Secrets of Writing: Introducing Characters

When your mother told you that first impressions go a long way, she was right. The first impression is what forms the Audience’s opinion of a character. They will determine the character’s alignment fairly quickly, based on their actions. You can use this to your advantage. But whatever you do, don’t take first impressions for granted.

Characters need to be memorable. A story is always going to be about A>B

We discussed some of the things that make a character interesting. We discussed the different personality archetypes that people recognize. We discussed alignment. Now you have to put all of these things into practice.

When a character appears in the story, they have to do or say something that fixes in our mind who they are, what they’re doing there, and what side of the conflict do they fall on. 
Their position in the story change sides at any time. They can be protagonists who end up as antagonists. But we should have a good idea where they stand when they appear. Neutral characters are the story equivalent of fence sitters. The Audience isn’t interested in them.

Characters need to be clear right away, because it tells us whether or not we should care about them when something happens.  If you introduce a character, and they come off as neutral, or we’re uncertain whether they are positive or negative in the story, and they get killed...we have no reason to care. And if we don’t care, you’ve just set the mood for the story. Nothing matters.

The secret is finding the right balance of action and dialog that defines the character in a way that suits the scene and the plot at this point in the story. Characters change in a story, so it’s okay to put across a different persona than what you intend later. All we need to know is should we like this character or not. And who are they and what are they doing here.

Character names should be given in a manner that is completely natural sounding. Too often, we see characters talking like this in a super hero comic: “Well, Z-Man, I think it’s time we showed the Splat a thing or two, don’t you agree?” “Yes, Betamax. I concur!”

People do use another’s name in a conversation. But it never sounds forced.

It’s also important to show the face of the person being introduced clearly. We need to put the face to the name. And the name and face should be reintroduced a couple more times in the story so we don’t forget it. Therefore, you need to find fresh ways of getting their name to the Audience. Either by having them introduce themselves, or have them pointed out in some way, like in the news or by a person who recognizes them.

<< Back to main