Think about it. How you describe your characters puts what they will look like into the reader’s frame of mind. Then, when the books are made into movies, people freak out because it’s exactly how they thought the characters would look.
In the last article, I discussed what makes the characters the way they are, heavily focusing on character backstory. Before that, I discussed the basic principles of creating characters. Here, I will delve into designing character traits.
How to Write a Book and Designing Character Traits
When learning to write a book, you must understand physical traits, personality traits, and skills or abilities. Creating characters with these defining traits will help you build the strongest protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters.
Physical Traits
What do your characters look like? It’s the first thing that your readers will learn about them. For whatever reason, some authors don’t like describing their characters. One author did not describe their main female character at all. Here is where there is an issue with that. What your characters look like is the first thing your readers will use to identify with them.
Giving them a trait, such as crooked smiles or freckles, is also important. When creating characters, you must consider something that distinguishes them from others. You cannot have everyone be a pretty brunette with pretty eyelashes or a strong man with a good build. There needs to be variety.
Personality Traits
What kind of personality traits do they have? In The Deathstalker, I establish that my main character, AJ Walker, is a mercenary but also has these little jovial moments where he eats his best friend’s snacks. In The Twisted Society, I have my main male character, Rob Tanner, who takes everything seriously and twists it (pun intended) into a joke. Even the darkest situations are funny to him. Every character has to have some personality traits that define them.
Skills and Abilities
What are these characters good at? This could be anything from their day job to a particular set of skills. Jon Drake has received training in nearly every form of martial arts. Meanwhile, Rob Tanner is a good money swindler, while Sabrina Santos, who is from the same story, is a genius hacker. Every character has to have skills so the reader can comprehend their purpose and why they are the way they are.
Conclusion
There is always a defining thing that sets your characters apart. Ultimately, the goal is to create the most substantial characters to resonate with your audience. Once your audience falls for your characters, they will demand more and want to see them in more books. It will also give you more creative freedom once an audience is invested.
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