Minahel asked Katherine Arden:

I was wondering how you go about creating and developing your characters, without being blunt or overly descriptive? I noticed in your novel that Vasya and even all the minor characters were fleshed out and felt authentic. This is something I struggle with a lot in my own writing so I'd love some tips!

Katherine Arden Just as real people are shaped by experiences, you must allow the circumstances of your novel to shape your characterization. If your characters' personalities are absolutely inextricably linked to the story in which they find themselves, then every action and reaction doesn't just drive the plot forward, it reinforces your readers' impressions of the character you are trying to portray.

Furthermore, how a character is treated by other characters is a hugely important means of characterization. The classic example is Shakespeare's play, King Lear, where Lear from the get-go behaves horribly, and the only reason you get a sense that there is more to him than what appears is that unquestionably good characters, like Edgar and Cordelia, love him passionately. Their regard invites the audience to look again.

Finally, an easy way to give a character depth is to give him or her contradictory impulses. This is true of heroes and villains. Maybe your hero is reckless in ways that put others at risk. Maybe your villain is deeply and painfully in love with your hero. Etc.

Descriptions do have a place, I am not of the school that says readers don't need to know what a character looks like. But it is a small place. Your plot, your relationships, and your characters' desires and fears are much more important.

NB: For heaven's sake, don't ever use an interior monologue in front of a mirror to casually describe your main character's every pore. It just makes the character seem self-absorbed. Especially if they're thinking things like, "people have told me my silver-green almond-shaped eyes are the most beautiful thing they've ever seen, but I really think I'm just a normal girl." Boo. Who thinks that, except a Kardashian? Don't go there.

Best of luck to you!

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