Sometimes, to bring your characters to life off the page, you have to get off the page. It is good to get distance from your scenes to see how your characters behave outside of the context of your novel. Fun characterization exercises can help you get an even more solid grasp of your characters.
Exercises like the ones below are perfect for when you have a good idea of who your characters are, but want to sort out the details of their personalities and taste. Details and intricacies make your characters more believe-able, and even if you don’t include some of these details, as the creator of the character, you should know them. I completed most of these during and after my first few drafts of my novel.
Here are five of my favorite characterization exercises that don’t involve actually filling our character profiles or creating scenes.
1. Create Playlists
If you are musically minded like me, you probably have a vast library of songs. Personally, I do listen to music when I write, usually instrumental stuff,
Creating playlists for characters helps you understand who they are, and it can be a fun exercise. You can find songs that are relevant to the character’s experiences, emotions, or moods. You may even want to look for songs you think your character would listen to.
Here are a few examples of my own character playlists:
- Olive, my protagonist, who is a depressed and desperate insomniac. She would go to almost any length to feel loved.
- Landon, the “innocent” of the group with a developing alcohol dependency.
- Blair, the aloof and critical one who tries to keep a distance, but cares more than anyone.
- Sophie, the dead friend that no one really understood, it seems.
- Verdandi, the witch who is manipulating everyone else.
I even have a few playlists for the whole of my novel, which I listen to at night of before bed when I am brainstorming. It is a good way to get in the mindset of your novel and maintain a sense of atmosphere and place in your head.
2. Sketch
Are you an artist? No? Even better. Try sketching your characters, capturing their personality.
If you really dig this exercise, you may even want to try your hand at comic strips involving your characters.
3. Memes
Tag yourself memes are all the rage right now. Try figuring out how your characters would categorize themselves and each other in these memes.
4. Astrology
Even if you don’t believe in the power of the stars, it can be fun to see how your characters align with astrological tropes. Visit an astrology website to see full overviews of the signs. If you already know what sign your character might be, check out their “relationship advice” with other characters. It would also be fun to pick which of your characters would actually believe in astrology and which would find it a complete waste of time.
5. Mood Boards
This one is a bit of a stretch, but it can be a lot of fun if you are into creating mood boards. People who create mood boards usually use stock photos or their own photos to create visual representations of the moods of novels or characters. Here is an example of a mood board for The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I hope this list can help you create strong characters.
What are some of your favorite characterization exercises? Comment below, because I would love to try them out.
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