So, one thing I like to say I’m decent at is characterization. There may be a small cult forming around one of the characters in #vtmystery, despite the lack of support for the main love interest. Characters are the best part of a book. Plot, not so much. Setting? Don’t care. Characters? The reason I write, and why most people read.
How, then, do you get characters?
Some methods of quick characterization:
A deadly sin and a heavenly virtue- I used this method for #luciferwasntallbad, just because it seemed like a good tie in to the themes of the book. I also thought it would be fun. Part of the reason that this works is that you instantly have an intrinsic value that motivates someone, and an intrinsic value that hinders them. When put in a situation, you have to consider which of these is more powerful, and what the cost is on the other.
DnD alignment chart- The value of this method is that it puts your characters in relation to each other. Not only do you get an explanation of each square, you know who’s the most law-abiding, or who’s the most good, and who’s in the middle.
Tag yourself meme- I haven’t used this yet, but when I was thinking of methods, this one came to mind with the DnD alignment chart because for a while both of them were memes. But this one should be useful for kind of obvious reasons: it gives you habits/character traits/idiosyncrasies that, for me, instantly start making a person in my head.
MBTI- This is always fun. It gives you literally their whole personality. If you Google the types, you’ll find lists of traits that each is supposed to have- just pick one, grab a couple bullet points, and get going. Your character won’t have every trait listed on the list, and feel free to grab one or two from another type, because people aren’t every single trait on their MBTI, either. You can go deeper into MBTI and look at the levels of traits, and how they interact within someone, or you can just grab and go. Either one works.
Astrology- I used to use this one a lot. For our purposes, it’s the same as MBTI. Just pick when your character was born- or not, but I’d rather keep my star signs in line with their birthdays- and Google the traits of the sign, the habits, the way the sign might interact with authority or children or whatever. You can find tons of information on star signs on the internet. Go wild.
Moodboards: This one is less straightforward. Search moodboards on Tumblr here and you’ll get a million results, most of which are great. If you search that tag for something more specific, like male witch or yellow mermaid or Halloween, you’ll get results. Take one you like, or one that fits the aesthetic or the idea, and take some inspiration from them.
A note: all characters based on the above methods will start out as stereotypes. That’s fine. Once you start writing them, they’ll grow, and you’ll realize little habits that don’t quite follow the character’s own rules, or you’ll realize that they aren’t really Neutral Good, they’re Lawful. That’s good. You don’t want them to stay stereotypes, and you don’t necessarily even want anyone to be able to pick out which alignment or star sign they are. These are just starting points, as ways to create diverse personalities instead of having four assholes, two goody-two-shoes, a Mary Sue, and a Villain™.
Once you have your starting point, then, it’s easy to go more in depth. You can interview your characters. All of those Tumblr Ask lists of questions 100 items long? Use those on your characters. Put them in a scenario and see what they do.
So go forth! Characterize!
Anyone other methods you guys like?
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