Tips on humanizing characters

[Tedronai]

@Ultimus. Your character. First let me start by saying this is how I would might write the character, and other's advice will be how they would write it. Don't feel you have to take all advice verbatim. Pick the parts that fit with the image you have, and feel free to change anything that doesn't quite mesh. The key phrase to remember is "show, don't tell". As @Saccharine Cyanide suggests, use details from people you know to build your library of expressions, body language etc that convey certain emotions, or personalities. Don't feel you have to copy a person entirely, just pick the parts that work for your character.


You say he's a hard worker, and depending on the kind of work this conjures certain images to my mind. If he works in an office job I see a simple suit, nothing fancy so no pin stripes or glossy sheen. I don't see him wearing a tie, and I see him rolling his sleeves up as a kind of mental preparation. If he's more of a manual worker I see callused hands, sweat on his brow. Either way I don't see them shirking away from hard work, or complaining about it to others.


In either example I imagine someone who strides more than walks. I don't see your character as someone who's indecisive, even if he makes a poor choice. Once he's made it I see him moving quickly to carry out his intended actions. Perhaps without thinking or questioning further, I don't see him as someone who suffers with self-doubt which can be a strength or weakness depending on the situation.


The show don't tell applies to how you describe their appearance too. The no nonsense, hard worker could be lean and sinewy. I'm reminded of my father who is very much this kind of person, and sometimes when he gets involved in a project he forgets to eat. You could go the other way too. Working long hours doesn't leave much time to cook wholesome meals and make you more reliant on junky, convenience food. You say they're athletic so I suspect not this, but depending on their age they could be getting the start of middle aged spread.


I don't imagine a particularly joyful person. He seems like someone who doesn't smile much so I'd describe a face that's pretty wrinkle free (no laughter lines).


The show don't tell can apply to what they say and do too. Rather than tell us that he's irritated by someone making excuses, show us in him cutting them off abruptly or by him simply turning around and walking away. The confidence too. I've already said I see him making a decision and carrying it out. When he speaks I see him stating opinions fairly bluntly, I don't imagine him looking for the opinions of others too often, or liking others disagreeing with him.


Your examples of him feeding animals/doing origami are examples of showing not telling so you're already on the right track. Just trust your readers to pick up the meaning without you having to beat them over the head with explanation and they'll love you for not treating them like idiots.

 

[snowstormspawn]

Everyone's got great feedback but here's some more: 
 


-Make them forget their wallet at home, or where their keys are

-Make their phone run out of battery

-Have them tell a white lie- "I can't go out tonight. My dog is sick." 

-Make them sick. Give them a cold, etc.

-Is he tall? Make him bump into things. Is he young-looking? Do other characters consider him immature or less capable based on his looks? A character can be made more human when you explore how they're viewed by other people. Which is probably different from the way you know they are and the way they view themselves. 

-Which brings me to the three faces- The face you show the world, the ones you're close to, and who you're really are. I think those were it. You could explore these for your character to give them more dimension. 

 

 

[Whisker]

My method is time-consuming and weird, but basically it's what works for me.


I essentially treat my roleplays as though I'm an actor in a movie. Before I write any scene with them, I have to basically become them to understand. If they have a favorite food, I'll make it, eat it, write about it; if they're in a certain situation, I'll play ambient music from youtube (yes, they do have sections dedicated JUST to background noise); if they're good in a skill, I'll research everything I can about it and/or try it myself. 


All my notes on it are then recorded in a folder so I can pick it up at any time and remember. 


I know it sounds a bit much just for a hobby ... but I really don't like to half-ass anything. 

 

[Ultimus]

My method is time-consuming and weird, but basically it's what works for me.


I essentially treat my roleplays as though I'm an actor in a movie. Before I write any scene with them, I have to basically become them to understand. If they have a favorite food, I'll make it, eat it, write about it; if they're in a certain situation, I'll play ambient music from youtube (yes, they do have sections dedicated JUST to background noise); if they're good in a skill, I'll research everything I can about it and/or try it myself. 


All my notes on it are then recorded in a folder so I can pick it up at any time and remember. 


I know it sounds a bit much just for a hobby ... but I really don't like to half-ass anything. 

I don't think it's much, it's cool to me you go that far. Inspiring. By the way, I'm curious about your opinion on the question I asked Tedro below. 


