Character Development for a Thriller Series

On all the stories I’m currently working on, I’m doing a fair amount of character development across each book in the series. It’s important not only to make sure the characters are likable, believable, and authentic, but also because it helps build intricate stories that can’t be told from start to finish.

Here are some of the things I focus on in my character development:

• Photo moodboards that give me a feel of where they live and what their lives have been like

• Outlining the good, bad, and ugly of their personality and day-to-day lives

• Mapping how they evolve from book to book and how that informs the story

• Adjusting their goals and motivations for each book in the series

• Brainstorming possible big-picture conflict based on the basic series sketch I’ve put together

• Where they begin and where they end

• An overview of their lives leading up to the first chapter of book one

When you’re dealing with a long series—which is certainly not typical for the thriller genre—there will be some characters who won’t appear in some of the books. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need to know what they’re out there doing in the story world, especially if I want them to engage readers.

Those characters need side missions that may or may not get exposure on the page. However, the things readers can’t see bear fruit later. Their lives can’t simply stop because the next chapter isn’t about them. Luckily, I don’t have to map out every character chapter to chapter. I think I’d have to peace out if that was the case.

With One Last Secret, I’ve gotten two characters planned out this week so far. (It takes me about two days per character.) So far, I have Fiona Sullivan (the series-wide victim and book-six protagonist) and Elyse Vincent (the protagonist for the first five books) planned out. I’m currently working on Dante Sullivan, who’s one of the many antagonists in this series.

I’ve come a long way with this series, but I have a much longer way to go. It’s time to get back to it.

Happy writing and reading!