Revealing Character

Character is a tricky bit of business. No two people, even twins, are exactly alike. But often all the characters in a novel or script are invented by a single author, who only has his or her ideas and experience to build from. Making characters unique and distinct is important but it isn't always easy.

Let's take a quick look at the different ways to tell the audience about a character.

Action
One of the ways we judge people in real life is on what they say and do. The conflict in fiction is often based on the choices characters make as well. So it's worth paying close attention to the choices and actions of the characters. If you tell the reader your hero is kind but you show him being cruel, the reader is more likely to judge him cruel.

What Others Say
This one is a little tricky. In real life, we also form opinions about people by what others say about them. The admiration that the people of Metropolis hold for Superman is, in a way, part of the presentation of his heroic character.

The tricky bit comes when the person doing the saying is actually saying something wrong, either due to misinformation or malicious deceit. If the reader knows they are wrong, no problem. But if the reader is drawing the wrong conclusion about the hero, you need to ask -- is this the direction I want to take my reader at this point in the story? How difficult will it be to correct the false impression and how big is the dramatic payoff for doing so? I'm not saying it can't work. Just be careful. If you are misleading the reader, you want to be doing on purpose, not by mistake.

Objective Narration
All written stories, and some films and stage plays, have a narrative voice. Character information can simply be told to the reader: Mary never liked Betty Jo. This is often the least dramatic and involving way to present info, but it has the advantage of being clear and concise. If there narrator is truly objective and omniscient, they should never give false information to the reader.

It is important to note that first-person narrative is never (or at least should rarely be) truly objective and omniscient. First person implies a specific narrator (usually a person) with all the flaws and limits and reasons to lie that anyone else has.