The Basics of Introducing a Character: A Few Main Points for When a Character Steps on the Page

Whenever a character makes a “first appearance” in the novel, there are three things a novelist should remember when writing the scene.

Create a Strong, Quick First Impression

Ideally, the novelist wants the character onstage quickly, without a long paragraph of description.

Give a strong first impression without a lot of detail—simply a phrase to anchor the character in the reader’s mind.

Here is where a cliché could actually be used, because it’s a quick way to create a colorful impression with few words: “a spunky redhead” or “a one-legged pirate” or “a powerful businessman.”

Whatever the writer chooses to create that first impression, make it the most significant aspect of the character. Show a prominent trait or personality, an obvious flaw or perfection. This will make the reader utilize past experience to create a sketch of the character in his mind.

Minor characters only need this one significant aspect pointed out. For major characters, hints revealed here and there in dialogue and action will add more depth to that shallow, significant first impression.

Make the Characters Act

“Bring your characters on in action. The day when readers would hold still for a long-winded, static description of a character, complete with family tree, is long gone. Now, they want him alive, breathing, doing something—preferably, doing something interesting.”

Show your character doing something to reveal plot elements. A suspicious action can create intrigue. Hidden anxiety can hint at imminent danger. Anger can create conflict. Contrast or paradox can create curiosity. Subtexting in dialogue can hint at deeper waters.

Show the character doing something to reveal to the readers that all is not right, and they can expect imminent change.

Don’t Crowd the Scene

Introducing too many characters at once will only confuse a reader. While the author might be able to easily keep Tom, Dick, Harry, and Jane’s names separate and their personalities might seem very distinct, to a reader just introduced to them, they’re a crowd of strangers.

While you do want to introduce the main characters, especially, early in the story, introducing too many at once can overwhelm the reader. Confusion often leads to a reader putting the book down, unbought.

Make it easy for your reader. Start with two or at most three characters, and introduce others in chapter increments.

Use this slower introduction of characters to advantage—make each character’s entrance dramatic, show-stopping, or significant. That will fix the character in the reader’s mind more vividly.

These three tips will enable a writer to open the story and introduce the characters seamlessly.

The copyright of the article The Basics of Introducing a Character in Character Development is owned by Camy Tang. Permission to republish The Basics of Introducing a Character in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

May 28, 2009 3:45 AM

Garridon :

Introducing characters is particularly challenging when the book requires large casts. You really have to rethink not only bringing the characters in, but how story opens so you don't need the crowd at that point. Some characters may end up unnamed until a little later. My second novel was like that--I had eleven characters in the opening chapter (and it was throwing the reader in the middle of a fight, which made impossible to do anything other than mention character names). Beta readers had trouble keeping track of who was who, and I had to give careful though to how to reshape the opening so I only started with three characters. At time, I got that number from A Writer's Guide to Fiction by Elizabeth Lyon.

Also noteworthy is that if you're dealing with a fantasy with world building place names, those may become "character names" in the first chapter and add to the confusion.