A Writer's Dozen - Archive

12 Ways to Add Depth to Your Characters
List compiled by Jude First posted April 2005
The best way that I know to add depth to the characters you’ve created for your story is by asking questions. The character chart I’ve devised over the years is constantly changing as I add new questions. Rarely do I delete any. Some I spend a lot of time wrestling with, and some really are just one word answers. When I teach, I usually spend a fair amount of time going over the chart showing students why I ask these questions. It’s great to watch lights go on as they apply the questions to themselves as well to as a potential character. Then they really seem to “get it”. In that vein, I’ve pulled together twelve questions that I feel are worthwhile answering for each character you create. Hopefully you’ll agree. I’ve given examples after the question so you can see how my mind works as I struggle to make my characters real. Favorite color Pink. She’d always wanted to be daddy’s girl. Never made it. Still trying. Still wears pink whenever she visits him in the home, praying that he will at some point see her as feminine. Item to be saved from a fire (other than a living thing, person, pet, etc.) Family photos. Lost mother when young. Father abandoned family shortly after. Feels incredibly alone, even though she has several close friends and one flakey aunt. Favorite movie Suffice to say that a character who enjoys Pulp Fiction is far different from one who gets a charge out of Last of the Mohicans. Me, I enjoy a good fantasy or comedy. If I want to be brought down, I’ll watch the news or read the newspaper. Cheer me up or make me laugh. I try not to take life too seriously, and that reflects in my choice of movies. Most treasured possession Father’s badge. Given to him after father killed in an ambush. Became a police officer in his honor. Strong sense of right and wrong, so much so that he sometimes appears stubborn and unbending. Favorite Saturday night (winter) Ice skating outside. Loves the feel of the brisk cold air on his skin. After the accident that robbed him of a career in professional hockey, this kept him sane. Needs the sense of freedom skating provides. Coaches peewee hockey. Childhood nickname “Little Porker.” Enough said. How does character spend the week before the book starts? Volunteering at old folks’ home. Cooking lessons. Daily visits to friend’s apartment to check on cat. Working second job at pizza parlor. Pet Tabby cat, eight years old. Saved from abandoned barn. Half-starved, he nursed it back to health. Reminds him of himself, and how he was abandoned by his mother and taken in by his grandmother. Favorite food Pizza. Deluxe with extra cheese. Which she never eats because she was a fat child. Careful to the point of obsessive about what she eats. Will never be teased/taunted again because of her appearance. One word friends would use to describe character Crusty. Loving. Uptight. Honorable. Favorite drink None. Daughter of alcoholic father. Who/what most influenced life Neighbor when growing up. Blind old man with one leg who insisted that a person should live his dream before it’s too late.
May 2005