The Three-Tip Shortcut to Unleashing Character Personality

Last month, participant Melissa Rose told us about four ways to create stand-out character names. Today, she shares with us her three-step writing hack for unleashing the personalities of your characters on the page:

If you’re anything like me, you’re excited about NaNoWriMo, which is now only a week away! While it’s sometimes easy to get lost in the sheer joy of creating new scenes, plots and characters, it can also be a challenge to draft engaging, multifaceted characters when you’re focused on your word count. 

As November rolls around, you’ll begin to see that the amount of effort you put into understanding your character’s personality determines how well your story will unfold. Your character’s personality is like a budding flower: the more you nurture it, the more it will blossom! So how do we create realistic and believable characters that jumpstart our story plots?

1. Interview your characters.

There are several useful interview templates online for character personality development. Make your characters pull up a chair and don’t be afraid to ask them the tough questions. Delve into their strengths and weaknesses. Are they idealists? Protectors? Inspirers? Find out what motivates them, what their fears are, and what habits they can’t seem to shake-–like the curl-twirling daydreamer, or the nervous nail-biter.

2. Draft trial scenarios.

I can’t be the only one who loves putting my characters in crazy, disturbing, and downright dreadful settings, just to see how they’ll work their way out. You should try it too! Step away from your story plot for a bit and try some experimental scenes. See what happens. Do they remain true to themselves? Have you suddenly realized that your fearless space commander also has a compassionate side? It’s okay to do some personality tweaking.

3. Make your characters memorable.

Keep in mind that you’re the mastermind behind your novel, and now is your moment to shine as the author! It will be so much easier to create mind-bending twists or an epic finale if your readers are invested in your characters from the start. Try to make your characters relatable, yet unique. From the flawed hero to the culturally diverse heroine, don’t be afraid to dig deep. The more your readers can identify, commiserate with, or relate to your characters, the more memorable they’ll be.

Bonus Preparation Tip:

If you haven’t been an effective pantser in the past, then proper planning before November 1st could be vital for your NaNoWriMo success. Despite your favored creative approach, there is still preparation involved in writing, whether you’re the careful planner or you mentally catalogue your ideas. Using this three-tip shortcut to develop character personality will cut down on redrafting time and will thrust your plot forward, helping you to reach a very satisfying story conclusion in a short span of time–November’s 30 days, to be exact!

Melissa L. Rose is a YA Fiction writer born in Maryland, USA. She is an active member of the SCBWI writers’ organization and the Inked Voices critique group. When she is not writing, she can be found counseling troubled youth, spending hours reading in bookstores, and taking care of her free-spirited pup. She has always been passionate about writing for the young and the young at heart. You can connect with Melissa on Twitter @MelissaRWrites.

Photo by flickr user Lunatics TV.