Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer
From the simplest clues, a character can take shape.
Maybe you first reference the character as the boy or the tall girl. Even with those simple words, you've given that character life.
Before that, there wasn't a boy or a tall girl.
But there are a number of things you should avoid when writing your characters.
1. Don't over-dump physical details.
An example of this might be: Raul was tall and thin with green eyes and dark brown hair, and a swimmer's body.
While you won't be able to get that all in within one scene, to convey his height, you might write:
-Raul got the paper airplane down when the other boys couldn't reach the shelf. "Good thing you're tall," said Shawn.
To convey his hair color:
-From the back, Mrs. Stenzer couldn't tell which boy was Raul. They all had dark brown hair and were medium height.
To convey his body type:
-Raul was the only new kid on the swim team to already have a swimmer's body.
If you need or want to let the reader know the character's physical characteristics in your story, simply work that information in without dumping it.
2. Avoid being too vague.
While you don't need to convey every detail of a character, you can give enough to give the reader an idea of the character's physical attributes. The reader can then fill in the details.
Two examples of this might be:
-His neat cut in the back and sides contrasted with the long hair in front that fell below his brows.
-He stretched his swimmer's body and then raced into the ocean.
3. Include the character's environment.
A character may live in a low-income building, possibly a Section 8 apartment. Another may live in the back woods of the Appalachian Mountains. All this will give insight into the character.
Or the character lives in a penthouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Or, possibly, a character lives in Saipan.
The character's environment can include his past environment also.
A book I'm ghostwriting now has one of the characters going from a rich lifestyle to a poor one. This could tell a lot about why the character may behave in a certain way or why she's depressed.
Another scenario may be that the protagonist has been on a swimming team since he was seven. This will tell a lot about this teen's character. It takes discipline and drive to be a competitive swimmer. It will also have a large factor in his physical appearance.
4. Include the character's close relationships or past relationships.
How your character engages with the different people in his family, friends, and new people will show different facets of his character.
The friends he hangs around with will also show his tendencies and character. The expression 'birds of a feather flock together' can play a factor in the character's personality.
5. Include appearance, clothes, and even sundry items.
How you describe your character's appearance can tell a lot about that character.
-Are his clothes neat and ironed, with his shirt tucked inside his pants?
-Is he unkempt? Are his clothes wrinkled, with his shirt partially tucked in or not tucked in?
-What about her hair. Is it a mess? Does it look dirty? Or is it well-groomed?
-What about his hair? Is it short? Is it long? Is it well-kept?
-What does she keep in her backpack?
-Does she always chew gum?
-Does he always use breath mints?
-Does she always have a candy bar on her?
-What about a comb?
The list can go on and on. And each little item gives another clue as to the character's character.
These are just five tips on how to use description to enhance your readers' view of your characters. There are others, but this should give you a good foundation for creating engaging characters.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, ghostwriter, rewriter, and children’s writing coach with clients worldwide. If you need help with your children’s story, please visit Karen Cioffi Writing for Children.
Karen also offers HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK.
A 250+ book that will help you start or finish your children’s book
And for those children’s authors who are self-publishing, Karen provides WRITERS ON THE MOVE SELF-PUBLISHING SERVICE.
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MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.
