For thirty years now one of my favorite teaching topics in memoir classes is showing characters.
This week in class, everyone created character studies for the people they’re writing about. I want to share some tips for how to do this yourself.
Character studies are a great resource no matter how well you know the people you’re writing about. With a character study on hand, you can more easily create textured portrayals of people in your story or book.
In a character study you get to explore a person on paper, separate from the piece you’re writing. Making a numbered list works well for this.
Start with a name at the top of the page. Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, choose a key person in a piece you’re writing or plan to write. List the characteristics that typify them. Make categories and fill them in with at least three items. What are/were her key characteristics? Is she a dreamer? Is he pessimistic? A daredevil? A bully? Is she finicky? Cynical? How does her style show in the way she walks? What is her style of dress, jewelry, and hair? What type of car does she drive? Consider her mannerisms. Her values. Her interests. What kind of music does she like? What fires her up in the morning or keeps her up at night?
Write more than you plan to use. The details you get will add dimension and give you material to draw from in prose and dialog. They may even inspire ideas for new angles you hadn’t planned on taking.
For memoir, character studies should be done for the time periods you’re writing about. If a story takes place in the 1970s, for example, explore the person you’re writing about in that era and at the age they were at that time of the story.
And remember—you’re a character too. Sure, readers see through your eyes as you write of your experiences, it’s all coming from your point of view. But can they see YOU in a scene you’re writing about? If a story takes place when you were twenty-five, let readers see you as you were at that age. Do a character study on yourself at that age and see what you get.
About Suzanne
I’m dedicated to helping writers put their good words into the world.
– Suzanne Sherman
Writing Consultant & Coach
Memoir Workshops