Character Advice - Blog Posts

When writing stories with ensemble casts do you find yourself liking/writing more for certain characters? How do you write for characters that aren’t necessarily your favorites? Like I know Lenore and Annabel are more main than the rest so how do you manage the others? And how do you make them all so unique from each other?

If there's ever a character I feel like I haven't connected with, I just assume it's because I haven't "found" them yet. Like, sometimes you need to do a little searching to find the thread in them you can latch onto, if that makes sense? So whenever I feel disconnected from a character, I try to go back to that thread, and I don't proceed until I can feel it and am able to follow it myself. I name the threads as I go, like - it might be something like "paranoia", "mask", "disgust", "worthless" - like, core character themes/trajectories/feelings? - and naming the threads keeps them really different from each other. Because once you know the core of a character, you can stick to it really closely and then it's easy to notice if there's too much overlap with others. That's all really floaty and weird, how I described that. I don't know if I sounds insane or what, lol. But I swear that it makes sense in my head. tldr; I can more easily connect with certain characters than others. But I connect pretty deeply with all of them once I am able to "find" them. And after that, they're all very fun to write.

Tips to Creating Character’s Personalities- Authoring Advice 🏋️‍♂️⛹️‍♂️

Creating various personalities for many characters can be very difficult. Just relax, it doesn’t need to be. Here’s some tips that might help.

Listing Character Traits:

This was actually not helpful for me at ALL, but it may be for you! Take a piece of paper and write down for each character the traits you imagine them having. 

This keeps it organized and is a good start to a character. (Maybe…it wasn’t for me…but whatever! Give it a whirl!)

Character Interviews:

This can be very helpful, even if its just to remind yourself of the characters personality later in the writing process. Act like you’re asking the characters various questions, and based off their pasts and personalities answer the questions. I find it nice to put this on paper.

This link may be handy: https://www.writerswrite.co.za/prousts-questionnaire-35-questions-every-character-should-answer/

Name them:

It may seem strange but just giving a name to a character can spark ideas. Names can just sprout personality all on their own. Thats why you may want to name them then give traits.

(But some people title them first then decide on a name depending on the personality of the person.)

Create Their Past:

Like wet cement, experiences shape a person. Not only do YOU need to know (not necessarily your readers) but your character knows. If they don’t have a firm past then a huge chunk of your character is missing. 

(I will eventually post a thing about creating backgrounds and pasts but you can always find another person giving out advice.)

Know their role:

Are they the main character? Comic relief? Best friend? 

You need to know this and consider shaping a person to fit in their role. A comic relief has to be…comical. 

BUT, not every main character is the same nor villain. Consider that.

Character Traits:

Here’s a few traits off the top of my head-

Sarcastic, Dramatic, Bad-Tempered, Shy, Lazy, Extroverted, Introverted, Thoughtful, Rational, Irrational, Insane, Arrogant, and Humble.

Everyone has multiple traits and some have the same but in different ways. 

Two people can be Bad- Tempered but one throughs a tantrum when angry and the other one kills a person. Character traits can be called the same thing but can be two drastic different things. Thats why, when planning a persons personality you should be specific. It wouldn’t hurt to say why and when a person acts that way ethier.

I have more but that seems enough for now! Have a FANTASTIC DAY, and have fun writing!

Tips to Making sure your Characters have Different Personalities - Authoring Advice🎭

You have spent time creating each of your characters and yet you may realize that one of your characters seem suspiciously similar to another one of your creations. I have a few tips to help with this.

Hobbies/ Likes/ Preferences:

Maybe both of your characters speak indistinguishably, perhaps they both have the same backgrounds, or both have tempers. A little thing like giving them different favorite foods can go a long way. 

You can put your characters in the same situation or similar ones and show the audience their different reactions. Maybe your characters seem the same but the farther you get to know them, the more you realize you were wrong. People can be the same way.

Backgrounds:

No one has the same past and life as another person (except maybe a sibling but there’s very little chance sisters and brothers are very alike). Parents are different, cultures are unalike, homes are contrasting. 

Try giving your characters separate lives. Experiences shape personalities. 

Make them hate each other:

As strange as it might seem, making the characters hate each other worked surprisingly well for me. 

Maybe, over the simplest thing, they fight and argue. They might have a dark past, or there may be other causes. But arguments (even if its funny to read) distract from the similarities and cause the differences to be more prominent.  

(And besides, it sets up a good enemies to friends subplot. But it might not work for every character. I do not advice on making to many enemy relationships.) 

Contrast the physical appearances:

It’s just a thought, but maybe making the to people look distinctly different can divert readers attention to compare the two. 

