1. Character Creating Characters Character Development Speech Appearance
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Creating Characters
Character Development
Speech
Appearance
Private Thoughts
How Other Characters Feel
Actions
Direct and Indirect Characterization
Practice

2. Creating Characters
Creating characters—telling what human beings are like—is the whole point of writing stories.
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3. Character Development
Writers build characters by revealing
speech
appearance
private thoughts
others’ reactions
actions

4. Character Development
Quick Check
Which methods of character development are being used?
“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
What do you think of the man based on this excerpt?
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5. Character Development
Quick Check
Which methods of character development are being used?
“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Speech
Description
Actions

6. Character Development
Quick Check
What do you think of the man based on this excerpt?
“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints ; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
He’s dangerous and desperate. He seems to be an escaped prisoner on the run.

7. Speech First-person narrators reveal their personal traits as they
tell their own stories (using pronouns like I, me, and we)
tell us what they think and feel
Be aware that some first-person narrators mislead or lie to the audience.
Dramatic Monologue
Soliloquy

8. Speech
Dialogue can reveal a lot about characters and their relationships with each other. Pay attention to
what characters say and don’t say
how characters respond to each other
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9. Speech
Dramatic monologue—a type of poem in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners.
The narrator of a dramatic monologue
often dicusses a specific problem or situation
may tell us about his or her life and values
may reveal his or her relationship with the listener(s)

10. Speech
Soliloquy—a long speech in which a character who is onstage alone expresses his or her thoughts aloud.
The character may
discuss a specific problem or situation
reveal his or her deepest private thoughts to the audience

11. Appearance
Pay attention to language the writer uses to describe the characters’ looks, clothes, and demeanor.
The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue
from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Does the description give you a positive or negative impression of the character?
Which words contribute to this impression?
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12. Private Thoughts
Writers can take us into the characters’ minds to reveal their thoughts and feelings.
As you read, note whether the characters’ thoughts and feelings match their speech and actions.
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13. How Other Characters Feel
Watch how other characters in the story react to the character. Note
how the others feel about the character
what the others say about the character
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14. Actions
What characters do and how they treat each other often reveal the most about them.
Observe characters’ actions to determine
what their personality is like
what motivates them
how they deal with conflict
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15. Direct and Indirect Characterization
Direct Characterization—Writers tell us directly what characters are like or what their motives are.
Oh, but he was a tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!
from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Indirect Characterization—Writers show us characters (through speech, appearance, private thoughts, other characters’ reactions, and actions) but allow us to decide what characters are like.

16. Direct and Indirect Characterization
Quick Check
Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.
from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
What kind of person do you think this character is?
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17. Direct and Indirect Characterization
Quick Check
Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization?
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.
from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Indirect. The writer is describing the character’s appearance.

18. Direct and Indirect Characterization
Quick Check
What kind of person do you think this character is?
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap. She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.
from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I think she’s strict and unfriendly.

19. Practice
Who is the most unforgettable character you’ve ever met in a story? Write a few sentences about why you find the character so memorable. Before you begin, jot down your ideas on a chart like this one.
Most memorable character
Most outstanding character
Character’s appearance
Important statements
Important thoughts
Important actions
Reactions of other characters
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