Creating personalities.

[Writer’s_Magic]

At the moment I’m planning the protagonist of my novel. And I got a little problem with creating the personality. Either I got no idea or it’s too cheesy! How can I solve this problem? Do you know any technique for creating personalities?

 

[Taniwha]

At the moment I’m planning the protagonist of my novel. And I got a little problem with creating the personality. Either I got no idea or it’s too cheesy! How can I solve this problem? Do you know any technique for creating personalities?

I don't seem to have a problem with coming up with characters but I read about a writer who uses the Major Arcana of a Tarot Deck as a prompter for ideas. So if you don't know what each signifies - just google them and you'll see each one is a 'type' of personality / characteristic. I read Tarot so I'm familiar with them but using the Tarot this way is not 'reading' the cards as such but simply using the symbolism meanings. For example - the first googled meaning of the Heirophant that came up was: 'Hierophant stands for tradition and convention. It can represent marriage in an arranged setup. It can also mean a teacher or counsellor who will help in learning / education of the querent.' So, I'd be thinking your protagonist COULD be a person who exists in some traditional form of authority/ teaching like a govt official or head of a church etc etc etc

 

[Miles Lacey]

At the moment I’m planning the protagonist of my novel. And I got a little problem with creating the personality. Either I got no idea or it’s too cheesy! How can I solve this problem? Do you know any technique for creating personalities?

Personalities are shaped to a large extent by physical looks, wardrobe, social status, the society in which they live, the physical world around them, upbringing and life experiences (in both private and professional areas).

Thus, if you want to create a personality for your character think about these things instead of relying on pseudo-scientific claptrap like personality tests and personality types.

A short fat girl living in a middle class neighbourhood who attends an average high school where she is constantly bombarded with the constant messages that she's fat so she must also be stupid and lazy on the one hand but that we are all beautiful on the inside on the other is not going to have the same personality as a blue-eyed blonde with all the curves in the right places who lives in the same street and attends the same high school.

In short, create the world that the protagonist is going to be living, working and fighting in and the sort of people s/he is likely to be interacting with then many if not most of their personality traits are likely to reveal themselves to you.

At least that's what I have found.

 

[Orc Knight]

I'm of the school of starting with one or two basic traits of a character and letting it grow off as they interact. To use an example, Adriel, my MC for Eld. Started with 'drunken, hates war' and grew off of that. It has long since grown into a soldier with PTSD who deals with it by drinking and distaste for war and killing in general leads her to try not to solve all her problems with sword and bow. Or the problems that she has to deal with in the rest of the world. That's still not getting into her all the way but it's the base of her personality as a whole.

 

[Writer’s_Magic]

Miles Lacey That’s clear! A rich, spoiled boy wouldn’t like a stinky pigpen like a farmer boy. But my book is set in a futuristic Boston. (And the character is traveling through the 9 worlds during the book.) Well, how can I create her personality in this instance?

 

[CupofJoe]

Miles Lacey That’s clear! A rich, spoiled boy wouldn’t like a stinky pigpen like a farmer boy. But my book is set in a futuristic Boston. (And the character is traveling through the 9 worlds during the book.) Well, how can I create her personality in this instance?

What does she do in your Boston?
What does her home look like?
What are her favourite dance clubs? Or does she hate them?
Where does she like to eat?
What does she do to chill?
Does she go and see the Red Sox? Every Game? Never? Only if someone else buys the ticket?
How does she dress?
How does her best friend dress?
Who is her best friend?
Where did they meet?

 

[Writer’s_Magic]

CupofJoe Do you have more like these?

 

[Heliotrope]

Don't. I don't 'create' personalities. I, personally, feel using Tarot or Meyers Briggs or any of that stuff creates stock, stereotypical characters with little personality or uniqueness. Instead, I just start writing, allowing myself the freedom to let them act in ways and say things that feel 'natural' to them. Sometimes it takes an entire first draft before their personalities start to reveal themselves... but that is the nice thing about writing! You can always go back and edit or rewrite stuff later, after you understand who these people are and what their story is. Don't be desperate to know them before you start. Just start. They will reveal themselves to you as you go, the same way a new friend might be closed and stand offish at first, but open up after weeks of friendship. You have to throw them into situations and see how they act... only then will you know who they are. You can't 'create' a personality, IMO.

