Making of Junkyard Chase 3 – Character Development

So we have some ideas about characters and location, but no real specifics. I like to start to get the idea of the characters in my head at this stage, so I can further develop their motivations and hopefully make the storytelling process a lot easier.

It’s good practice to take a character, develop them and give them consistent motivation, and then put them in a situation and let the story unfold before you.

So I need a chaser, a chasee, and it has to take place at a junkyard.

Instantly my mind goes to the chaser first – perhaps this character works in the junkyard and has to keep people out to keep them safe from all of the dangers. However, this person needs to be able to take a lot of physical abuse without taking any actual damage – thus keeping the story light-hearted and fun.

Suddenly the sci-fi nut in me kicks in and I instantly think “robot security guard.” He can patrol day and night without getting tired, he can rebuild parts of himself from the scrap around the junkyard, and most importantly – he can get popped on the head with heavy objects and be fine in the morning.

So my chaser is established: he’s a robot that works in the junkyard and has to keep people out because the junkyard’s not safe. But what about the chasee?

I started brainstorming ideas on who (or what) could be breaking into the junkyard. Sure, it could be a person trying to get their car out of impound, or some kids just thinking the junkyard was cool – but I wanted something different.

While walking home from the grocery store I saw a sign on the side of someone’s fence that said “Beware of dog,” and I remembered that dogs often patrol junkyards. Plus, dogs are man’s best friend (and everyone likes dogs, right?). Why not have a dog sneak into the junkyard? And what do dogs like to do? Eat, sleep, and play. Maybe he’s a puppy who wants to play with someone, and he thinks the robot chasing him is a game – thus keeping the dog (and the story) fun and innocent.

It’s not something I’ve ever seen done before, so why not use it in my story?

So my chasee is a puppy that’s gotten into the junkyard and wants to play with someone.

So I have my two characters with their distinct motivations, which will drive the story through our environment. Now I just need to come up with the series of actions that will take place during the story….