characterization help — [dars]

gunner, d9 ₊⊹ 👹 ɢʀɪғғɪɴ. hi babey boooooooooooooo! I am super happy we get to do this together!! I understand completely where you are coming from in terms of wanting to set each character apart from the others. As writers, it can be way too easy to repeat the same patterns and, as a result, the same storylines.

My personal recommendation for understanding the fundamental differences between two particular characters is to ask them both the same questions- in my head, on paper, whether I have to write the questions out, or look up pre-existing questions for characters- whatever works best! I find the things they have in common, and I find the things they don't, and then from there I sort of work out which of those things are the most important to those characters, and how those views/opinions/likes/dislikes would manifest around them. One character might by deathly allergic to bees, for instance. Obviously, if a person isn't allergic to bees, they aren't going to spend a lot of their time worrying there might be bees around. But a person who knows that a single sting could kill them would definitely at least have the thought when leaving their house in the ides of spring. They might even take precautions, bring an epipen just to be safe depending on how allergic they were or how careful (or careless) the character is.

It also helps to create a specific aesthetic for each character, and have the imagery, metaphors, and what have you, be shed under the light of that aesthetic. Obviously, as a Le Roux, there is going to be a heavy amount of lions and gold and sunlight-- all of which are important as a Le Roux. But are they necessarily as important to Julian? And if so, why? Why does his last name hold so much weight in terms of his identity? Does he think he'd be the same person with a different last name? Does he feel pressure to succeed because he is a Le Roux, or because he wants to be successful? Does the pressure stem from his parents' expectations, other friends and family's, or perhaps his own?

It is important to learn the difference between aesthetic and enjoyment. A person can enjoy swimming, for instance, but if their aesthetic is more winter-centric and full of things like cozy sweaters, hot cocoa, snow, log fires, and piano music, swimming isn't really something that should come up too often. Passively mentioning that they enjoy swimming is fine, but it wouldn't as likely be a fundamental part of who they are, or something that would be the first thing they'd describe themselves as enjoying upon meeting people. My point here is that while, yes, being from an affluent family in One may definitely a big part of who Jules is, if you were to ask him what his personal aesthetic was, what would he describe it as?

Fundamentally, it also helps to change the language itself in these situations. Whereas you normally might phrase a bit of dialogue as "Can I have some water, please?" you might, instead, change it to, "Please, may I have some water?" If you really notice, people always have a very distinct, habitual way of speaking. In order to establish a clear voice in your head for this specific character, you need to decide how he phrases things. If he speaks quickly, or thinks too fast, he would replace a lot of his periods with commas, more rambly and nonsensical- almost as if he's thinking out loud. If he's cold and calculating, or maybe even someone who derives pleasure in sounding more intelligent than those around him, he might swap out words like 'yeah' or 'cool' with words like 'yes' and 'splendid'. If he wasn't really sure of himself, he'd use more ambiguous language, starting sentences with 'Um,' or 'Uh,' or mumbling, or cutting off what he was saying mid-sentence.

It can be really easy to mistake a character's voice for your own, so it helps me as well to read the dialogue out loud. If it sounds like me, that isn't necessarily a bad thing: bits of the writer will always bleed into the characters they write. If they haven't, they should. The parts of you within your characters can be exactly what they need in order to make them feel human. The goal isn't deciding if it sounds like you, the goal is deciding if it also sounds like the character. If it doesn't, then it's as easy as asking yourself, "Okay, then how would he say it?"

As for an exercise, I want you to write a post with Julian- a one shot, in which Julian contemplates who he is. You don't have to post this in public if you don't want to, but I want it to be mostly dialogue- we're talking the vast majority of the post. I want him to fully explain to us- the reader- who he is, what his desires are, what his fears are, and what he's done to get where he is today. At least three full paragraphs, and make sure to really ask yourself while writing this how Jules speaks, and allow yourself to be drawn into the aesthetic that it creates and run with it. Keep this post close by and use it as a reference when you feel lost or unsure, just to refamiliarize yourself with his character. Report back once you've posted, and let us know how you're feeling!