 

[Writer’s_Magic]

Heliotrope Yet I’ve everything, except the personality. I got the name (Georgina Carter); age (25); Birthplace (Boston); Nationality (American); her appearance; etc. But I suck at the personality. How can I make it by these information?

 

[Devor]

Forgive me if I ramble a little here. Maybe something will be useful.

I want to take two examples of excellent character development: Harry Potter, and A Song of Ice and Fire. In my opinion, these stories take two very different tacks on character development.

Harry Potter feels like each character has a little blurb of a profile written for them that all end with the same line: "But once you get to know them, they're pretty normal." (well, except for the death eaters)

A Song of Ice and Fire makes me feel like each character has an extensive multi-page personality profile written up to explain exactly how they behave and why in just about every circumstance.

Both of them do a phenomenal job.

In my opinion, not knowing your characters well enough is just about the biggest problem writers face. An archetype might be better than a character who isn't well enough or consistently developed, or to help you brainstorm ideas (mother, plus hermit? Huh, how could that work...) but of course a more unique and defined character would be better. But there's no right way to figure it out.

This is something I came up with for characters in-story to use because the story has judges who analyze people and reassess their appropriate role in society. Maybe it can help here.

First, when faced with a challenge, what order do they usually do the following: Think. Speak. Do.

Next, how does the character respond to stress? Fight. Flight. Friend. (Freeze and Flop, too, I guess.)

Finally, people need two motivations: One that's internal, and one that's external.

When you put those things together, and then combine it with whatever role you have for this character in a story, that's like 3/4ths of their personality.

I don't do that, though. Nor do I use Tarot or Myers Briggs, nor do I just start and figure it out as I go. For me, I try to start with the choices my characters need to make in the story, and have made in their pasts, and from there I think, what kind of person makes those choices? How does a person like that think? What kind of emotional journey takes them there? But usually I have plot events before I have a character, and people struggle with plotting just as much.

There's no easy answer.

 

[Heliotrope]

Heliotrope Yet I’ve everything, except the personality. I got the name (Georgina Carter); age (25); Birthplace (Boston); Nationality (American); her appearance; etc. But I suck at the personality. How can I make it by these information?

Do you have a first chapter?

 

[Writer’s_Magic]

Heliotrope No. Not yet. I also plan the villains by the Mythology.

 

[Heliotrope]

I don't worry about any of it until I start writing. Let's pretend I'm writing a first Chapter rough draft... I just allow whatever comes to mind to end up on the page. After I have written a few chapters I will start to see a personality develop.

Georgina Carter flicked her left turn signal and glanced into the rear view mirror. Shit. The dark blue Mustang behind her did exactly as she expected and followed her off of Broadway onto Young. This was the fourth turn she had made where they had made the exact turn. She took a sip of her latte. Cold. She forced herself to swallow. No sense wasting it. She scanned the traffic ahead of her, all waiting on another red light. It would be stupid to try to wedge through it. Her little red mini might make the gap between the semi and the taxi, but it would draw attention, and the last thing she wanted was to draw attention. To her right was an entrance to an underground parking unit. Risky, to be sure, especially if there was no exit, but there was always an exit. Wasn't there? Usually? She couldn't be sure, but at least it was less conspicuous than darting through traffic and running a red. Without signalling she slowed, and swerved into the dark complex....

Ok, so you see how her personality develops through the draft? I didn't spend a ton of time brainstorming anything, but as I wrote a personality started to emerge. Georgina is the type of girl who drinks cold coffee because she hates to waste things, and she doesn't like drawing attention to herself. She would rather take private risks than public ones. She is not the type to just bust through traffic. She is more quiet than that. She does things privately.

As I work through more and more of a draft her personality will become more clear to me. Why she makes certain choices, etc... but I can't brainstorm this stuff. It has to be written. It doesn't come from tarot or myers briggs tests.

