People are known by their character traits Character is defined by how a person reacts in certain situations. It also involves mannerisms and attitudes that are unique to someone’s personality. People can usually predict how someone close to them will react in a given situation. This should also be true of characters, and is something that makes them authentic, full bodied, and believable.
Create a Character Summary
The first step in character building is creating a summary. The summary should include general information such as outward appearance, age, family relationships, career, hobbies, interests, and major life goals. This creates a picture of the fictional character, and general concepts to guide that character’s behavior. Once the summary is complete, the next step is getting to know the character on a deeper level through an interview.
Character Development With an Interview
One way to delve deeper into an understanding of a character’s motivations and quirks is to conduct an interview. Preparation for the interview with a fictional character is much like preparing for an interview with a living person. A list of questions that will reveal attitudes, thoughts, and motivations should be prepared.
An interview with a fictional person is conducted by the author asking the questions and answering them from the character’s point of view. The answers to the questions can be surprising and are always revealing. In addition, the character voice comes through in this exercise, the voice that will draw readers in and help them forge an emotional connection with the fictional person. A reader should be able to recognize a character by voice and mannerisms.
Character Analysis in the Editing Phase
After the characteristics are firmly in place in the author’s mind, the character will become more authentic with the passing of the pages as the story is written. However, inconsistencies can sneak into the tale. The first phase of editing can catch these and correct them.
A character analysis is done with a highlighter and a pen.
- First, all the dialogue by that character is highlighted.
- Next, all the physical actions of that character are circled.
- Last, a chart is made, noting how the character reacts to the basic states of fear, happiness, stress, anger, and passion.
An analysis of the chart should show the fictional person having consistent physiological responses to similar situations throughout the story. Physiological responses such as flushing, getting pale, heart racing, or getting hot in response to situations are unconscious, and should be unique to each character throughout the story.
This three-step method will ensure that fictional people remain true to character over the course of several hundred pages or several books in a series. In a book where characters seem flat or boring, it may be that they are not fully developed. An analysis will show where the weaknesses lie, and will help the author bring the characters to life.
For more information on character development, see Selecting Character Names for Fiction and Screen.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
Join the Conversation