Creating Character

Creating a well-rounded, versatile character is a challenging task. While people-watching, I noticed that jotting down words that could describe the subjects was a much more difficult task than I had anticipated. I recalled the factors that tied character together: Physical description, what people say about the person, what the person says, and the actions of the person. In order to better understand these steps, I took into account how I measure a person the first time I meet them. First of all, and this is the most obvious, I notice their physical characteristics. The way they dress can tell me a lot about how they look at themselves or desire other people to treat them. For example, a sloppy person doesn't care about appearance and possibly many other things, but a well-dressed person may want to be treated well and given special attention. Secondly, I may have heard certain comments about the person before. Whether they were positive or negative, I will have a better discernment about who this person is. The way others interact with them can give me insight into the social history of this person... whether or not he/she is rude, polit, respectful, endearing, etc. Thirdly, what this person says and does. What a person talks about is directly tied to their heart, motives, and actions. This reminds me of the Bible verse in Proverbs that states, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." After observing all these things, one can really pin-point the general character of a person. This is, of course, to an extent.

Finally, when I pondered on how to create my own character, I realized I needed to do the following: Make my character come alive to the reader, till they know him so well that they can predict his next move. How? Because they know his personality, values, traits, etc. When I can achieve this, I have created a well-rounded character. At the same time, however, I don't want to make such a predictable and obvious chacarcter. I have to keep the reader guessing, but not too the extent that my character is more plot based. His character should direct the story line.