part of it is that I have no point of reference for a lot of things. How would my character react if they got into a fight with a drunk guy? Well, I don't know — what do people do when drunk? I've literally never seen one in my life. Character #2 runs a hotel? Hell if I know what they do — I've never known anyone who owned a business of any kind. Do any of them eat lobster? Hell if I know, I've never eaten lobster. Do any of them wear fancy clothes? I dunno; my "fancy" is when I buy clothes that haven't previously belonged to someone else.

edited 24th Aug '14 4:03:01 PM by Twentington