Tag Archives: character development

How to Use the Crown Chakra for Deep Character Development

Posted on by
Reply

This is the last in a series about how to utilize my Writing Through the Body Method™ which uses the chakra system as a practical tool for uncovering a character’s desires, wounds, and motivations. By exploring these psychological foundations, writers are able to portray their characters’ behaviors, reactions, and responses on the page with greater depth and emotional truth.

For example, the Crown (seventh) Chakra rules Spiritual Power and Understanding. The crown relates to the ability to conceive of and create spiritual context for life experiences, which leads to resiliency and bliss. The Crown Chakra says I KNOW.

By considering how your characters connect to their own meaning-making (from the Third Eye Chakra), you’re able to take them through their transformation—their new normal.

Below is a brief explanation of the Crown Chakra, its traits and characteristics, and some ways you might integrate its attributes into your character development.

Seventh Chakra – Crown Chakra

Location
Top of head

This does not directly apply to your character but is used for visualization purposes when doing certain exercises within the Writing Through the Body™ method, offered here as an FYI.

Primary strengths
Faith in inner guidance/trust that overrides fears, mystical/intuitive connections, ability to create and live by a personally chosen belief system, ability to put life’s challenges in a spiritual context, positive attitude, awareness in the divine—whether in a self-proclaimed higher power or within other humans/living entities

This is about how your character responds to situations that call for them to have gained perspective, to be on the other side of their struggle(s) throughout the story. 

Primary fears and fearful expressions
Disassociation, ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude, spiritual crisis, inability to let go of the past, greed, lack of inspiration, apathy, elitism/superiority

This is where you’re able to see your character’s “full circle” or “transformational” moment. This is where they arrive in a more settled place after having run the gauntlet of the story’s trajectory, have put it in perspective, and are in a position to start living their “new normal.”

_____________________


Writing exercise

Take some time to sit quietly, and think about the aspects of the Crown Chakra as they relate to all your characters. 

Write a sketch of a character that may not be materializing as fully as you would like, and answer the questions below as fully and exhaustively as possible. 

Tip: Every time you arrive at a new place of understanding or identify a particular behavior or response in your character, ask “why?” Continuing to ask “why?” is how we get to the deep psychology of our characters. 

Example: Your protagonist has completed a difficult thing—taken difficult action, spoken out against the powers that be, put themself in physical danger, ended a relationship, etc. 

Questions to begin your exercise:

• What is the thing they did?

• How did this inform their understanding of the situation, of themselves, of the world?

• Where does this new-found understanding leave them?

  • What will they do next—in the next week, the next month, the next year (whether this belongs in the story or not)? 
  • How do you, the writer/author, see them now that you’ve guided them through?

Let me know what you discover in the comments.

As always… Sending you mad writing mojo…

Happy writing!

Johnnie
OOOOO

How to Use the Third Eye Chakra for Deep Character Development

Posted on by
Reply

This is the next in a series about how to utilize my Writing Through the Body Method™ which uses the chakra system as a practical tool for uncovering a character’s desires, wounds, and motivations. By exploring these psychological foundations, writers are able to portray their characters’ behaviors, reactions, and responses on the page with greater depth and emotional truth.

For example, the Third Eye (sixth) Chakra rules Mind Power. The third eye relates to the ability to distill wisdom from life experience, clarity about what is best for one’s highest good and joy—it’s about the intuition. The Third Eye Chakra says I SEE.

By considering how your characters connect to their intuition and ability to make meaning of life will give you clues about the ease with which they move through the world and within the story.

Below is a brief explanation of the Third Eye Chakra, its traits and characteristics, and some ways you might integrate its attributes into your character development.

Sixth Chakra – Third Eye Chakra

Location
Lower forehead, between the eyes

This does not directly apply to your character but is used for visualization purposes when doing certain exercises within the Writing Through the Body™ method, offered here as an FYI.

Primary strengths
Strong intellectual abilities/skills, self-acceptance, mental flexibility, ability for objective contemplation, high emotional intelligence, open to wonder

This is about how your character responds to situations that call for them to think beyond the here and now. This is how they make meaning (and have made meaning) of life, and what they do with that understanding. 

Primary fears and fearful expressions
Fears of one’s shadow side/looking within, inability to self-reflect or identify illusion, pushing oneself to extremes, poor intuition/concentration, fear of unknown, judgmental/overly analytical, mental fog/overwhelm 

This is where you’re able to start seeing your character respond in ways that may not make sense to them, as if they’re driven by something they don’t see or understand.