@Tedronai q.q your advice is to good. I'll be off topic a bit, I hope everyone doesn't have an issue with it, but sometimes I draw blanks when trying to creatively describe an expressions on my characters. I do my best to stay away from a laundry list of adjectives, but I find some people create poetic descriptions on things with relative ease. My issue also applies with clothes and physical features. I remember what you said about a character's physical appearance (eyes, hair) pertains to their personality based on the writer. I've taken notes and looked up pictures of people with different shaped heads, eyes, ect. Is there any useful advice you could recommend me to think more creatively when describing these things?

 

[snowstormspawn]

My method is time-consuming and weird, but basically it's what works for me.


I essentially treat my roleplays as though I'm an actor in a movie. Before I write any scene with them, I have to basically become them to understand. If they have a favorite food, I'll make it, eat it, write about it; if they're in a certain situation, I'll play ambient music from youtube (yes, they do have sections dedicated JUST to background noise); if they're good in a skill, I'll research everything I can about it and/or try it myself. 


All my notes on it are then recorded in a folder so I can pick it up at any time and remember. 


I know it sounds a bit much just for a hobby ... but I really don't like to half-ass anything. 

I do some of those. 
I've done the eating-a-character's-favorite-food and it's very interesting. It makes you think about why they like it, and even what they have in common with it. One of my character's favorite foods is kale chips. Bitter, seems unpleasant. But after a while of eating them they start to grow on you. Another character's favorite food is cremebrulee. He's very high-maintenance and extra, for lack of a better word. 


Another thing I've done was using software (like room sketcher) to develop the houses/apartments where my characters live. It forces me to consider things I hadn't thought about. Like what plants they have, and what textures they like. Where they live is an important part of who they are. Those are the spaces where they work, play and relax. 

 

 

[Tedronai]

Is there any useful advice you could recommend me to think more creatively when describing these things?

It's something of a platitude but practice. People who seem to write poetic descriptions effortlessly are more often than not just people who have practiced it the most.


There is such a thing as natural talent, but its nowhere near as prevalent as we might believe. It's a comfy little lie we tell ourselves to make us feel better. Talent is no match for experience.


To get some you might play a few games that I use to entertain myself. I'm a people watcher, wherever I go I'm looking around and I play a mental game where I try to guess things about a person just by how they look.


Where are they from? What do they do for a living? Are they married? With kids? Anything. At first you'll feel awkward and almost unwilling to even guess but just treat it like a bit of fun, its only in your head after all.


If I can then I try and strike up a conversation with some and in talking see how close my guesses were. For some that's their idea of hell so if that's not for that's fine.


If that seems a bit personal or the idea makes you uncomfortable, try watch TV without the sound on and do the same. This can be easier because actors are trained to portray a character and the good ones will do everything they can to exude the personality of their role. Once you've made a few decisions, rewind and watch with the sound on.


Another game I play is while I'm driving I try to guess the driver judging by the car and the driving style. The small, rusty car with a massive exhaust and music bumping out with a force you can feel as much as hear is likely to be driven by someone very different to people carrier travelling 10mph below the speed limit.


Once I have an idea I try and overtake and see how close I am.


With all of these the idea is just to have fun, and not be disheartened if you guess wrong. People aren't cookies pressed from a small variety of cutter shapes (and there's more than a few nuts out there). Have fun building a mental library.

 

[Whisker]

I don't think it's much, it's cool to me you go that far. Inspiring. By the way, I'm curious about your opinion on the question I asked Tedro below. 


@Tedronai q.q your advice is to good. I'll be off topic a bit, I hope everyone doesn't have an issue with it, but sometimes I draw blanks when trying to creatively describe an expressions on my characters. I do my best to stay away from a laundry list of adjectives, but I find some people create poetic descriptions on things with relative ease. My issue also applies with clothes and physical features. I remember what you said about a character's physical appearance (eyes, hair) pertains to their personality based on the writer. I've taken notes and looked up pictures of people with different shaped heads, eyes, ect. Is there any useful advice you could recommend me to think more creatively when describing these things?

I don't have much to add on to @Tedronai's reply. 


However, I can tell you now that flowery descriptors of things like physiological expressions and clothes are vastly overrated. Sure, they help us visualize a scene, but they don't help the reader really get into a scene. I want to link you to this article that demonstrates exactly what I mean.