Context

You now have a basic understanding of Jim’s personality, but there is another very important thing that defines a character and that is the story’s context, or the world in which the character dwells. Let’s check it out:

It’s the year 2512 and humans have populated quite a few planets. Space exploration is the major topic in the news and astronauts are treated as heroes. Cars now fly and don’t produce pollution. Robots are everywhere, making human life easier, and some even develop relationships with humans. A downside of this very futuristic setting is that it’s difficult for an individual to stand out from the rest of the population: everyone wears the same kind of clothes, everyone owns similar cars, and everyone lives in buildings that look the same.

Can you see how this context could affect what Jim would look like? Also, humans living on several planets across the universe and space exploration as the focus of the news every day are good reasons to make a young boy dream about being an astronaut, right? If the context was in prehistory, a kid’s dreams would be very different: maybe he’d want to be a mighty hunter or a fearsome shaman.

Context (where he lives, his culture, and his relationships) clearly defines your character’s personality and ways of thinking and acting. In Jim’s case, his context encourages him to be an adventurer, explore space, and find new planets ... or even aliens!