In-depth characters are always more relatable. They have deeper and more intricate personalities which sometimes force the plot-line to improve for them too. Oftentimes this makes their personal mumbles over the page more interesting to read and improves the depth.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!You should probably introduce the below in your stories sooner than later.
Introduce Their Physical
- Overall Physical Appearance
- Overall Health (allergies, weight, disease, infection)
- Physical Talents
- Clothing Worn
- Accessories/No Accessories
Introduce Their Psychology
- Intelligence Level
- Emotional Intelligence Level
- Opinions (likes, dislikes, thoughts on life, politics, religion)
- Existential Beliefs (what is life …)
Make Them Human
- Traumas (life events, relationships)
- Quirks, Ticks, Habits (walking style, nervous tick, shy habit)
- Good/Bad Behaviors
- Triggers
- Additions
- Insecurities/Fears
- Life Goals/Motivations
Depending on what perspective you’re writing your story through, your characters will know either some or all of the points above. Your readers, on the other hand, will always know these points, but the time-frame in which you reveal them is up to you as the author. This will depend on whether your story is in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person perspective and their omniscient abilities over the plot-line. Who knows what and who doesn’t?
Don’t Overwhelm The Reader With A Long Back-Story or Too Much Information
If you spit out too much information at once, your reader won’t be able to keep track let alone remember it. So if your story has a very required lengthy back-story, or you need to give out a lot of information in a single scene, try to space it out.
Give each explanation some room. Plug-in descriptions or character thought breaks to make space between your information drops. It will help break up an extremely dense, but mandatory, information drop.
Readers aren’t stupid. They know how long they will wait to give the book or article a chance. Don’t withhold information that is needed to them when it isn’t necessary anymore to keep it hidden. The talent behind this is knowing exactly when to reveal information, how much, and when.