“If they look unalike, then they must be.”

Have them be bestest friends:

This is the opposite of another point I made but these are all suggestions, you do not have to follow any of them, but this may be something you want to try.

Just like opposites attract, people who have a lot in common also take interest in one another. Readers may think you made the pair similar on purpose. Like you were trying to have them have similar personalities. 

(BUT do not have them exactly alike, this is just being lazy and should never happen. There are very few exceptions, and they all involve clones.)

Try again:

A very likely reason why your characters are similar is because you didn’t work on them enough. You may need to sit back down at your desk (or floor, that’s my favorite place) and try again.

Redo them completely if you must, or just add on to what you have. But if nothing that I or another person has suggested worked, then your not ready. Eventually your characters will become a perfect mess that they were destined for. 

Tips to Writing Memorable Characters- Authoring Advice 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Here is a few characters you may know. 

Harry Potter       Gandalf      Yoda     Joker       Mary Poppins

Jack Sparrow     Sherlock Holmes     Winnie the Pooh 

Do you notice some similarities? Probably not many, but you still have probably heard of these characters. I haven’t even read or seen the Lord of the Rings, and yet I know who Gandalf is. I have a few ideas why that is. Each iconic character has something unique about them that sticks in your mind.

Appearance-

Harry Potter best suits this category. His name may be famous because of the popular book series named after him, but If I showed you a single picture of a lightning bolt and perhaps some glasses you would immediately know who it is.

His famous scar and classic glasses are famous. This is because Harry Potter has a unique trait about his appearance no one else has. You should consider adding traits like this to some of your characters.

The other famous characters I have listed also have special aspects as well. Yoda is a small, green goblin thing. Winnie the Pooh is a yellow bear wearing a red jacket. 

(Not to mention that people can dress up as your character easier if there’s details specific to them)

Speech-

Who else would hold this category? Yoda has one of the most well known ways to talk. Speaks backwards, he does. Yoda is as memorable as he because of the way he talks.

 If your character has a distinctive voice, this will link something to your readers mind. Your character can be unique just by the way they talk. Consider giving quirks to your characters speech. (Maybe not your main character. Readers may find it annoying after a while. Choose a side character.)

The Joker, Winnie the Pooh, and even Jack Sparrow all have unique ways to communicate.

Personality-

Perhaps the hardest to write. Personalities are always difficult, and yet one of the most effective.

Cap’n Jack Sparrow’s personality is the reason why him and the whole franchise was famous. 

The character of the character is usually the funnest and maybe funniest to read. If a character is funny and charismatic they are automatically my favorite. Personality can make readers love or hate your character. But even if they do hate them at least you did your job and gave them a personality. The more readers love or hate your character, the more they will remember them. And the more the reader is entertained by just simply reading about them.

Jack Sparrow has the funniest lines and oddities.if you want to give a reader a reason to remember your character, I suggest giving them a strong and unique character.

Quirks-

Everybody has quirks, so your character should already have some. But little strange things a character does will just be one step to having a iconic character. 

Collecting rocks, singing while doing work, sleeping with a stuffed animal, writing poetry, baking, obsessed with perfection, random mood swings, and art are all examples of quirks (some may apply to a few readers.)

Maybe you should try a quirk against a person’s personality. Say if a person is the most serious person you would have ever met and they love dogs. They go completely out of character because they saw a puppy. This will not only make your readers love them but also remember their strange oddity.

Quotes-

One of my favorites! I love repeating random quotes from my favorite books.

(Don’t tell me you don’t know where “And In the morning, I’m making waffles.” is from.)

The things characters say can inspire people, make them laugh, make them think, make them love or hate the character. Dialog is part of the characters personality, and reveal the wisdom that a character was hiding. The more unique the quote or meaningful, the more its associated with the book and your character. Thats what you want for an iconic character. Think of every character you love, can you name one quote from each one, or multiple?

Actions-

The actions a character makes can be unique to that character. Actions can reveal a person’s true colors. Some choices can cause readers to have respect or despise a character. 

(A character without any actions and choices are probably not going to become iconic. (unless that’s what makes them memorable, a couch potato with no cares in the world))

Achievements-

The achievements of a person can make them legendary, that includes characters. Not many legendary characters are helpless morons with no spine.

Powers-

Powers can automatically make your character unique. I don’t have much to say on this topic because it’s so big. I can talk for hours about powers, but I won’t. Maybe give your character some powers, like Mary Poppins, Yoda, Gandalf, or Harry Potter. 

Thats all I got!

Who is this                                             

Vs.

 Thank you for reading! Have a FANTASTIC day! Have fun writing, fellow author!😊