_____________________


Writing exercise

Take some time to sit quietly, and think about the aspects of the Third Eye Chakra as they relate to all your characters. 

Write a sketch of a character that may not be materializing as fully as you would like, and answer the questions below as fully and exhaustively as possible. 

Tip: Every time you arrive at a new place of understanding or identify a particular behavior or response in your character, ask “why?” Continuing to ask “why?” is how we get to the deep psychology of our characters. 

Example: Your protagonist has just done something they are not proud of. There is one person in the world they trust—living or dead. Write a letter from your character to their trusted person. 

Questions to begin your exercise:

• What is the thing they did?

• When did they do it? Was it recent or many years ago… something they’ve been carrying around, like a dead weight?

• What has moved them to disclose this now?

• What happens—both within them and in their life—after the disclosure?

Let me know what you discover in the comments.

As always… Sending you mad writing mojo…

Happy writing!

Johnnie
OOOOO

How to Use the Throat Chakra for Deep Character Development

Posted on by
Reply

This is the next in a series about how to utilize my Writing Through the Body Method™ which uses the chakra system as a practical tool for uncovering a character’s desires, wounds, and motivations. By exploring these psychological foundations, writers are able to portray their characters’ behaviors, reactions, and responses on the page with greater depth and emotional truth.

For example, the throat (fifth) Chakra rules Willpower. The throat relates to how your protagonist speaks their highest truth, self-expresses, and living creatively. The Solar Plexus Chakra says I SPEAK.

By considering how your characters connect to their voice and ability to speak will give you clues about how they will speak in your story by understanding not just their words, but the intention behind their words (both conscious and unconscious)

Below is a brief explanation of the Throat Chakra, its traits and characteristics, and some ways you might integrate its attributes into your character development.

Fifth Chakra – Throat Chakra

Location
Throat

This does not directly apply to your character but is used for visualization purposes when doing certain exercises within the Writing Through the Body™ method, offered here as an FYI.

Primary strengths
High self-awareness and ability to speak one’s truth to others, faith in oneself to make sound decisions (and the ability to follow through), belief in the power of love and courage, and confidence in choosing/having healthy relationships with substances, money, and power

This is about how your character responds to situations that call for them to speak, as in dialogue, make decisions, and how they feel about those decisions.

Primary fears and fearful expressions
General insecurity, small/soft voice, relying on external validation, avoiding conversations to express one’s needs/desires, gossip, exclusivity, arrogance/condescension.

This is where you’re able to start seeing your character respond in both voice, and in action, based on the strength of their own self-awareness.

_____________________


Writing exercise

Take some time to sit quietly, and think about the aspects of the Throat Chakra as they relate to all your characters. 

Write a sketch of a character that may not be materializing as fully as you would like, and answer the questions below as fully and exhaustively as possible. 

Tip: Every time you arrive at a new place of understanding or identify a particular behavior or response in your character, ask “why?” Continuing to ask “why?” is how we get to the deep psychology of our characters. 

Example: Your protagonist has been asked to speak at an event where someone from their past will be in attendance. 

Questions to begin your exercise:

• How comfortable is your character with public speaking?

• Who is the person from their past, and what was their relationship like? How did the relationship end?

• Do they know that the person will be in attendance, or will it be a surprise to them?

• What happens when they step up to the microphone?

Let me know what you discover in the comments.

As always… Sending you mad writing mojo…

Happy writing!

Johnnie
OOOOO

How to Use the Solar Plexus Chakra for Deep Character Development

Posted on by

This is the next in a series about how to utilize my Writing Through the Body Method™ which uses the chakra system as a practical tool for uncovering a character’s desires, wounds, and motivations. By exploring these psychological foundations, writers are able to portray their characters’ behaviors, reactions, and responses on the page with greater depth and emotional truth.

For example, the Solar Plexus (third) Chakra rules Personal Power and Agency. The Sacral Chakra relates to how your protagonist takes action to accomplish intentions, goals, and dreams. The Solar Plexus Chakra says I ACT.

By considering how your characters’ take action will give you clues about how to move your story’s trajectory along, or where self-imposed obstacles might show up.

Below is a brief explanation of the Solar Plexus Chakra, its traits and characteristics, and some ways you might integrate its attributes into your character development.

Third Chakra – Solar Plexus Chakra

Location
Directly below the sternum, above the stomach

This does not directly apply to your character but is used for visualization purposes when doing certain exercises within the Writing Through the Body™ method, offered here as an FYI.

