Four Steps to Characterization: Showing Personality to the Reader

Four Steps to Characterization: Showing Personality to the Reader
by
Tami Cowden

Character is plot, or so I've heard. And I've also heard tell of many ways to discover the nature of your character's … well … character. Journals, charts, lists, diaries, resumes, profiles and so on - all are meant to help the writer discover the hidden emotional depths of your creations. What I don't seem to hear too much about is how the writer can convey personality to the reader. Obviously you can't paperclip that photo of a model that looks like your heroine to your manuscript. It won't help to staple the hero's journal, either.

But there are ways to show the reader who your characters are. Four ways, in fact!

First, physical description. This one is basic to most folks. You might have a passage like the following:

Helen Heroine took one look at Hank Hero's 6 feet 2 inches, and sent a thankful prayer to heaven. He was surely God's gift to women. Blond hair and blue eyes, and a cute little dimple on the left side when he smiled with those perfect white teeth. She really liked his blue jeans and cowboy boots, too. What a guy!

There, we know a lot about Hank. Now take out your crayons and draw a picture of him. What? You can't? Whaddaya mean? I told you all about him. He's a gorgeous cowboy. Wait - is he a toothpaste model? Maybe the boy next door? Okay, okay. How about this, then:

Helen Heroine took one look at Hank Hero, and sent a thankful prayer to heaven. He was surely God's gift to women. In its current tousled state, his wavy blond hair cried for a woman's hand - her hand - to smooth it back into place. His hard day of riding showed in the careful way he eased his long frame into the chair. He hiked first one jean clad leg, and then the other up so his feet rested on wooden chair opposite his own seat. She didn't mind the caked mud flaking off his boots on to her good chair. After all, despite his evident weariness, Hank managed to cast that sexy grin of his her way. One wink of a deep blue eye, and she knew she'd bring him anything he wanted. Beer. Whiskey. Herself.

Ok, we still know Hank is tall, blond and blue eyed, and wears jeans and boots. But we know a bit more, too. He has a bit boyishness about him. We know he is a cowboy, or at least, is being one today. We know he manages to maintain a flirtatious manner even when very tired. We know he is not a formal type - he puts his feet on furniture that does not belong to him and he winks at women. He makes himself comfortable in his surroundings. My guess is old Hank here is a CHARMER.

Next, there is introspection. This method of conveying characterization, along with physical description, is the most commonly employed by writers.

Hank sighed. It had been hard day on the trail. Now he wanted to kick back and relax. He just couldn't face any more work today. He'd rather stay here at the bar with Helen Heroine.

Sure, okay. Hank is a one tired cowboy, putting off a bit of work. But we can do more.

Hank sighed, letting the fatigue drain out of him. The day on the trail had been hard, but now it was time to kick back and relax. Thoughts of the past month's paperwork waiting for him back at the ranch intruded, but he pushed them away. He'd put in a day's labor, after all. He was entitled to a bit of fun now. And by gosh, Helen Heroine was just the bit of fun he had in mind.

Now, don't we have a clearer picture of Hank than just a tired cowboy putting off chores? Don't we get a sense of someone who ALWAYS put off those chores? And, uh, ge, this ranching stuff isn't exactly a labor of love with him, is it? Combined with a bit of physical description, most writers use internal thoughts to convey characterization.

Now let's get into a couple of more complex ways of showing characterization. How about the words and deeds of the character? Sure, we can stage manage like so:

Hank grabbed the bottle of beer Helen brought and drank it. Then he pulled Helen into his lap. Giving her a big kiss, he said, "You're the greatest, hon."

But don't we get a better idea of Hank's character with this:

Hank swooped up the bottle of imported beer Helen brought him and drained it. Wiping his lips with the bar napkin, he jumped up and caught her around the waist. A quick two-step around the table brought him neatly back to his own chair. He sprawled onto it, pulling her into his lap. A quick buss on her lips led to a sweet nuzzle of her ear lobe. His breath was warm on her cheek as he whispered, "You're the greatest, hon."

Oh, yeah. Definitely a CHARMER!

Now, the fourth step for characterization - attitudes of other characters. Yep. You can show character through the words and action of other characters. In fact, I've already done it in my very first examples above, because we know that Helen thinks Hank is God's gift to women - the sort of fellow a woman would actually be thankful to know. But, well, that was sort of telling, not showing, huh? So how about this:

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Helen. Are you gonna let that no-count cowboy sweet talk you into givin's him drinks on the house again? Don't you ever learn, girl?" Harriet shook her head over her daughter's foolishness.

Well, by golly, that was a twofer, wasn't it. A few words from Helen's mother, and we know a bit about both Hank and Helen.

The most important to remember about these four steps is that you should use all of them - often in the same paragraphs; even in the same lines.

And remember, since character IS story - never stop revealing it. Conveying character isn't just a chore for Chapter One. You should keep unveiling your character right up until "The End."

Tami Cowden is coauthor of The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes. Her latest release is Love Mystifies, a short story anthology coming in Ocober from Dream Street Prose. Visit Tami at her website, www.tamicowden.com