How to Write Rich Characterization: A Cheat-Sheet

By Bonnie Randall

Part of The How They Do It Series 

JH: Wonderfully rich characters typically leads to a wonderfully rich novel. Bonnie Randall shares tips on how to reveal the depth and richness of your characters. 

A character is infinitely more than just who the author says they are. Like their living, breathing counterparts, fictional characters often reveal themselves in incidental ways. 
Here are five quick ways to help readers make powerful inferences about your characters:

1. Weave In Subtle Tells
My mom used to say you could see everything you needed to know about a man just by looking at his shoes, a crazy philosophy that actually holds water. Preferences and choices reveal much about who we are, where we come from, what we value…and what we don’t. Our clothes, music, art, vehicles, etc, are often as revealing as our actions and words. Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com