Personality and Quirks

Now that we have the character basics down, it is time to delve deeper into his or her personality.

    *What is he or she like?

o   Is your character kind, athletic, lazy, short-tempered, or clumsy?

   *What does your character like to do in his or her spare time?

o   Reading, drawing, dancing, martial arts, etc.

    *What does your character hate?

o   Broccoli, swimming, birds, etc.

    *What is he or she afraid of?

o   Heights, water (drowning), spiders, and other such nasties

    *What makes your character angry?

o   Does he or she get angry when someone does something racist or ethnocentric, or does it bother him or her when people say things without taking the time to make sure that their facts are straight?

    *Does your character have any specific personality quirk?

o   What makes your character unique? For example, I was having a conversation with a teacher and one of my friends last year after visiting the Youth Empowerment Summit and listening to author Jennifer Brown speak. We thought that it would be interesting to develop a character that was obsessed with words- but was only able to use words that he had found or taken from newspapers, billboards, and other things. It doesn’t have to be anything that difficult, but it should be something that can make your character stand out from the crowd. After all, if all of your characters are very similar, then the story is boring. Remember, each character that you create should have his or her own specific quirk.

By using these questions (and expanding upon them, of course) you can develop a more life-like character. Try to think of other aspects of your character’s personality that you find important. It is best to write it down before you begin your story, because then you can always go back and look at it if you need to decide how he or she would behave in a specific situation. It is very poor writing etiquette when it comes to a story if your character has many contradictory behavior patterns, and it detracts from the story line and everything you are trying to accomplish. This exercise also makes you think about exactly what you want your character to be like before you write; and remember, these are not necessarily set in stone. If you want to add something later or revise it because the personality does not make for a good story line, you are allowed- just be prepared to change the story’s events to accommodate for the changes in the character!