Fleshing Out the Characters of Your Novel or Short Story: Traits and Relationships

Once you have decided on your character’s sex, age, vocation, name, appearance, speech, attitude and mannerism, you can go to the next level of character development: traits and relationships.

Traits

In the book Creating Characters, Dwight Swain says traits are those ways in which characters react to particular situations.  He says, “What counts is that you be aware that people do develop distinctive ways of reacting to life’s demands, and that these reaction patterns tend to become habitual.”  For instance how someone reacts to certain situations can reveal whether he or she is selfish, unselfish, pious or honest only when someone is watching.  Reactions also reveal whether someone is considerate, a bully or a hypocrite.  Swain also recommends putting your character into “situations that will give her the opportunity to show the stuff she’s made of before a crisis arises, so your readers won’t be taken aback when Character behaves the way you need her to.”  Also, remember to keep your character’s reactions consistent with the trait or traits you have given him or her.

Furthermore, make sure again that you are showing and not telling.  If your character is irritating, put him or her in a situation that shows how irritating he or she is. Don’t just tell us your character is a bully, show us by placing him or her in a scene where he or she is actually bullying someone.

Relationships

One thing about your characters that is best established from the get-go is the relationships they will have and how they will react in those relationships.  For example, is the character married or unmarried?  Does the character have children?  If so, how many?  Does the story include any extended family? How does your character react to these relationships? Keep in mind that if your character has a wife and family at the beginning you will have to deal with them throughout the rest of the story. What about friends, enemies, et cetera? Establishing relationships early on may save you some rewrites. 

Showing your character’s reactions toward his or her relationships can add to your character’s depth.  An arrogant professor, for instance, may approach his relationships with his students with condescension in the way he speaks to them.  The predominant trait you choose for your character will greatly influence the way the character reacts and responds to relationships.  

  

Creating characters for your novel or short story is not always an easy task.  Swain says “Your most useful tool in handling the obviously complex issue of relationship in your stories will be habitual people-watching, coupled with reading both fiction and psychology.” People are complex, so your main characters will need to be also.

Getting Past Hello: Fleshing Out The Characters of Your Novel or Short Story

Fleshing out your characters for your novel or short story requires an analysis of all those things that make us human—what we call ourselves, how we look, how we speak, and how we behave.  A character’s name, appearance, speech, attitude and mannerisms all provide a good starting point for the fleshing out process.

Names

Believe it or not, characterization can actually begin with the name you give your character.  If your story has an old woman in it along with a teenage girl, you may want to give them names that correspond to the popular or common names of the times into which they were born.  For instance you may give the old woman the name of Edith and the teenage girl the name Melissa. These names place these two characters at different ages. (Of course parents can name their children anything, but different names are popular at different times.)

Nicknames can further help to reveal your character’s character.  A name like Jack the Ripper creates a distinct mental picture of a certain type of character, as does Boris the Butcher.  In James Scott Bell’s novel Try Darkness the character Pick McNitt enjoyed picking arguments with those he knew disagreed with him.  Names can provide the first clues as to what your character may be like.

Appearances

A person’s appearance gives further clues as to personality and character.  Is the person meticulously dressed?  Is his or her shirt wrinkled? How a person dresses can reveal whether he or she is sloppy or fastidious.  A well-groomed guy wearing expensive clothes and a flawless complexion is going to tell the reader something different from the guy in a tank top with a large scar across his cheek and a crooked nose.

Speech

The three primary ways to use speech in characterization is through repetition, accent, jargon and syntax.  Does your character call everyone Dude? Does your character have an accent? Does your character use jargon specific to a particular occupation?  Does your character string his or her words together in a way unique to his or her situation or environment?  Speech is a big part of revealing character.

Attitude

Regardless of what is going on in your story, your characters are going to have attitudes one way or the other.  Attitude manifests itself through behavior patterns or the habitual way a character reacts to something.  Does your character complain about everything?  Is he or she sarcastic? Does your character face difficult situations with a smile?  Is he or she upbeat most of the time?  Does your character react with fear or anxiety to most situations?  What about anger?  Does your character respond to certain people or situations with cutting remarks or hurtful words?  Until his change of heart, Ebenezer Scrooge had a negative attitude toward all things Christmas, often responding with harsh words. Overall, it is important that your character’s attitude fit the part he or she has been asked to play.

Mannerisms

When someone mentions mannerisms, I always think of people who talk with their hands.  It is distracting, yet amusing.  It usually indicates either hyperactivity or insecurity about getting the message across. I also think of Norman Bates of the Bates Motel in Psycho.  His mannerisms show us his nervousness and insecurity, and give us a glimpse of his psychosis.   Likewise, Monk’s character in the television mini-series Monk is also a great illustration of mannerisms revealing and defining character. 

Name, appearance, speech, attitude, and mannerisms can help us begin to get beyond the first impression our character leaves on the reader.