Building Character

IMHO...character building is shown is snippets. The reader learns about character traits as the book progresses. I don't need to know the MC is allergic to peanuts in the first chapter unless it is integral to the scene...

Character sheets work to a point, but I like being flexible so that the character traits not only fit the character, but the scene in which it is revealed. Sometimes I know a character trait but forget to reveal it and my beta readers will question me on something that does not make sense and I will palm slap forehead...doeeeee.

Some writers sit down and write out an interview for their characters, asking them basic as well as specific questions. The idea is to allow the characters to answer in their own words. If you have to think about the answer, then you the writer are intruding on the character... IMHO...

Talk to the character. Throw him into situations and see what he does. Once I have a character in mind, I start writing little scenes with him: send him out on a blind date, how does he react? Put him in an impending car wreck, what does he do? Put him into an argument, what does he say?

They don't end up as actual scenes, and they almost never land in the story itself. Often, I just daydream the dialogue as I'm driving (I do my best thinking in the car). But eventually, the character will start to emerge for me; he'll develop a voice and a personality.

Maybe a mod could move this to a forum like Basic Writing Questions? Though you're getting some good answers here, too.

Anyhow, CGs on your persistence and openness to learning! Studying actors, how they convey emotion and attitude through their speech and facial expressions and movements, is indeed useful. But don't forget to study books, too. Take some favorites, with characters you admire. Read slowly, carefully, taking notes on how the writer brought the character in question to life. A dozen books dissected in this manner, and you'll have gotten a semester's worth of writing education for the price of your time and attention.

There are a range of techniques for building character, so I'll list mine.

Blah blah blah about how they won't work for all people, etc try them all, ditch them all, up to you.

1. Read psychology books.
I like hitting up the case studies particularly because they really go into why that singular person thinks like they do and the logic behind their actions, particularly when illogical.

2. People watch.
My favorite spots are malls and then public transportation. You will see and hear some of the funniest stuff ever. Some of the things I've learned through public transportation has a story in of itself. If you have a notebook, slyly taking notes of how you would describe this person, guessing how they think, what job they have, assessing their shoes often helps build the little details later.

3. Take classes/focusing on a social science.
Psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, those types of classes are really great of delving into how humans work and ultimately since we deal with mostly humans it will help with understanding human action and then of course how to diverge from that.

4. Watch lots of history channel and biographies (also read them)
Memoirs, journal, history channel and biographies are particularly good for picking up patterns of human behavior. Since they are singular accounts you can see the individual logic of the person involved.

5. Play the characterization game.
If you meet someone new (though you shouldn't share this with them). Take a best guess of who they are from your first impressions of them. If you remember well, then you can compare that to how they change in your impression of them over time. The better you are at nailing first impressions, the better you probably will become with building details of your character.

After you get all that input, then your characters will start talking to you. Not stop. You'll be somewhere in public, thinking about something and *bam* your character in your head will say a funny line, you'll laugh and people will stare at you. That's when you know you have it--when everyone thinks you're schizophrenic. (And I researched so I know that schizophrenics are often writers... so no, it's not un-PC and it's not an insult.)

Diamons said:

What do you mean "think of the answer"? I find myself imagining what the character is like and what the obvious response from him/her would be. I'm at the point where his/her responses match the attitude I have in mind for that particular character, not a free expression of words by the character itself.

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If you interview your character with a list of questions like...

1...What is your favorite sexual position?
2...Ginger or Mary Ann?
3...Briefs or Boxers?
4...Favorite food when you need a cheering up?
5...Favorite beverage, non-alcoholic?

Etc, etc, etc,

And then if you have to stop and think...

1...Favorite sexual position? Lets see, I like doggy style, so yes, my character likes doggy style. NO...you just told your character what they like, even if it is doggy style. Let them tell you...don't think about it.

