When revisiting diary entries consider:

• how to make characters, even though they may be well-fleshed in, larger than life or at least more interesting.

• how to make characters unusual, intelligent, sympathetic, believable, recognizable and memorable.

• how to give every character a distinct, identifiable voice defined by a unique speech rhythm, accent, vocabulary, and length of sentences.

• how to embellish weakly-drawn, stereotypical, one-dimensional characters living in a vacuum. The measuring stick for good characterization is calibrated in elements such as physical appearance, psychological profile, gender, culture, reputation, emotions, attitudes, values, beliefs, worries, ambitions, demographics, family history, how others perceive them, place, time, dress, their network of relations to other people, behaviours, habits, patterns, regrets, talents, abilities, tastes, preferences, friends and jobs.

• how to portray yourself as a catalyst of change, deliberately with haste confronting the necessity with urgency.

• how the identification of characters contrary to your objectives (antagonists) can foreshadow impending, unforgettable conflicts.

• how to exploit your characterization to its dramatic potential. More specifically:

  • are characters dramatically sound? Do they have the potential to transform each other?

  • do they contrast each other with incompatible desires and aims?

  • do they have the needed intensity and conviction to be risk takers and to take action?

  • are your motives understandable and logical to other characters for them to sympathize with you?

• how characters can be made more dramatic and purposeful by highlighting any extreme dominant physical or behavioral characteristics.

• how character flaws can be milked for their dramatic potential by offering cues to think ahead and speculate how the weaknesses may come into play.

• opportunities for interesting character development such as polar swings from moral virtues to moral weakness. This can provide interesting internal conflict. For example, pride can easily stray into arrogance.

• to include private moments in which you drop defenses.

• how characterization can be presented as metaphors for methods of dealing with similar problems in future readers' own lives.

• how to develop dialogue to its dramatic potential. Use it to:

  • develop character. Spoken words by both yourself and others can reveal aspects of background and personality.

  • offer glimpses into characters not possible through description -- hidden wit, thoughtful observations, a shy revelation, a charming aside, etc.

  • poise on polarities in instances dialogue is reacting to action or situation. This accentuates how different the goals of each character are.

• how to elaborate on the range of personal or moral issues, emotions or paradoxes characters are experiencing.

• how to expose universal motivations in your characters such as to be loved or to succeed and conflicting traits and impulses like hope and despair with which future readers may identify.

• how to bring characters to life by placing more emphasis on dialogue, motivations and choices. Characters are engaging because of what they do, not because of who they are.

• how to articulate:

  • how you demonstrated a respect for integrity;

  • how you have transformed;

  • how you have been enriched by the experience;

  • lessons learned;

  • parting piece of wisdom or insight to ponder;

  • the costs of the sacrifices made compared to the associated gains;

  • credits to the worthy adversary;

  • destructive behaviors being reversed at the resolution of conflicts;

  • accomplishments of goals or fulfillment of quests.

 

Consider if:

• your writing will enable the world to sympathize with you, establish an emotional connection, be it love, hate, admiration and see the world through your eyes.

• your entries about yourself make you too perfect, appear to have no sense of humor, have no beliefs or take yourself too seriously to arouse empathy.

• your characterization is overdone and may be interfering with the pace of any events unfolding.

• your antagonists need more redeeming qualities to avoid appearing too evil and one-sided.

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Clarify:

• how situations are life threatening and sacrifices being made.

• that your chief motivating force and tangible objectives are obvious?

• how goals were revised in a realistic and mature way as twists occurred and how problems were being solved.

• how your character arc development was a captivating progression as you wrestled to overcome personality problems, weaknesses or vices.

• how character growth occurred gradually as events occurred rather than completely at the end.

• how you underwent character growth, significant change or returned to whole regardless of your flaws and deficiencies.

• virtues learned.

• how you were an active participant in the climatic resolution of conflict. Avoid someone else rescuing the day, divine interventions or magical fixes.

• how the ultimate reformation was a logical outcome of prior developments.

 

[#characterization]

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