For those of you who don't know me, I am a fan fiction author on fanfiction.net, under the name KibaElunal. Most of the stories I've written have been for League of Legends, and my most popular one is even in the top 10 Favorited League of Legends fan fiction. In addition to that, I've written two novels, one I've self-published (but am rewriting) and another one I'm hoping to publish through an agency. I also have experience as a teacher, both in Math and Language Arts.
With that stuff out of the way, let's begin our lesson on introductions. Now, when you hear 'introduction', a few things are going to come to mind. The introduction paragraph of an essay (blech), the introduction to your significant other's parents, the introduction of characters, the introduction of plot, the introduction of an introductions post, etc. For this, we're going to be focusing on the introduction of characters to the story.
Later on, I'm going to have a post on character design and creation, but for now, just bear with me. Characters, particularly main characters, have one thing that sets them apart from rocks and sticks and trees, and that's personality. Personality is a pretty well-known word that simply means they have a nature or an state of 'being'. This personality is an essential component to have for any writer, and one of the biggest influences on that personality is that character's introduction.
Character introductions, much like introductions in real life, create a first-impression. Be it good or bad, it's there and there's not really anything you can do about it except for make it better or worse. Say for example, you introduce a character by having her enter a scene holding a bloody knife and a severed head. From that point on, you could do everything in your power to make her the sweetest, kindest, soul and it won't mean shit, because your readers (and the other characters) aren't going to forget that she most likely decapitated someone.
So what are the components of a good Character Introduction? Description, Motivation, Personality. The what, why, and who.
Description:
The example I'm going to use is from the Redux of A Boy and His Fox, particularly the introduction of the character Kal to the character Ahri (yes, every character's introduction to another will be different)."He was young; a little younger than me, but not by much. His long, chocolate brown, hair was pulled back into a ponytail, seemingly to keep it from his eyes. The clothes he wore were detestable, designed purely for the sake of function rather than elegance, despite his regal demeanor. He certainly wasn't of noble blood, but the way he held his chin high made me wonder whether or not he should have been. His figure wasn't anything special. He was completely in the middle, neither fat nor muscular. Rather, he seemed to have little patience for anything outside of what was completely necessary to do his work. The most stunning aspect of him, though, were his eyes: blue like sapphires and so piercing that you could have sworn he literally was able to glare daggers."
Just from physical observations of Kal, Ahri provides insight not only into what he looks like, but his personality traits as well. From a purely physical perspective we know that Kal is young, has long brown hair, he wears it in a pony tail, his clothes are drab, he's got an average figure, and piercing blue eyes. Now these physical traits on their own mean nothing, but by describing them in greater detail as Ahri does, we can find the significance and impact that they have. Because of her added description of the physical traits, we can identify Kal as a character who is very straight laced and no nonsense. He doesn't put effort into being more attractive, because he doesn't care. He maintains posture and cleanliness to an extent that he gives off an air of pride, showing he's got something of an ego. His eyes show a ferocity in them, meaning he's not one to typically submit to others. All of this screams that Kal is a rule follower and a minimalist of the highest caliber.
So, how do we do it? How can we make a character's physical traits stand out more for our readers. The answer is simple: narration. If you are writing in first person, use the narrator's emotional responses and inner thoughts pluck out assumptions and traits of the character. This can be difficult to 'show, not tell' because you can't necessarily 'show' a physical object with words. I can't 'show' you something is a tree, I just tell you it's a tree. But I can describe that tree in greater detail. By telling your readers more about an aspect of a character, you actually show them a bigger picture.
If you're writing in third person omniscient, you can describe a character's traits directly, while still coloring them in how you want the reader to view them. In ways, this is more accurate than another character's perception because it allows you to really drive home what actually is true and what isn't about the character. Going back to the above example with Kal, as you go through the story, you find that he's actually very understanding of others, or at least he tries to be. The standards he holds himself to aren't the same as the ones he holds others to. Especially when it comes to Ahri, he often lectures others on pulling heroics that are risky and dangerous (hypocritically) because he wishes to keep them safe. His motto itself is: "Rely on me the way I rely on you." Now Ahri wouldn't be able to know that within first person, but in third person omniscient, you can present that to the audience by not eschewing the truth with personal feelings of the other characters.
However, if you're writing in third person limited, what you're going to want to do is explain observable traits that will paint the scene. Here diction (or word choice) is absolutely essential! Even how you describe a character sitting can say so much: whether they're sitting straight, lounging, laying, stretching, cross-legged, kneeling, each one says something different about the character. It's very important to ensure you use the right words for the job, because otherwise it may paint a different image for the character than you'd like. Any third person character introduction is solely for the benefit of the reader. You can explain how the other character's react within that as well, but it's not their perspective you're giving, it's the readers. Whether the reader be all knowing or in the same boat as the others is up to you.
Motivation:
If description feels odd to you, that's okay. When over and over again your writing instructors and critics hammer in 'Show, don't tell', it's awkward to do a lot of telling in order to do a bit of showing. Motivation, however, will most likely be more your speed. A character's motivation is their sense of purpose. It's what drives them to do the things they do. Robin Hood, for example, steals from the corrupt Prince John and returns that gold to the poor. Why? Well, going into Sir Robin of Loxley's backstory, we find that he was an archer for King Richard, but when he returned home, he found his noble house in tatters and that the people were suffering. So, he seeks to undo the wrongs that were committed by Prince John in an attempt to regain his noble standing, and to help the people. This motivation can be used to paint an introduction without even having to set up a backstory through the magic of exposition.
