Fiction writers use various methods of characterization to bring characters to life in a reader’s mind. Direct methods describe a character’s traits, while indirect methods involve physical description, actions, and thoughts. Indirect methods are preferred, as they allow readers to draw their own conclusions about a character.
Many fiction writers believe that characters are the most important element in any novel or short story. Writers use many methods of characterization to bring those characters to life in a reader’s mind. The most direct method of characterization is for the writer to openly describe what a character is like. In more indirect characterization methods, the writer might give a physical description of a character, or show the character performing some action, good or bad, then it is left to the reader to decide what kind of person a character is based on those details. A writer may also use a point of view character’s thoughts to help give readers impressions of both the point of view character and other characters in the story.
Simply describing what a character is like is probably one of the simplest methods of characterization. For example, the writer might describe a character as “a quiet, shy girl who was usually too afraid to speak in public” or “an angry young man with a mile-wide splinter on his shoulder.” Most readers and critics find this method of characterization unsatisfying, and most writers believe it breaks one of the most cardinal rules of fiction writing: “Show, don’t tell.” Instead of describing characters so directly, writers are encouraged to reveal characters in other, more indirect ways.
There are many indirect methods of characterization. A writer might describe a character’s physical characteristics, the way the character dresses, or some action the character has taken. It is then left to the reader to draw their own conclusions about the character based on these facts. If you describe a character who wears bright, cheery clothes and has a perpetual smile on his face, the reader can infer that he is a generally happy and optimistic person. On the other hand, in describing the way a character kicks a neighbor’s garden gnome, the writer might be trying to insinuate that the character is an unhappy or unpleasant person who does not get along with other people.
Other indirect methods of characterization depend on the thoughts and feelings of the characters in a prose work. A writer can use a character’s point of view to give the reader an idea of what the character is like. For example, a character who is mentally excited about the date he had last night while at a funeral is probably shallow and self-absorbed. A writer may also use one character’s thoughts and feelings about another character to give the reader insight into the second character’s personality and demeanor.
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