In a post on Writers Write, Elaine Dodge examines how even small details can help make your characters feel more real and well-rounded.
These details can be found in your characters’ backstories. Their experiences or actions taken against them continue to inform who they are and how they act in the present. Dodge offers a few tips for finding the right details to reveal character:
- What opinions do other characters have about this person and how does this make them feel?
- How does their physical beauty – or lack of it – affect how they interact with people and move through the world.
- What special knowledge or skill does your character possess?
- Does your character have a sense of humor? Is it bawdy, dry, or cruel? Do they lack a sense of humor? Can they laugh at themselves or only others?
- How does your character show bravery? Everyday, people do things they don’t want to, or take on challenges that scare them. How does your character react?
- What is your protagonist’s social status and how does this affect their actions, choices, and world view?
