Think back: Among all the books or stories you’ve read, which characters still stand out in your mind; which have withstood the test of time, remaining embedded in your memory? Conversely, how many times have you read a story and found yourself struggling to remember anything about it only weeks later?

One of the most important aspects to creating a timeless, memorable story is the depth to which your characters are defined. Proper characterization can be a major stumbling block for a new writer in their attempts to create distinctive works that will leave an indelible impression on a reader. But just how does one approach the task?

Characterization methods generally fall into two categories: Definitive characterization and characterization by association or stereotype. There are, of course, countless ways to define your characters, but most attempts generally fall into one of the two categories mentioned above. Let’s consider them individually . . .

Definitive Characterization is accomplished by listing or defining the traits of various characters in the body of the story. One school of thought suggests that you should define your characters down to the last detail prior to the actual writing of the story. The author decides what traits his characters will possess beforehand, thus helping to guide the characters’ thoughts or actions under any given situation. Some even go so far as to determine what their favorite color is or whether they are right or left-handed. While this may seem like overkill, this method lends itself toward creating consistency of thought and deed as your characters move throughout your story. In a nutshell, the author forms the readers’ vision of his characters by actively enumerating the characters’ traits, behavioral types, and preferences as the story progresses.

Characterization by Association or Stereotype is another widely used tool used to bring life to a story. The idea here is to create a basic skeleton for your characters by allowing the reader to form their own opinions beforehand, based on notions or attributes commonly associated with people that fall into a particular niche. The author is then free to add his own variations to the characters which will guide the reader toward perceiving them in the intended manner.

A character’s niche or station may be defined in numerous ways: By gender, era, occupation, affiliation with certain organizations, etc. For example, you might expect an employee of the United States Internal Revenue Service to dress, behave, or speak in certain pre-conceived ways. The variations that you choose to add to this stereotype, whether to add to or destroy a reader’s perception of it, goes a long way toward defining your character.

This type of approach is not nearly as thorough and meticulous as definitive characterization, but may be suitable when the depth of your character is secondary to how you portray different types or groups of people. It may also be used when your character is of the “everyman” variety, a sort commonly used in pieces which attempt to make a particular statement regarding human behavior in general.

In your reading, you will generally find that authors use a combination of these two methods when sculpting the various characters in their stories. It is an easy aspect of reading to overlook, but you can gain valuable insight by studying your favorite, or least favorite, authors’ attempts to bring their characters to life before your eyes.

This whole discussion begs our initial question: Just what is it about certain characters that seem to ingrain themselves forever in our minds? And why are we drawn to some characters, repulsed by others, and simply overlook or forget so many others? These questions will be addressed in Part Three of this series: “Advanced Characterization: Creating Memorable Characters.”