Everyone has a favorite character or characters from the books they read or the movies they watch. Maybe Maleficent, the antagonist in Sleeping Beauty, captures your imagination with her evil genius. Or perhaps you can relate to Scout Finch and her tomboyish ways in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Have you ever wondered how a writer creates such vivid characters? Or have you ever wished to create a character that others will either love or love to hate for generations to come? If you follow these five easy steps of characterization, you too can create dynamic and memorable characters.
Characterization Step #1: Appearance
What does your character look like? Does she have black hair and blue eyes? Is he short with wispy hair and a mole on his left cheek? Is it twelve feet tall with blue spikes and purple spots? Anything unusual you can add will make your character more memorable. Think of your favorite characters or other popular characters. For example: Pippi Longstocking’s bright red pigtails that stick straight out to the side, or Harry Potter’s lightning bolt scar.
Characterization Step #2: Actions
How does your character act? Is she a ghost haunting her hometown? Does he fight demons and monsters? Maybe he is always shy and quiet unless someone is picking on his little sister. Or perhaps she’s loud and bubbly and never sits still unless she’s sleeping – and even then she often talks in her sleep. In Maniac Magee, Maniac is known for many of his actions such as untying the un-tyable knot.
Characterization Step #3: Thoughts
What does your character think about? Does she brood all day about not being allowed to fly to the moon? Does he wish he was a superhero so he could save his city from evil? Tom the Builder in Pillars of the Earth often thought about how to feed his family at the beginning of the novel. In The Glass Castle Jeannette worries about her parents living on the street.
Characterization Step #4: Speech
How does your character speak? Does he have a lisp? Does she have a gravely, smoker’s voice? What types of things does your character say? Maybe he speaks with a British accent and calls everyone “mate.” Or perhaps she says, “You know?” after ever sentence she says. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, for example, has a very distinctive, casual way of speaking.
Characterization Step #5: Interactions
How does your character interact with other characters? Does he always steal the younger kids’ lunch money? Are she and her twin sister finishing each other’s sentences one minute and stealing each other’s boyfriend the next minute? You should consider your character’s best friend and your character’s worst enemy. For example, knowing the Harry Potter’s best friend is Ron Weasley – a normal, harmless wizard-to-be, and his worst enemy is Voldemort – the most evil and feared wizard of all, tells a lot about Harry Potter’s character.
Consider these five steps of characterization when you create your characters for your next story. By using all five steps, you can create a dynamic, well-rounded, likeable – or detested, but always memorable characters. Try an additional writing exercise for character building if you need more help. Remember – the more unique the character’s qualities, the more memorable the character.