Primary strengths
Courage to take risks, ability to deal with crisis, strong self-esteem and strength of character

This is about how your character responds to situations that require action, whether self-imposed or an expectation from an outside source.

Primary fears
Indecisiveness and helplessness, blind rage and destructive anger, lack of focus or purpose in life

This is where you’re able to start seeing your character move, take action, respond to crisis—or not—as well as how their innate internal drive is expressed when they don’t take action.

_____________________


Writing exercise

Take some time to sit quietly, and think about the aspects of the Solar Plexus Chakra as they relate to all your characters. 

Write a sketch of a character that may not be materializing as fully as you would like, and answer the questions below as fully and exhaustively as possible. 

Tip: Every time you arrive at a new place of understanding or identify a particular behavior or response in your character, ask “why?” Continuing to ask “why?” is how we get to the deep psychology of our characters. 

Example: Your protagonist has the desire to move across the country, but something is preventing them from doing this. Is it an exterior obstacle, and if so, how do they respond/react to this obstacle. Or is it a self-imposed obstacle—a fear, a connection to a person or people that’s keeping them in place, or some other kind of internal struggle?

Questions to begin your exercise:

• Establish your character’s intention, goal, or dream. Why do they want it?

• Have they already taken steps to realize this intention, goal, or dream? If so, what are they? What’s left to make it happen?

• How will they overcome the obstacle(s) in their way?

Let me know what you discover in the comments.

As always… Sending you mad writing mojo…

Happy writing!

Johnnie
OOOOO

How to Use the Sacral Chakra for Deep Character Development

Posted on by

I recently wrote about how, if you take into account the ideas that come from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s theories on achieving flow along with Candace Pert’s findings about how human emotions originate in the exact locations of the seven main chakras and that “our bodies are our subconscious minds,” you can utilize the chakras to banish writer’s block, achieve flow, and tell your untold stories.

This is achieved through the Writing Through the Body™ method, which uses the chakra system as a practical tool for uncovering a character’s desires, wounds, and motivations. By exploring these psychological foundations, writers are able to portray their characters’ behaviors, reactions, and responses on the page with greater depth and emotional truth.

For example, the Sacral (second) Chakra rules Partnerships and Creativity. The Sacral Chakra relates to how your protagonist connects with and responds/reacts to others in one-on-one relationships, as well as their impulse to create. The Sacral Chakra says I FEEL.

By considering how your characters’ connect, react, and respond to others, one on one, you can begin to uncover important that will begin to inform your story’s trajectory.

Below is a brief explanation of the Sacral Chakra, its traits and characteristics, and some ways you might integrate its attributes into your character development.

Second Chakra – Sacral Chakra

Location
Just below the navel

This does not directly apply to your character but is used for visualization purposes when doing certain exercises within the Writing Through the Body™ method, offered here as an FYI.

Primary strengths
Self-value without the need for exterior validation, healthy psychological boundaries, confident creative expression

This is about who your character is drawn to in one-on-one relationships, how they behave in those relationships, and respond to the words and behaviors of them. It is also about how your character self-expresses, creatively.

Primary fears
Not being important “enough” to another (jealously, anger), happiness and pleasure (self-sabotage, pessimism, creative blocks), loss of body through death or illness

This is, in some ways, an extension of the Root Chakra, in relation to feeling secure in the world, and can surface when allowing oneself to be vulnerable with another. This vulnerability can also create fear/blocks in creative self-expression.

_____________________


Writing exercise

Take some time to sit quietly, and think about the aspects of the Sacral Chakra as they relate to all your characters. 

Write a sketch of a character that may not be materializing as fully as you would like, and answer the questions below as fully and exhaustively as possible. 

Tip: Every time you arrive at a new place of understanding or identify a particular behavior or response in your character, ask “why?” Continuing to ask “why?” is how we get to the deep psychology of our characters. 

Example: Your protagonist is a painter and is experiencing a creative block. You have just remembered (for them, through your writing) a seemingly harmless comment someone from their past made about one of their paintings, and it draws up some kind of pain in your protagonist. Why?

Questions to begin your exercise:

• Hold one of your character’s one-on-one relationships in mind. What is the overarching tone of that relationship? What makes it so in their shared history (no matter how short) and their individual histories).

• Does creativity—in any form—figure into this relationship, or cause strife in it?

• How adaptable or rigid are these characters, and what are their personal boundaries like? Are they equal in this, is one better than the other, or are then unaware and enmeshed?

Let me know what you discover in the comments.

As always… Sending you mad writing mojo…

Happy writing!

Johnnie
OOOOO