Reader, meet Domenic Dana

There are several ways to present your character to the reader. For each tool below, write 2-3 examples, applying them to your character.


1. A Character is what he does. You see a guy at the party who spills a drink, talks too loud, and makes rude remarks. You form a judgment. You tell a friend a secret, and in a few hours everyone seems to know it. You’ve learned something about your friend. Show your character stealing, the reader will think “thief”. This is the easiest form of characterization: have you character DO something that demonstrates his nature.

1) It’s raining mud outside, yet Dom still polishes his boots and brushes his coat before stepping out into the filth.
2) Dom refuses to train swordsmanship with a cadet in his charge, saying that there are more important things to be done



2. Motive. This is more powerful than action – it trumps it. What if you knew that they drink spilling rude guy was trying to attract attention on purpose, in order to keep people from noticing someone else in the room. You impression of him changes. How about a character who tried to commit murder, but failed? You still think him a murderer even through he never actually succeeded in his task. Knowing why characters do what they do, reveals them to the reader. We will cover this A LOT later on, as well.


1) Dom wants to live up to his ideal of what an officer is
2) He does not want the cadet to find out that his swordsmanship is nothing special



3. The Past. Knowing a person’s past, revises our view. You’re sitting at a dinner table, getting to know Pete. What if before hand, someone whispered to you that Pete was a POW for 7 years and escaped through enemy territory? Or that he just caused a corporate merger that resulted in thousand of workers losing their jobs? Does this effect your impression?


1) Dom joined the navy as a ship’s boy at age 7, but didn’t have the connections or education to ever become a midshipman. He joined the army at age 10 and worked his way through the ranks, learning to read and do math from kindly souls. His father wouldn’t let him apply to the Academy.

2) Dom has never played a prank or practical joke on anyone. As a kid, he always got caught for any mischief he caused and could never talk himself out of it.


4. Reputation. This isn’t just for legends and heroes, this is for everyone. “Don’t bother asking Jeff to contribute, he’s such a tightwad I heard he would not even help buy flowers when Dona’s father died.” Same in fiction: you readers will likewise form opinions about characters they have not “met” yet based on what other characters say about them. Use it to your advantage.


1) In conversation between superior officers: “Can any of the companies be ready to move tomorrow? Any besides Dana’s I mean.”

2) Between kids “Commander Dana’s back is so straight, I think he sat on a handle of a pitchfork once and it never came out!”


5. Stereotypes. Paint half a picture, and you can count on your reader to fill in the other half. “The old man was wearing a suit that might have been clasy ten years ago when it was new, when it was worn by someone with a body large enough to fill it. On this man it hung so long and loose that the pants bagged at the ankle and scuffed along the sidewalk, and the sleeves came down so low that his hands and the neck of his wine bottle were invisible.” Got the picture? This narrative relies on your sterotype to work. As a writer, you can you this one of two ways: either let the sterotype stand – sometime very useful in creating minor characters who must not upstage the action … or, use it to surprise the reader.

What if the passage above was followed by:
“Hey, old man,” Pete said. “You’ve lost some weight.”
“It wasn’t the cancer, Peter, it was the cure,” he answered. “I’m glad you are here. Come upstairs and help me finish this Chablis.”


1) Clean cut, perfect Dom is always prepared. He’s respectful to his superiors and courteous but not overly friendly with his subordinates. An uptight officer with all the usual stuff. Yet when someone of his own rank sits by him, Dom’s sharp wit suddenly come out in contrast to his usual self.

2) Dom holds himself to high standard or preparedness, neatness and organization - and expects the same of those around him. This creates an efficient but somewhat tense situation around him.

6. Netwok. We act different around our mother than we do around our coworkers than we do around our friends. So should our characters. Take your character out of one setting and put him in another, and see different aspects of their personality rise to the fore.


1) Always professional and formal with his superiors and subordinates, Dom prides himself on putting logic ahead of emotion. He addresses everyone by their last names.

2) On his rare visits home, Domenic gets into shouting with his parents. They insist on calling him by his childhood nickname “Nicki”, which drives him crazy.

3) Out with a crowd of his equals, Dom tries to blend in – supporting the general conversation without making himself the center of it. If the group is giving someone else a hard time, he won’t stand up for the victim (unless the victim is under his command). He does not drink himself, but buys rounds just like everyone else. He’s curious.


7. Habits and Patterns. She carries a Mace with her everywhere she goes. He always parks across the divide to take up two parking spaces, so his car does not get dented by the other car doors. Or just general habits, that clue us in to the character’s mind. He always taps his finger when he’s worried. After a while, the finger movement alone will clue us in to his mood.


1) He does a calisthenics routine each morning
2) Dom cleans his teeth three times a day and makes it a point to eat vegetables whenever he can
3) When ever he’s agitated, he clasps his hands behind his back to keep himself grounded.


8. Body. This one is tricky, because it is so easy to overuse it. Your reader will picture your character more through knowing her motives than through her looks (although knowing whether one is generally attractive or grotesque will influence this to a degree). So, does it matter what length fingers, color eyes, or size of breasts your character has? Maybe. It matters if it means something beyond mare fact. For example, in Lord of the Flies, Piggy’s poor eye sight (he wears glasses), his asthma, and his weight play a role in the story. His hair color does not.


1) Ram straight back, always.
2) Dom is tall, broad and muscular – his size has always protected him from bullies and the such, as no one wanted to fight with him.
3) He has a large scar (from a sword) runs from his left clavicle down across his chest. That was his only serious wound and it scared him.