What Fixing Your Home Can Teach You About Writing Compelling Characters

Fixing things around the house is often a hands-on challenge. Whether you’re repairing a leaky faucet, tackling a renovation project, or giving your car some much-needed attention, DIY repairs test your patience, creativity, and problem-solving skills. But did you know that these very skills can create interesting, well-rounded characters in your stories?

Writing captivating characters is an art—one that requires careful thought, empathy, and understanding. Writing a character is like fixing something in your home. Both require identifying a problem, gathering the right tools (whether emotional or practical), and carefully working toward a satisfying resolution. Let’s explore how the lessons learned from DIY repairs can improve your character development process.

1. Start with a Problem Every DIY repair begins with identifying a problem. Maybe your sink is clogged, or the car won’t start. Whatever the issue is, it serves as the foundation for your work. In writing, every interesting character starts with a challenge or problem—an internal or external conflict that drives their actions and decisions throughout the story.

Think of your character’s problem like a broken appliance in need of fixing. It may seem daunting at first, but with the right mindset and approach, you can turn the situation around. Whether it’s overcoming a personal flaw or facing an external obstacle, a character needs a strong problem to solve. Without it, there’s no narrative drive, just like a repair project without a simple issue to address.

In The One-Handed Carpenter*, multiple internal and external challenges confront Andrew, the protagonist. He faces not only physical limitations but emotional ones too, much like the struggles your characters might go through. If you’re looking for a book where character development is closely tied to overcoming personal obstacles, The One-Handed Carpenter is a great read.

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2. Gather the Right Tools When tackling a DIY project, having the right tools is key. Without the proper tools, you risk making the problem worse. The same principle applies when writing characters. To bring your characters to life, you need the right “tools”—traits, backstories, motivations, and desires. These are the foundational elements that allow your character to feel real and grounded in the world you create.

Just as you wouldn’t try to fix a plumbing issue without a pipe wrench, don’t develop a character without understanding their core traits. Are they brave? Fearful? Optimistic or pessimistic? What drives them to act? The right mix of personality traits will help you create a believable character with depth. A tool isn’t effective if it’s not used properly, just as a character trait is only effective if it aligns with the character’s journey.

Hands Still Speaking – Character Development Through Challenges In Hands Still Speaking, Malik faces life’s toughest challenges, which serve as tools for his growth and character development. His journey is an example of how obstacles can be used as tools for character progression. This book shows how a character’s emotional and physical tools can help them confront personal and external battles.

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Picture of this section:

A photo of a toolbox filled with various tools, representing the metaphor of tools for both home repairs and character development.

3. Problem-Solving and Growth Once you’ve identified the problem and gathered the right tools, it’s time to begin the repair process. This is where the real magic happens—the solution to the problem emerges. In DIY repairs, this might mean replacing a part, re-assembling components, or even simply adjusting a few things. In writing, this is where your character faces their challenges, struggles, and eventually learns something new.

The problem-solving process in writing is much like repairing something at home. Your character must navigate obstacles, reflect on their journey, and make decisions that shape who they become. Through each twist and turn, they’re developing, learning, and becoming stronger—just as a home becomes more functional after a successful repair. The resolution to their internal or external conflict is the payoff for both the character and the reader.

Fix It Before It Breaks – Finding Solutions in Life and Writing In Fix It Before It Breaks, not only do you get practical DIY tips, but you also witness how solving home repair issues parallels resolving personal struggles. The book highlights how dealing with physical challenges at home can provide life lessons that translate into character growth in your writing.

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4. Show Transformation A successful DIY project ends with the satisfaction of seeing a transformed space or item. This transformation mirrors the change your character undergoes throughout the story. A well-rounded character doesn’t remain static; they grow, develop, and change because of the experiences they face. Whether they’re fixing a broken item or confronting their own flaws, the transformation is essential.

This moment of transformation is crucial in storytelling. Just as a repaired sink is useful again, a character’s transformation strengthens them and is more interesting. The changes they undergo through their journey create a satisfying conclusion for the reader. Your character should emerge from their challenges as a new version of themselves—one that feels earned, just as a repair job feels rewarding once it’s complete.

Fixing your home is more than just a task; it’s a reflection of the same problem-solving skills you need to write interesting characters. By identifying the problem, gathering the right tools, and working through challenges, you create both a home that functions better and characters that are richer and more dynamic. The process of repair—whether physical or emotional—teaches us important lessons about growth, resilience, and transformation.

Next time you’re facing a DIY challenge, take a moment to reflect on how the process mirrors the art of writing. And who knows, your next big character development idea could come from fixing a leaky pipe or repairing that old bookshelf. After all, storytelling, like home improvement, is about making something better than it was before.