Writability: Do You Really Know Your Characters?

Photo credit: Thomas Milne on Flickr

So I posted the other day about inner beauty versus outer beauty and it got me thinking: if every one of your characters looked and sounded exactly the same, would you be able to tell them apart?

This could be a really good test of characterization. In a hypothetical world where we are all copies, how would you tell your character apart from everyone else? Does he shuffle instead of walking? Does he keep his eyes low and shoulders hunched or is he brimming with confidence? What about the way he talks? Does he curse a lot? Does he stutter? Does he speak in short, abrupt sentences or long, eloquent phrases?

Since I’ve been rather philosophical and haven’t posted any exercises in a while, try this one:

Take two of your characters and pretend they looked and sounded exactly the same. Ask yourself how you would tell them apart and write down every difference you can think of. The way they hold themselves, the way they walk, they way they talk, how they would react to different situations—anything goes. If you have trouble differentiating between the two, you might need to work on a little more characterization.

Since I love The Hunger Games, I’ll use two of the main characters as an example:

Katniss	Peeta
Makes unwavering eye contact Stands with her shoulders back Walks with her chin up Blunt—doesn’t really care about eloquence Fiery temper	Makes eye contact, then looks away Slouches slightly Shuffles Soft-spoken, has a way with words Patient

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

So lets see it, guys—how would you tell your characters apart?

22 comments:

Stina LindenblattOctober 28, 2011 at 5:23 AM
This is an awesome exercise. I'm going to use it on my new wip. :D
Ava JaeOctober 28, 2011 at 5:29 AM
Great! Let me know how it goes! :)
Daniel SwensenOctober 28, 2011 at 6:08 AM
The one thing I took away from Red Letter Media's infamous critique of the Star Wars prequels was asking whether or not you could describe any of the characters without mentioning their name, profession, or clothing. I thought that made an interesting exercise.
Ava JaeOctober 28, 2011 at 6:11 AM
Huh. I hadn't heard of that, but that's really interesting. I guess it would be pretty difficult for the prequels...
Daniel SwensenOctober 28, 2011 at 6:16 AM
Nearly impossible in some cases. Most of the characters even have the exact same bland speech patterns.
Ava JaeOctober 28, 2011 at 6:20 AM
Hmm...come to think of it...you're totally right. I suppose Yoda is the one huge exception...and Anakin as a kid...huh.
Jennifer BennettOctober 28, 2011 at 9:15 AM
That's a good exercise. I think I'll try it out my current characters. Thanks!
Ava JaeOctober 28, 2011 at 9:35 AM
Sure thing! Let me know how it works for you!
karenOctober 28, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Great article! Thanks for posting, now I'll go back and check
Ava JaeOctober 28, 2011 at 9:45 AM
Sure thing! Good luck! :)
Tiffany GarnerOctober 28, 2011 at 2:11 PM
Good point. Sometimes people make their characters look different, but they're essentially the same person, and that gets boring. Thanks for sharing!
Ava JaeOctober 29, 2011 at 5:35 AM
You're very welcome! I think it's a good test to help make sure you haven't accidentally done what you just described.
Lori LopezOctober 30, 2011 at 12:28 PM
I think this is helpful to everyone in remembering all our audience gets is the written word. My characters are usually very different in their speech patterns and what they might talk about or phrase things.
Ava JaeOctober 30, 2011 at 12:33 PM
That certainly helps differentiate between characters. You're right--the audience isn't in our heads and doesn't know exactly what we see, they can only see what we give them. So if our characters aren't distinct enough, they all start to look and sound the same.
AngelaOctober 30, 2011 at 12:40 PM
I think this is where I'm really getting a lot out of our character trait posts--writing them is foring me to think a lot more carefully about the make up of each character, and how different traits naturally create different beliefs, goals, motivations and actions.

And I <3 Hunger Games too! :)

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Ava JaeOctober 30, 2011 at 12:43 PM
You know, I knew what a fantastic resource those character trait posts are for us as readers, but come to think of it, I imagine it really helped a lot for you and Becca as you write them because as you said--it really forces you to think about the little eccentricities and dynamics of each trait.

Also, The Hunger Games rocks. Can't wait for the movie! :D
Angie RichmondOctober 30, 2011 at 12:59 PM
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Ava JaeOctober 30, 2011 at 1:01 PM
Thanks so much, Angie! ^_^
Donna K. WeaverNovember 4, 2011 at 11:48 AM
I love your comparison. It really got me thinking ...
Ava JaeNovember 4, 2011 at 11:53 AM
Glad to hear it. :)
ArkAngelNovember 28, 2012 at 9:51 AM
I used to have trouble with this until I started planning my character's unspoken thoughts. By giving them all predetermined perspectives, they have distinctive dialogue, so when a character speaks without a physical description, you know who it is.
Ava JaeNovember 29, 2012 at 5:41 AM
That's a fantastic method! Really getting to know your characters is key to being able to write them differently--and knowing their internal lives is a huge part of that.