1. Characterization
How a writer can create a character, and how we can work to understand that creation

2. Centrality of characters
Characters are essential to a narrative
Together with plot, they are one of the two most important elements
Some narratives value one of these over the other
If we don’t care (at least a little) about characters, we won’t care about the story.

3. Learning about a character
Everything comes from the text itself and from our knowledge of life in general
That general knowledge of life must nonetheless be applied in a way that is consistent with the text
We can’t say that a character must be brave because he’s a Scottish soldier if the story shows or tells us that he was cowardly

4. Ways of creating a character
Here are ten methods that the writer can use to inform us about the traits, beliefs, values, actions, effects, and more of a character
They don’t all need to be used in one work, but all of them can be.

5. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
looks suggest character: e.g.: a completely nondescript look may imply that one is dull, bland; an exotic look will usually indicate an exotic character

6. MENTAL DESCRIPTION
a character’s state of mind and thoughts are very important, revealing the inner truth that might not be revealed in any direct actions; a character may think (or fear or feel) things that never show up obviously in his or her behavior

7. NARRATOR’S OBSERVATIONS
the narrator can provide fundamentally important judgments or generalizations about a character, telling us directly any number of things about a character’s life, history, ambitions, strengths and weaknesses, and so on

8. CHARACTER’S WORDS
a character’s words can reveal much about what he or she finds important and how he or she relates to other characters; language and word-choice are often revealing

9. CHARACTER’S ACTIONS
what a character does reveals a great deal, as do the character’s choices; a character who talks tough but acts sheepishly exposes his or her basic hypocrisy—or at least an essential weakness

10. MOTIVATIONS AND DESIRES
why a character acts in a certain way is often as revealing as the action itself (or more so): one might do a good thing for a bad reason

11. COMMENTS BY OTHERS
these comments reveal how the character is perceived in his or her social context; if enemies praise a character, he or she must be very special; if others simply ignore a character, he or she may well be socially insignificant

12. REACTIONS OF OTHERS
like their words, the behaviors of characters towards another create our sense of who he or she is; others may flock around a morally good character--or may shun the good one if they themselves are bad; they may ignore or sneer at a contemptible character

13. PARALLELS AND CONTRASTS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS
comparisons help us make sense of a character; cowards in a narrative will make a brave character seem all the more noble; comparing someone to a well-known character from another work will be revealing; e.g.: a reference to Uriah Heep suggests an unctuous hypocrite

14. SYMBOLS OR IMAGES LINKED TO THE CHARACTER
almost anything linked to a character may add to the reader’s sense of who and what the character is: gestures, items of clothing, settings, descriptive words, symbolic images, and so on help develop a character; e.g.: repeatedly associating a character with fire

15. Putting all these together
You can’t put all these pieces together until you have finished the book. But you can pay attention to them as you read
Be aware that characters can be quite complex
They can have all sorts of internal contradictions
The less certain they are about something, the more varied will be the signals they send

16. ALERT! ALERT!
Good characters are frequently multilayered and complicated. Trying to understand them with just a few words can lead to misunderstanding.
Even if they’re not particularly complex, keep in mind that they often contain seemingly contradictory elements

17. Contradictory elements
For example: a character who is very considerate on some occasions and quite insensitive on others
one who wants to do something and doesn’t want to do it—both, very much
one who is despondent at some times and celebratory at others

18. Depth of characterization
A character can be as simple as this: “The man with the perpetual scowl.” And a character can be as complex and mysterious as Hamlet or Iago or Achilles.

19. The big three to watch for
Choices
What options did the character have and which did he or she select?
Motivations
What is the character trying to achieve with a particular action?
Changes
How (and why) does a character change during the course of the story

20. What makes a good character?
is complicated enough to be interesting
is internally consistent; plausible
provides us with a reason(s) to care about what happens to him or her
lacks aesthetically offensive qualities

21. The End