Do you like to see images of main characters, or do you
prefer to let your imagination create the picture? I have ideas but love to see
pictures. I collect them from various places to use for references, such as for
Claire and Riley, the characters in Cold
Comfort, for Madeleine in Prime
Target, and for the others. I keep interesting faces to use in minor roles.
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| Claire, Cold Comfort |
But mostly I want the description to let the reader see the
person. There are many ways to show characterization. I try to keep
descriptions visual whenever possible, but that doesn’t mean I give a driver’s
license description.
Show rather than tell. Physical attributes are more than
hair and eye color. You might show how the person walks—does he walk, swagger,
amble, sidle, or slither into the room? Does he look directly at you when he
talks or does his gaze slide away?
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| Riley, Cold Comfort |
Show, don't tell. How the character looks can be shown
through the effect on others. Instead of She was breathtakingly beautiful, you
might say Joe and every other man present forgot to breathe when Angela entered
the room. Instead of George was big and mean-looking, try something like
Walking with George was like walking with a Doberman—one look and people made
way in a hurry.
Clothing can show a great deal. Is the character neat and
clean but wearing an obviously homemade dress? Does Dan have snagged threads
and salsa stains on his Dior tie? And there's always the church organist with
the red lace underwear. List all the physical characteristics on a separate
page so you don't forget that on page twenty she had green eyes and on page two
hundred you make them match the topaz necklace she's wearing. If she's only an
inch shorter than another character, she'd better not be looking up at him
unless she's sitting down. I often use pictures I cut from magazines or
wherever and tape them to the wall by my desk.
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| A marvelous sleezy character |
Mannerisms are good ways to make a character memorable, but
use the mannerism sparingly. Don’t limit your character to a single action so
that you repeat the same thing over and over.
Instead of having her twist a strand of hair around her finger until the
reader wants to cut it off (either the finger or the hair—watch those
pronouns), find ways to vary a nervous habit. Make a list of applicable verbs
if she plays with her hair: chew, finger, pull, stroke, tuck, whatever. Or
maybe she fiddled with her clothing, adjusted her glasses, pushed her hair
back, picked at her nails.
You can also use physical surroundings, the character’s
past, and his or her name to enhance the character’s personality. Someone told
me that Margaret Mitchell started out calling her heroine Pansy. Thank goodness
she changed her to Scarlett. How about Eudora Welty’s Stella Rondo? The name
rolls off the tongue and stays with you. Faulkner’s Colonel Sartoris Snopes. It
suits the character. A bitter prostitute named Tanya sounds more in character
than one named Mary Jane. Give your character names a lot of thought and try to
let them convey a sense of the person.
What are names you love? Hate? How do you name your own
characters?
