One thing a new author may not think about when starting to write his or her story is how to introduce characters. We spend quite a lot of time analyzing a character creating a profile, and trying to make our main characters real three dimensional with depth, so that they are real for the readers. But how do we introduce them? We can't simply list them as the novel progresses. In this lecture, we take a look at various techniques authors use to introduce their characters. At some point in our novel, we need to introduce some main characters.
Of course, we can use their physical description in a direct manner. But these descriptions must be vivid and very dynamic. If that's the effective Remember that our physical description of the character should also link to a feature of their personality. In this way, the reader will form a visual image and remember them and identify with them more easily. We can use movement actions to when people are moving. They reveal parts of their personality and character at the same time.
It makes them easier to remember. Take this sentence, Mike was deadbeat. he flung himself onto the dirty mattress for once not caring about his expensive suit. We learned several things from this introductory sentence. First of all, Mike was very tired. He needed to sleep.
And so he just threw himself onto a dirty mattress. He was so tired. He didn't care about the expensive suit. He was wearing we have a question in our mind, why would he be sleeping on a dirty mattress? Maybe he's not home, he's somewhere else. Maybe he's a prisoner.
We just don't know. So the reader's imagination starts to work and later on, other details will fill in the picture. He likes to wear expensive clothes, and he generally looks after them. In the previous lecture, we talked about the point of view the POV. In a previous lecture, we described how common it was to write in the third person. But you could write in the first person that is the narrator could take the role of the main character.
In that case, you wouldn't write he or she walks down the stairs, you would say I walked down the stairs. Writing in the first person, the character could describe himself directly by an action he's performing or by expressing an emotion. If you do this, the narrator speech, which of course is the main character should be natural and follow the way that he speaks throughout the novel. The speed should be natural, and the action he's performing and describing himself should reveal an important part of the personality. Before your main character is actually presented to a reader, he can be introduced and described by others. This can be done in such a way that his appearance or his personality is revealed in some way.
As in this sentence, she's always late and she'll walk in With that, Oh, is that the time Look, as if she didn't have a care in the world. fine clothes don't make a lady and hers are the finest if you know what I mean. Now this sentence tells us that whoever speaking doesn't have a very high opinion of the woman that they're waiting for. They were there two or three people around the dinner table in a restaurant. And I used to be kept waiting by this person. As well as saying that fine clothes don't make you a better person.
She indicates that this lady's clothes are very fine, indicating that she really is not a superior person. backstory is the name of the history that the character has before she is introduced in the novel. indicate what they look like physically, their appearance, their social status, or their relationship status. In this sentence, john rubs his left shoulder. ruefully remembering the wrestling opponent, that dislocated, it's so many years ago. We get the idea that john has an old injury that bothers him from time to time.
He was obviously a wrestler in the past, we don't know if he was an amateur wrestler or a professional wrestler. But it was a long time ago, many years ago. So we have some pieces of information here that we can start to use to imagine john used to be a very fit man, probably muscular. The dislocation happened many years ago. So john is no longer young. In this way when john is introduced in reality later on in the novel, we already have these things in mind, and it helps us to create the character.
When introducing characters, remember that static descriptions can be really boring. Unless you describe someone really well in a vivid manner with interesting words. It's a good idea always to include action. When someone is doing something, performing a task, or interacting with other people, it's much more interesting than if they're standing there being described. in whatever way you choose to introduce a character, and this should vary for different characters. Don't stop the flow of the action.
It's not advisable to interrupt the plot to describe the character. Character should be Introduced when the plot needs it and their presence adds something to the story.