 

[Writer’s_Magic]

Heliotrope So, you mean I should add some traits and then let’s write? (How about the setting and villains?)

 

[Heliotrope]

Heliotrope So, you mean I should add some traits and then let’s write? (How about the setting and villains?)

Yes. Don't even think about. Just sit down and write. Where do you see her? What is she doing? What do the bad guys do? Eventually you will get to something that clicks. You don't have to know it all before you start. You can always change it later. First drafts should be closed. They should be all the crap in your head you can't make sense of. No one should ever read them. They are terrible. But they are how you figure all this stuff out. Consider it your way of telling yourself the story, first. You can't know it all by brainstorming.

 

[Writer’s_Magic]

Heliotrope Really? I have a bad feeling about this technique! I can lose the way from a good story. How can I avoid it with this technique?

 

[pmmg]

Hey WM,

Sorry if I span across several threads in this, but looking at the stuff you are asking about, not just in this, but in many threads (And honestly, I do appreciate good threads going up), I find I am questioning if you are really ready for this. These kinds of questions are not really the kinds of things that keep one from getting words on a page. In fact, if you have put words on a page, these kinds of things kind of work themselves out. I get the impression you are eating yourself up over stuff that would take care of itself if you just got going. I also get the impression you are trying to skip ahead to where everything you write is high quality, but you are ignoring that you only acquire that skill by doing. There are no short cuts. You got to put in the work. Sit down at it, stare at it, struggle with what to write, and then start typing. When something comes, it will come. And when you are into the zone, you wont ask where is the personality, you will be wondering how to fit it all in.

I also hate to say, but I think it is true none-the-less. You are not a native English speaker, and it shows. If it really is your dream to write in English, I am sure you can do it, but you have to put in some work and collect experience before you can get there. If you have things written out, I am more than happy to look at them and offer what help I can. But character personality? That just seems like something that ought to come naturally as you start typing it out. Don't you have an idea of who this character is before you begin?

Funny, I've started many characters with no idea their names, their birthplace, their appearance, but somehow, I always had a voice for them when they hit the page.

I think process needs to begin with what do you want to write? Won't pieces start to make themselves as you decide on that and it starts to take shape?

If I was your mentor, I would say go write something, and show it to me, and then we can discuss.

 

[Heliotrope]

You might write yourself into a corner, in which case, you have a delete button. You delete and you start in a new direction. You might write five thousand words and find it is not where you wanted to go. You can make a choice. Play video games until you come up with a solution like GRRM does, or back up and try again. Fact is, and I know this as well as anyone because I was you, once, brainstorming is NOT writing. It will not help you. It will only get you so far.

PMMG is exactly right. You have to just write stuff. Bad stuff, good stuff, short stuff, poems... you have to be terrible for a while. But just write. Only then can you show people and ask "does this person have personality?" But it is not something you can develop in advance.

 

[pmmg]

Heliotrope Really? I have a bad feeling about this technique! I can lose the way from a good story. How can I avoid it with this technique?

This is another question that leads me in the same direction. How can I avoid it with this technique? Don't ask this. Go and make some mistakes. So what if something if something turns out bad. You will be a better writer for having tried and made mistakes, than hoping someone else to can give you the sage advice to never write something bad. I would rather see a hundred pieces of your bad writing than something written to avoid it. Those hundred pieces will show me more of you anyway, and by the hundredth one, it wont be bad anymore.

 

[Devor]

pmmg's comment aside, I want to add one more thing to the discussion about developing personalities....

Having a technique or a notion for how you develop a personality doesn't mean you have to have everything obsessively preplanned. If you're figuring out your character as you write, there's still a process that your brain goes through, whether you realize it or not, whether you can articulate it or not, in developing the character. And there's still ways to develop and improve that process without dragging it out through lengthy notes or procrastination.

Writer's Magic, I second everyone that you really need to try before you come out with the questions because you need something to ground these questions in.

But taking the question and others like it at face value, I disagree that figuring it out as you go really answers the how of it.