2...Ginger or Mary Ann? Ginger was a bimbo, so I am going with Mary Ann. IF that is your character replying, OK, but if that is answered because of how you feel, then again, your thinking too much in place of the character.

This is what I mean by interviewing and letting your character run wild. They might even ramble on about other things that will show you their thought process and reveal something you did not think of...

I would also not chose interview questions that you already know the answers to...

Me, something I do play the who is this person game...

At airports, malls, etc, I pick someone who has attracted by attention. It could be the way they dress, their voice, their stance, or any number of things and I play a game of who are they... I make up a whole little profile of their life...wife running away from abusive husband, child looking for its parents who have left it alone, a young mother waiting for her husband to return from the war, etc etc. I go into details about what their life was like. Its silly, but the visual images they gave me and the little bit of mannerisms I catch help when I am fleshing out a character in my writing...

Hope this helps, but really, do whatever works for you.

How about putting said character in an impossible situation?

I like the hang them on a cliff with no one around, giving into my sadism.

Trapping them in a box, testing them out of various situations to see how they handle danger, etc.

I also use snow flake and the bubble system to distinguish characters. Draw a bubble describing a trait of a character and how it manifests draw a line and then another bubble. You pretty much soon get a network of bubbles. A lot of people use this for plotting, but I use it for characterization too.

These last two I can definitely demonstrate with a new character made up for this purpose. I mostly use these for last ditch efforts, though.

Diamons said:

. I feel one thing that has worked is imagining the scene in my head of the people I want and letting the dialogue naturally flow without editing it.

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Since that's working for you, that's a good direction to head in.

Honestly, it probably doesn't matter what your characters look like or their favorite anythings are at this point. Personally, they seem to come pre-formed in my head with their own specific appearance. That's not important though.

What is important are the following:

What do they want? What is the one thing in the world they would do anything to get/accomplish/destroy/etc.?

What would they never in a million years compromise? Maybe a character would never kill someone to reach their goal. Maybe they'd never put a child in danger. Maybe they'd never mix colors and whites in the wash.

You can learn a ton about a character by their answers to questions such as these. The details are incidental. You can observe them in the scenes and deduce what their favorite things are if they're important to you. You can figure out their appearance later. Or you can just ask them and get their answers. Sometimes they don't tell the truth. I had to rewrite the beginning to my story because the main character was embarrassed about what really happened and gave me a buttered up version. Ugh.

I should note that appearance is sometimes important. The fact that Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom's cabin was black was an extremely important plot point, so there are exceptions. If you feel their appearance is important, you need to find out why.

Diamons said:

What do you mean "think of the answer"? I find myself imagining what the character is like and what the obvious response from him/her would be. I'm at the point where his/her responses match the attitude I have in mind for that particular character, not a free expression of words by the character itself.

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I'm not sure if this happens with all writers, but most of the writers I'm close to "listen" to their characters talk. Such a thing doesn't come as naturally for me (since I'm a bit of a control freak!) but I find that scenes evolve more naturally when I let characters do or say what they want, regardless of whether it serves the plot that I had already carefully laid out. I guess it's just more of an intuitive process than what you're describing, though the "letting the dialogue flow naturally without editing it" that you mentioned in your original post comes pretty close to that idea.

The fact is, a well-drawn-out, three-dimensional character might have aspects of themselves that can surprise you, that can come out of nowhere no matter how many survey questions you answer for them, or how many personality traits you list. Just as real people have, well--a lot of depth.

Some of my writing friends and I chat online as our story characters, imagining a neutral nexus world where they can all meet regardless of the story's settings. I find that role-playing in real time as a character can be helpful in terms of getting to know them, because it forces them into situations that aren't entirely in my control, and their reactions need to be spontaneous. Also, sometimes I keep my characters "awake" as I'm going about my day, whether or not I'm actually trying to write out a scene in my head. It's trying to see my world through their eyes even as I'm seeing it through my own. It's the same idea as method acting, really--or what I understand of method acting ^.^;