Build a Really Useful Character Bio
What Hannibal Lecter Can Teach Writers About Character Analysis
Sep 30, 2009
Say the name "Hannibal Lecter" and most people can instantly picture the baby-faced villain portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, and remember the chilling contrast between the 'outside' Hannibal – a man who looked like a kindly grandfather - and the truly evil person on the inside.
The Hannibal shown on the pages of Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs was just as convincing: a serial killer who treated the FBI profiler Clarice Starling with some respect – yet who could kill others with impunity. In fact, not just with impunity... but with enjoyment. However, while Hannibal Lecter stands as one of the most fascinating villains to ever appear in a novel, he is just one of thousands of characters to seize the imagination of readers.
What is it that makes one character grab readers instantly, while other story people remain flat and lifeless? Authors can tap into a huge range of writers' techniques to make characters vibrant and believable, including the Character Interview, but one of the most powerful is the Character Personality Bio.
Make a Character Bio More Than a Shopping List
Pretty much all writers know how to create a basic character profile: a collection of information about age, height, appearance, family, hobbies, place of residence, and perhaps identifying marks such as tattoos, scars and birthmarks. So far so good – but this amounts to little more than a straightforward list of attributes; it's just a quick snapshot. Authors need more than a shopping list or a police mug file.
How can the author take this lifeless outline and from it build a character that readers can clearly visualise, and will want to get to know better?
The Author's Childhood – a Rich Source of Clues to Personality
What makes a person real to us? It's an understanding of what "makes them tick"; a knowledge of their personality traits, quirks, insecurities, behaviour in a stressful situation, and the way they treat others. As we get to know someone, we piece together these accumulated insights into their personality, and over time this adds up to a warm, living human being (or a cold serial killer, in the case of Hannibal Lecter.) Readers of The Silence of the Lambs may remember that the title came from a black moment in Clarice Starling's childhood – an experience adroitly drawn out of her by the manipulative Hannibal.
What 'treasures' may lie in an author's childhood, waiting to be unearthed? Start thinking about the remembered triumphs,sadness and fears associated with the past.
Add Personality Traits, Hidden Fears, and Life's Turning Points to the Bio
Some bread-and-butter character bios will pay lip service to personality (for example, "bright and bubbly" or "quick to anger") but that's it: the author is left to expand on this as the story is written.
A little more groundwork in the form of character development can pay off in more ways than the author expects. Not only might a certain character trait influence the outcome of a scene halfway through the book; it could change the whole course of the novel in the first few chapters. Why? Because the author realises that, given the character's hidden fears or primary character traits, he or she would be far more likely to choose Path A rather than Path B.
I's easy to see the benefits of adding a 'bio' section devoted to personality traits, flaws, fears and life's turning points. These could include things like:
- A traumatic childhood incident or the results of being the victim of an extended period of bullying
- A dysfunctional family (or one dysfunctional family member)
- A secret longing for a forbidden activity or person
- An inclination towards criminal activity or a fondness of conning others
- An ability to charm people, born of necessity through childhood circumstances
- Turning points such as the death of a sibling or parent, abduction by a parent or stranger, a memorable failure or success, a wrong decision, a good decision, association with the wrong type of person/people at a crucial developmental stage or giving in to blackmail.
This is, of course, just a tiny sampling of the kinds of things that might dramatically influence a character's personality.
Look for Online Personality Tests and Quizzes
At the point where a character really starts to become someone the author 'knows', have some fun – put him or her through a personality test. Sure, it might be the author clicking through it and filling in the sections... but it's the character doing to the test!
Locate a fun quiz or personality test online (and make sure it's then bookmarked under 'Writer Resources') and enter the name/age and whatever other details are required for this particular character. Go through the entire test through the eyes, experiences and emotions of the character.
Where to Find an Online Personality Quiz
There are countless personality tests and quiz sites online, but one place to get you started with your character's analysis is the Personality Test Centre. It should at least be fun... and perhaps even enlightening!
The author has much more chance of developing three-dimensional story people by delving deep into character. So, next time characters refuse to take shape on the page, put the manuscript aside and begin a Character Personality Bio. The results will probably exceed expectations.
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