#indirect characterization

indirect characterization ideas

because you can't just say a character has x personality trait if they're written in the exact same way as everyone else

-role call! do they say "here" or "present"? do they say "HIII!" with a big smile on their face? do they say nothing at all, and opt to just raise their hand? sarcastic remark? did they space out and not realize their name was being called until the third time it was repeated?

-signatures! how legible is their handwriting? is it cursive? first name-last name, or just first name? or just last name? or first name-last name initial? maybe first name initial-last name? the possibilities are endless. i love the subtlety of this one.

-adverbs! not adjectives, adverbs! is she smiling charmingly, or slyly? is he looking in confusion, or intrigue? does he clear his throat awkwardly, or assertively? if you describe how your character is carrying out an action, you're also describing the character without having to hand it to the reader directly!

-hand shake! who sticks their hand out first? maybe one is a little put off by the other’s formality? are their hands rough? soft? big? small? do they have a ring on their finger? bracelets on their wrist? is the shake firm or loose? do they make eye contact? if so, is it comfortable for both parties?

-looks! their clothes! their hair! slightly crooked nose from breaking it so many times? scars? bruises? eye bags? dramatic makeup? elaborate outfit or a t-shirt and basketball shorts? how tall and strong are they, and how does that impact them as a character? tattoos? do they push back their cuticles?

Use Description to Encourage Readers to Infer More Than They Realize. Sometimes, referring to the shadow of a thing is more powerful than expending the energy to describe the thing itself. Sometimes, articulating the function a thing serves will grant readers permission to conjure their own version of what the thing itself looks like. This means using more than the standard five senses in your writing. Can you describe what it's like for a character to lose her sense of balance? Can you describe what it's like for a character to have forgotten something important that his partner told him that morning? The writer, in each of these scenarios, articulates the value and weight of certain clues and puzzle pieces, over and above the value and weight of solving the whole enigma.

Additional Reading:

Direct Characterization: 6 Tips for Precise Description (Now Novel)

Indirect Characterization: Revealing Characters Subtly (Now Novel)

How Being Subtle Can Improve Your Descriptions (All Write - Fiction Advice)

How Fiction Writers Can Improve the Quality of Their Prose (Kristen Kiefer)

Time for my extremely nerdy English teacher side to come out.

Recently, I started doing a reread of The Prophecies Begin! It’s really been great, since, honestly, I haven’t picked up the first series books in at least about 8 years. My intention in doing this was mostly for some light entertainment...but finishing Darkness Within and feeling lackluster towards it had me really curious about what exactly is so...different about the original series considering the later series have, if anything, expanded on the lore and world-building.

I know this is something that probably gets talked about ALL THE TIME. But, hey, I don’t get to analyze literature much anymore post-college (other than on the teacher side of things) so fuck it. Let’s go. Time for the English teacher to analyze the shit outta some cat books.

The first thing I want to talk about here is characterization. Again, not a new topic in this fandom when it comes to our nostalgia for the original series, but I feel like some fans just aren’t able to put to words exactly why newer series background characters (and, even mains, at times) just feel so damn....stale.

I’m not going to talk down to everyone as if most of us haven’t taken high school level english, but, real quick, just in case these aren’t terms aren’t something you’ve heard in a while: Indirect Characterization is when the author SHOWS us a character’s personality through their dialogue and actions, and relies on reader inference. Direct Characterization is when we are TOLD a character’s personality directly. 

Most books have both, but TPB does a WAY better job of balancing what we are shown with what we are told. Great examples of secondary characters that we get to know largely through indirect characterization are Whitestorm and Longtail. Whitestorm is consistently written as being helpful and amicable, and Longtail is consistently written as a pain-in-the-ass-but-harmless-bastard. Dustpelt’s courtship with Fernpaw is written pretty indirectly as well, as well as Fernpaw’s discomfort around her mentor, Darkstripe. These small moments are what make Thunderclan in TPB feel like a lived in society, and not one that changes based on the main character’s (or the plots) needs.

And, of course, there are characters that we don’t really know much about at all. This is something Moonkitti mentioned in the latest WOW video; but a lot of personalities of gen 1 characters really were made up by headcannons from the fandom. Runningwind and Mousefur really don’t have character moments, Goldenflower, Frostfur, and Brindleface are largely the same cat along with all of the Elders being the same as well. Thornpaw/claw barely speaks, and, despite his memorable death, Swiftpaw really isn’t spoken of much at all.

Lionheart gets some great character moments though, and I feel like his sense of humor actually largely gets forgotten by the fandom. He’s actually not the stoic noble archetype when you go back and read Into the Wild. Dude has some serious goofy dad energy. I’ll get into fandom perceptions VS reality in another mini essay!

I FEEL YOU. All the action scenes are so well drawn ahh, and it’s practically already animated with all the colors! It deserves to be big! This webtoon is so beautifully done (i love reading it from the beginning to see the art improvement)

oh man, about a year ago I went back and reread the first couple of chapters and I still enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it, if not more.  SIU's improved so much since then but he's always been really good at drawing the movement of characters and using color to bring his webcomic to life.  Those detailed backgrounds aaaaaaah.

Unfortunately, due to the problem that has been affecting me of late, I cannot focus. That, and I have no freaking idea what Indirect Characterization is. I mean, I know what it is, I just can't find examples in it. 

So, school starts in less than a week. And I still don't have my English project done. 

..which means students will be missing class allllll the live long day because their clubs meet during class. My response: find something for students to do that is either a.) easy to make up or b.) won’t be required to make up, but c.) is still a productive use of their time.

This, IMHO, is a difficult task.

I’m having a finish paragraph/make-up day for the regular classes, but the honors students aren’t missing enough work to even pretend that’s justifiable. I don’t ever want to give the idea that English is an easy/throwaway/softie class, so a random Study Hall is out (not that that would be a bad thing; it’s just not for me).