Perhaps soon after your characters meet, they swap stories around the campfire. Sometimes a character will just outright say "Hello, I'm here to do this." A little bland, but you get the picture. Now a character's motivation doesn't have to be revealed as soon as the character is. Motivation is a bit like poker. You can play your hand close to your chest or you can put it all in, and there are appropriate times for both.
In first person writing, when introducing character other than the narrator, the narrator typically draws their own dots into what they think another's motivations are. Whether they're right or not is up to you, but it's important to show that this motivation they come up with is one that is solely in their head. As people, we make assumptions. We have to in order to live, literally. Imagine if you had to check every morning to ensure that your floor was still beneath your bed, or that every hair on your head has grown. You'd spend an endless amount of time just making sure your internal organs are functioning. That being said, your narrator is going to make assumptions as well. In A Boy and His Fox: Redux, Ahri misleads Kal into believing her motivations to be other than what they actually are, albeit she is the one presently narrating, rather than Kal. You'll note how she uses words and actions to falsify a personality that later is revealed to be a front she uses to keep him at arm's length.
He let out a frustrated huff, and I knew I was getting under his skin. This was perfect. The less he liked me, the better. It wasn't as if he had a choice in who would be his champion anyway, but if the two of us could hit that sweet spot of 'just co-workers' I knew it would be for the best. "So...Ahri, isn't it?" He asked, returning to his own seat. "What is it that made you want to join the League?"
I placed my finger cutely to my lips as I pretended to think really hard about his question. I couldn't let my guard down yet, I still needed to test him to ensure he was the perfect one. "Well, I suppose it was because I was tired of sleeping with a different man every night." I commented, causing him to open his eyes in shock.
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me, Summoner. I know you're not deaf. Maybe I should put it in little kid words, so it's easier for you to understand." I could see the rage seething beneath his exterior, but even still he remained quiet as I continued. "You see, I wasn't always the way you see me now. I was born as a fox, though I didn't ever really feel like I fit in." He was beginning to soften up, so I quickly giggled before adding, "Don't go pitying me there summoner. I'm far from the helpless damsel that I know you fantasize about having."
Now for third person omniscient, you'll be doing a heck of a lot more showing than first person. Being all knowing, it may be tempting to just outright say your character's motivation, but believe me, in the end it's better to let readers come up with their own conclusions based on the evidence that you give them. Using the above example, put yourself in the place of Ahri and think about how she projects on Kal in order to get him to believe what she wants him to. You're going to do the same thing as her, EXCEPT, saying what the motivation is. Instead, you'll let your character's actions, feelings, and dialogue dictate a cloudy understanding of their motives that sharpens as the character develops. You'll note in the above example, by narrating her inner thoughts (or in omniscient's case, explaining their inner thoughts to the audience), Ahri gives a hint to her actual motive, as well as the motive presented to another character.
With third person limited, you won't be changing much from the formula for third person omniscient, except that you'll be focusing much more on the character's actions and dialogue, and less on their feelings. You're presenting to your readers a scene as if they were staring into a peephole and watching it from above. They only know as much as the characters in the scene do, so you'll use that and let them draw their own conclusions by altering the character's behavior rather than narrating their thoughts.
Personality:
Okay guys, now for the really tricky part. Personality, unlike motives, is how a character behaves in certain circumstances. I say this is tricky because personality is not something that you can just throw out to the readers like a steak to a hungry lion. The truth is it can take years to know a person's true personality for every situation, but when you're writing, your readers aren't going to want to wait that long, so you'll have to speed it up a bit, without instantly jumping head first into it.
Now you may have noticed something interesting as we've been going along. In the first segment, we used description to denote personality. For motivation, we used personality to draw it out. That's because these three are interconnected. If description and motivation are the pieces of your character, personality is the glue that holds them together. It's their flavor.
Now I'm going to get psychological on you guys for a moment. One of the most accurate personality tests in existence today is the Myers-Briggs test. They have you answer a bunch of statements about yourself as true or false and give you four letters that identify your typing. There are sixteen different personality types made of four letter pairs: I/E N/S F/T J/P. Introverted/Extroverted, iNtuition/Sensing, Feeling/Thinking, Judging/Perceiving.
Now I'm not going to tell you to run every character you make through the Myers-Briggs test. But I am going to tell you to consider the pairs and see which traits are better for your character. Kal, as an example, is an introvert. He's not much for chit-chat and small talk. He's also a Senser, he'd much rather look before he leaps than to trust his gut. He's more Feeling, despite that he puts on an air of logic, in the end his emotions tend to call the shots. Finally, he's Judging over perceiving. Despite their names, this is actually an indication of the life style they prefer. A Judging individual like Kal, prefers a rigid and well organized life style. This would make him an ISFJ: the Defender personality type. He can be warm and compassionate, and he would do anything to protect the people he cares about.
So how do we explain these personalities in our work? Well, funnily enough, we don't. A personality is something that is experienced, not something that can be explained. We use personality to prove motivations, and we use description to help support personality. If you have your character's motives and your character's descriptions, congratulations, you've already painted their personality. The exercise I'm going to include is one that can help you develop a character's personality, which in turn can trickle down into letting you form descriptions and motivations to suit them.
Here's your exercise:
Pick a character you've already created, original or otherwise. Then come up with twenty statements explaining that character in a way you would explain them to a friend. Use the structure "[Insert Name] is the sort of person who ______." Try to be more abstract in this rather than literal.
A few ones I've used for Kal are
"Kal is the sort of person who would wait for the cross walk, even if there were no cars around."
"Kal is the sort of person who would rather take a bullet to the head than a loved one take it in the arm."
"Kal is the sort of person who hates celebrating a birthday, because celebrations are meant for achievements."
That concludes our lesson on Character Introductions. I hope it's helped some of you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to share your exercise for some feedback. Thanks for your support!
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