#creating characters

1. through action, context, and interacting with the world

example: “she ducked through the doorway she’d hit her head on twice already this month.”

tells the reader shes tall without explicitly stating it

example 2: he pushed his glasses up for the third time during the meeting.

the reader immediately knows he wears glasses

process/steps:

1. choose what you want to show (tall)

2. ask yourself how are tall people different, what do they go through, how do they experience the world differently from short people? (might hit their head on things)

3. how can you show it through action? (them ducking through a doorway to avoid hitting their head)

2. select what matters

dont describe every single thing about your character. choose key fratures that reveal something deeper about them

bad: she had dark, straight hair. (this is forgettable and unimportant)

better: she never cut her dark hair. it was the one thing protecting her from the world. she could pull a curtain of it over her face whenever she wanted to disappear.

what to do:

1. choose a trait you want to show (long, dark hair)

2. choose a deeper part that you could reveal through showing that trait (shy, escapinst, sentimental)

3. pov filter

describe appearance through the eyes of whoever is perceiving. this can be a tool to reveal relationship dynamics, or if your character is describing themselves, it can be a way to show how they feel about themselves. (admiration, fear, resentment)

bad: my son was loud.

a mother wouldn't describe her son the way a stranger would. take into consideration their dynamic, her feelings, and the situation.

better: i could hear my sons laughter from the kitchen, making him chocolate pudding. his favourite meal.

reveals the mothers love towards her son

process/steps

1. choose what you want to reveal (mothers love towards her son)

2. consider the situation (son is outside playing, being loud. mother is inside)

3. fit the situation to the feeling (the mother is making her son his favourite meal while listening to his laugher)

if your character is describing a stranger and there is no relationship dynamic to reveal, take into consideration what your character would notice and point out. if they are very neat and judgemental, they might point out the stains and messy hairstyle of someone passing by, they might notice their bad posture—this reveals a lot about your character to the reader and even though it doesnt describe your characters appearance, it gives an idea to who they are and what they might look like based on that (your reader might assume that they have a good posture, neat hair and clean clothes since theyre judging a random person for not having those things) this can also be a good way to show your reader that your protagonist is a hypocrite (make sure they have stains on their shirt while judging a random person for it)

4. space out the physical description throughout the first part of the story instead of listing it all at once

dont just describe your character in specific detail one time and never revisit their appearance/traits again. use context to reveal little pieces every once in a while. the most important physical traits can be in the first quarter of your book. let the reader find out little details and piece together the character throughout the book. you don't always have to give a description for a character to be described. characters are created from their actions, the way others treat them, talk to them, the things they notice and do, etc.

examples:

chapter 1-the group photo pointed out the same sharp jaw and tired eyes shed spent years trying to ignore.

chapter 2-she had her mothers copper-colored hair and her fathers impossible height

5. use other characters and dialogue

your protaganists best friend might point out something about their appearance (a change they notice, something they like about your main character, something your protaganist is not even consciously aware of)

examples:

“you seemed happier when you were still living with your mom”

“dont be silly. of course he wants to go out with you. he likes blondes.”

“i know you’re lying. your nose is doing that weird thing again.”

(these are not necessarily good examples to add straight into a book. theyre just for making my point clear)

"they just need love/time/comprehension",

"they make mistakes, so what? They're just humans",

"my precious child, they've been through a lot, they deserve rest"

"I feel happy just seeing them happy"

...

Me:

One of the most challenging writing tasks is coming up with the perfect names for your characters. Sure, you could be lazy and use a character name generator, or you could create character names that will give your story greater depth and meaning. It’s simple with these eight tips.

marina has little things she does when she's nervous/overthinking; she also tries to make sure that everyone is okay even when she's lowkey dying inside. she's smart where it counts and loves to read. she also hates synthetic sherpa which is the bane of my existence and makes me ill thinking about it. she also loves to bake for people, and i can't pretend that i don't like to do that too. i legit bake for people all the time.

georgina is absolutely a wreck when she messed something up and does whatever she can to try and fix it.

rosalind has a tendency to wish for more. wish for something beyond what she sees, even if she's incapable of *trying* to do anything that would help her find that goal. sometimes, she runs away from her problems, too, instead of trying to solve them head on. she'd much rather be safe and sound than out and about without a care in the world. homebody until she can't be, really (and it'll make sense in her story--promise).

edmund can be an asshole. not that he means to be. sometimes he's just overstimulated and thinking too much. he has quite a few regrets twisting his insides at any given moment, and has a few bad habits that he wishes he could shake. time has never been on his side but he's alive. that's what matters most, yeah?

zaya loves to do things for other people. she cares a lot, and she has a huge heart that extends beyond her fingertips. she also is exactly what i wished i could have been in middle school (looking the part of a pretty cool alternative person, with piercings, tattoos, etc., which she has spent ages curating).