Characterization: Part I

This is part one of a who-knows-how-long blog post series (I'm gonna guess 2-4 posts) on characterization. What is characterization? Well, you can probably guess by the word that it involves characters in some way or another, right?

Characterization is defined in my computer's built-in-dictionary as describe the distinctive nature or features of something or someone, or (of a feature or quality) be typical or characteristic of. So, cutting all the fluff, characterization is creating characters or, in Anacabulary, "creating believable, lovable, unique characters that you and your readers will care for and root for from the very beginning to the dastardly end of your novel."

On that note, we begin.


Characterization: The Beginning

So you wanna write a book, but are uneasy at the daunting tasks before you? Fear not, dear one! The story-planning prospect is not much harder than using up some of that dormant Brain Power. The first steps to planning and writing a novel are some of the most fun steps of all!

My favorite part of writing a novel is creating characters. There's magic that goes on there. As you create your character(s), you will find that some characteristics and features just seem to pop out of your mind and onto the page. That's good! That's your character "coming to life".

To start off characterization, we are going to start off with the simplest (but sometimes challenging) part of creating your heroes and heroines.

Note: I strongly suggest you have at least an inkling of your story's setting, a very basic plot line, and an idea of where you want your story to go, it is not necessarily necessary. I've created random characters in my head for no reason, and sometimes stories "create themselves" around these characters. But I strongly suggest you have at least a small idea of a story for your characters, so you know how old and how many main characters you want.


1. How old is your character?

This is a very important question. How old you make your character will greatly impact his personality, character traits, and your story's tone.

• If you are a young writer say, around 10-13, I'd stick with characters around your age. Teenagers are a lot different from tweens, and you might have a little trouble creating characters who are believable; but if you feel like you can handle it, on the other hand, go for it!
• Teenagers, age 14-18, it's most fun, in my opinion, to write about teenagers our age! Teen fiction is popular right now anyways, so go crazy! Teens can be both immature and mature, so there's a lot of age differences to take into account. You can have a 20-year-old who acts like he's 16 and it be believable. Same way, you can get away with a 15-year-old who is matured enough to act about 18.

2. What does he look like?

So, what does your character look like? What color are his eyes? How skinny or fat or muscular is he? There's a lot to take into account when fleshing out your character. To get started, here's some fill-in-the-blanks to get your creative juices flowing:

• Where is he from, and does this affect his looks? (i.e. if he is from africa, does he have dark skin? Full lips? Black eyes?)
• What color hair does he have?
• What color are his eyes?
• What shape are his eyes? Almond? Round? Slanted?
• What color is his skin?
• What face shape does he have? Pointed chin? High cheekbones? Square jaw?
• Does he have freckles? Birthmarks? A mole on his neck?
• Does he have bushy eyebrows, or long eyelashes? A 13-year-old's mustache?
• How tall is he?
• How much does he weigh?
• What is his body like? Is he all curves or jagged lines? Straight or stooped?

And while it's lots of fun to make characters who are perfect and handsome and beautiful, it's often better to create characters with at least some physical flaw. Sure, your character can be handsome, but maybe he has acne on his forehead. She can be beautiful, but maybe she has a head of real frizzy hair that she barely keeps under control. I mean, it's no fun if you make them totally perfect. ;)

3. What are some of his quirks?

Everyone has quirks. Wether it's biting your nails, chewing your hair, twitching your left index finger when you talk, or licking your nose when thinking, you probably have something, most likely a few things, that make you unique. So, what are some of your characters? Here are some good questions to consider:

• How does he talk? Does he have an accent? Does his voice pitch up when he's scared? Or maybe he's monotone?
• Does he have any bad habits, like staying up late, picking his nails, or scratching scabs off?
• Does he have any quirks, like eating too much, being a morning person, driving fast, or reading when he's nervous?

There are an endless amount of things to make your character special; observe the people around you to get some good ideas.

For some references and good ideas for character development, visit my Character Reference board on my Pinterest page, www.pinterest.com/anastasiacross/

Disclaimer:

OVER-CHARACTERIZING

While it's great to get to know your character before you start writing, don't get so wrapped up in him that you can't stop thinking about him. It's also good to discover some things about your character as you write; it's part of the development of your hero. And keep in mind that some things about your character will end up just not working out. Sometimes my characters rebel against their given personalities altogether, and that's fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with your storyline. Then, they just might need a little punishment. But beware of Character Limpage when forcing characters to do your will!

Keep in touch for Part II of the Characterization post series!