Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today, I am going to explore some tips for conveying character.

How to Convey Character

As a writer, one of the most challenging aspects of crafting a story is being able to convey character. After all, it is through the characters that your readers will connect with your story and become invested in its outcome. However, showing character is more than simply writing a bullet list featuring a rundown of their physical appearance or personality traits. It involves creating fully-rounded individuals with rich histories and unique perspectives who will come alive in the minds of your readers.

Some Tips for Conveying Character

1 Show, Don’t Tell
The golden rule of writing is to show, not tell. This principle also applies to your characters. Instead of telling readers your protagonist is brave, show them by giving examples of their bravery in action. For instance, you could write about how your protagonist stood up to a bully or saved someone from danger. By showing, you allow your readers to form their own opinions about your characters, which can lead to a more immersive experience.

2 Use Multiple Perspectives
Another way to convey character in your story is to use multiple perspectives. When your characters are seen through different eyes, you can get a more robust and complete understanding of who they are and what motivates them. For example, you could write the scene from the perspective of two characters, like the protagonist and the antagonist. Through this exercise, you can showcase their conflicting views and values, creating a more complex and realistic character.

3 Add Layers of Personality
Characters should feel like real people, with all the complexities and contradictions that come with it. To make them feel fully fleshed out, you should add layers of personality. This means giving your characters multiple interests, quirks, and flaws. For example, your protagonist could be brave while also having a tendency to be reckless. Alternatively, you could have a character who is tough on the outside but quite vulnerable inside. By adding these nuances, you can create a sense of depth that will keep your readers engaged.

4 Use Dialogue
Dialogue is a powerful tool for conveying character. It can reveal motivations, personality, and even overall worldview. Something to keep in mind is that the way your characters speak should be true to their individual personalities. For example, if your character is shy and introverted, they may talk less confidently than a more assertive character. Similarly, a character who is arrogant may use more formal language or speak in a condescending tone. By tailoring how your characters talk, you can create a more believable and engaging portrayal.

5 Physical Description
Physical descriptions can provide clues about the personalities of your characters. How a character dresses, styles their hair or carries themselves can indicate their temperament or social status. Even mentioning what your character smells like can add an extra layer. For instance, if your character is a smoker, perhaps they have the smell of cigarette smoke clinging to their clothes, or maybe they like to over-spritz themselves with expensive perfume.

A note on descriptions:
While letting a reader know what your characters look like may feel important, it is just as important not to rely too heavily on physical descriptions. A light scattering of two or three prominent or intriguing features will likely do, or else you might risk overwhelming your readers or even obliterating their imagined ideas of what your character looks like.

6 Consistency
One of the principal factors in conveying character is consistency. All characters’ actions, speech, and mannerisms should consistently match their personalities and backstories. It’s a good idea to avoid having a character act uncharacteristically only to move the plot forward.

When to Omit Character Information

When crafting your story, it is vital to consider when to use each of the above techniques. Dialogue can be effective for revealing character, but too much of it can slow down the pace of a story and become tedious for readers. Similarly, while characterisation can provide a great deal of insight into a character, overindulging in it can lead to unnecessary fluff and distract from the core plot of the story.

Occasionally, it may be best to omit particular elements that make up your characters entirely. For example, a character’s physical appearance is, occasionally, irrelevant to a story. In that case, it may be best to leave it out and focus on other aspects instead. Similarly, if a character’s thoughts and motivations are unclear, leaving them unspoken can create an air of mystery that engages readers. Here are some occasions where you may want to omit character information:

1 When It Doesn’t Serve the Story
All information should serve the story, including character information. If a particular detail doesn’t add anything meaningful to the narrative, it may be best to leave it out.

2 When It’s Too Expository
As mentioned earlier, showing is preferable to telling. You may find yourself attempting to convey character information using long-winded, wordy exposition to expound about what traumas or life experiences have made them the way they are. If you find you are doing this, it may be a sign that a rethink of your approach is necessary. Whereas you, as the writer, need to know every last detail about your characters’ backstories, your readers do not.

3 When It’s Too Obvious
Sometimes, as writers, it’s tempting to spell out our character’s motivations or personality traits entirely to ensure everything we’re trying to convey comes across precisely how we want it to. However, this can come off as patronising to your readers. Trust that your audience will pick up on subtler cues and allow them to use their imaginations and common sense to come to their own conclusions. The fun of reading is using our imaginations to create worlds and people and to follow little breadcrumbs of information dropped for us by the author.

Overall, characterisation is an essential aspect of storytelling, and by following these tips, you can create complex, relatable and believable characters that help drive your narrative forward.

Well, I hope you’ve been inspired to imbue your characters with the life-giving magic only a writer can!

As ever, thank you for reading my post today. It really means the world.

Until next time,

George

© 2024 GLT

Categories: Characters, Writing Tips

Tags: character, Characters, description, dialogue, tips, Writer, Writing Tips