Continuing on character creation we head to Diamonds. It is just another way on how to create your character. On the previous character creation post, we asked a ton of questions to build that character as multidimensional as it could get. For some people, this is a lot of work and sometimes it goes way outside of what they want or needs. Remember that anything you put on your character profile you got to stick with when going forward on your story.
On the forms of diamonds, you got to stick with the same thing. You can’t go outside of what you already planted for your character. So how do you create a diamond? You draw a diamond for starters. In the center you will put a main psychological trait. On the sides, you will put two traits. Each side has to be a contrast of the other. You can use North contrast with South trait as seen on top or as seen on the bottom on the sides contrast with the opposing sides. The photo on the bottom was used for the film Extra Terrestres. You can suggest also a mask for your characters and circle it on any of the five traits given. That will help you out with a plot twist in your story.
Because diamonds have less information than a character profile, you need to play with the emotional and psychological side of things. Yes, give the character some mannerism, work on the physical aspect. Now when you get to X situation of the plot, you need to go back to your character to see how he/she/it will react according to the diamond you created. This will push your creativity and test your writer’s skills because you have to go on your character’s mind… A LOT! This will also make bonding with your character that you will now know how it reacts to any given situation.
So where do you start to create a character? The question is how are you doing it right now? Do you have all the backstory, pros, and cons of it and need how he will react to certain things? Do Diamonds then. You do not know where to start? Play with the character profile questionnaire and use the word dumping technique until you have molded more or less what you need for the story.