The subconcious: Of or concerning the part of the mind of which one is not fully aware but which influences one's actions and feelings.
This is what description and good characterization dofor your story. They provide the subconscious, the part you don’t see, that exists only in the background, and serves to keep things running. In the same way that our subconscious influences us, good characterization + description will do the same for your story. If done incorrectly, your novel will not come off as believable. This is why getting it right is important.
How to:
1. Physically describe a character
a. Physical appearance
I’ve found that when dealing with physical appearance it’s mostly mental. You have to put yourself in your characters shoes. You need to act and think as if you were them. Hopefully, when you look in the mirror you don’t think, oh look at my raven hair, and my nice subtle curves. Come on, let’s be realistic. Most people, especially girls, look and think something along the lines of, oh I hate my hair, or look at that zit. You goal should be to make your writing as realistic as possible. That means your characters are going to have flaws; they’re going to think things about their appearances are ugly, even when they’re not.
b. Clothes
I’ll be frank here…nobody cares. Describing your main characters wardrobe every time he or she leaves the house is probably one of the most aggravating, and superficial things an author can do. The only exception to this would be if your character is really into fashion, if the scene being written centers around a dress—say prom, or historical fiction, for example, or if it’s detrimental to the plot. For instance, in Harry Potter, the clothes he wears when living with the Dursleys are described because they demonstrate how mistreated he is. In this way, Harry’s clothes go towards the characterization of his aunt and uncle. You don't ever want a scene that goes something like, I put on my creme colored boots, with my black jeans, and my white tank top. Why? Because it's too telling. Give your readers some credit. They can fill in some of the blanks themselves. Now, if you feel you must describe clothes, be general rather than specific. Try and connect it to something relevant if possible. For example, The heat made the shorts I wore stick to the back of my legs. Here, you give the reader an idea, but you give them some freedom to decide on color, the shirt, etc.
2. Appropriately describe a character.
a. Using Action
A lot of people screw up by directly describing their characters personality. Ex. John is shy. What you want here, is not to tell that John is shy, but to show that john is shy. You can do this through the use of dialogue, and through the use of action both on your characters part, and the characters surrounding him or her. Example. Let’s say there’s an intersection at the end of a road through which no cars ever drive, yet your character consistently waits for the walk sign to come on before crossing. This action tells you something about John, doesn’t it? It implies that he is perhaps shy, or timid, or, on a literal level, really afraid of getting hit by a car. Either way, it's ten times more effective than just flat out stating it.
b. Dialogue
What kind of person your character is can also be shown through speech patterns. Dominant and or aggressive words go towards a similar personality. In the same way, softer words go towards a more submissive personality. It’s the difference between using the word, dislike and hatred. Match your characters to the language they use.
Things to remember:
Sometimes it’s best to just let your character lead the way. People, especially writers because they have so many people in their heads at any given time, and this results in the authors forcing the characters to behave as they themselves would rather than how the characters would in reality. In other words, if your character has the opposite personality of you, then his or her actions are going to be the opposite of what you would do.
Different types of people speak in different ways. Teenagers, generally use contractions when speaking, because their minds are so sporadic, but that doesn't mean they're all going to speak the same as each other. Challenge: Everyone has a favorite word, or at least a word they use a lot. Mine is, clever (coutesy of too much Doctor Who). But what about your characters? Do they have a favorite word? Can it be found within the novel? If it makes sense that you use your favorite word all the time, why not your characters.
*Remember, making sure there are words your character uses that are repeated, does not mean you should convolute your novel with them. Insert them sparingly, and they will ultimately help both you and your reader understand your character as a whole.
That's all for now. Good writing and stay tuned. :D
