ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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Think about this.

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All of your favorite characters started out as an idea in an author’s head, crazy right. [Boy sat at a laptop thinking of character ideas]

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And once that idea took root, it was up to the author to nurture it into a fully developed character.

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Nurturing is a pretty important part of writing a character. [Character grows out of a vegetable patch]

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Because sure, the author has a clear idea of how a character acts, thinks, speaks, and feels,

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but unless we climb inside their brain, we're gonna be in the dark. After all the author can't just say [Man looking scared inside someones brain]

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You know exactly how Henry would react to this right? [Monsters approach Henry]

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Because no, we don't know how Henry would react.

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So how can an author communicate what their character is all about, through characterization,

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which breaks down into two types: direct characterization, and indirect characterization.

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Direct characterization is as basic as characterization gets: all it does is tell the reader what [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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the character's like.

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So if the author is writing about a basketball player who's tall and shy, direct characterization [Basketball player appears]

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would look something like this: "The basketball player was tall and shy."

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Not exactly the fanciest sentence in the world, but it gets the job done.

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With indirect characterization however, the reader has to infer, or guess, the character's [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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traits based on what the character does, says, feels, thinks, and how the story unfolds.

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If the author wanted to describe that same shy basketball player using indirect characterization,

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they wouldn't just write "Hey, this basketball dude is shy!"

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Good thing too that'd probably embarrass our poor basketball bud. [Basketball player runs away]

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Instead, using indirect characterization, they'd write scenes where the character acts

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shy.

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Like maybe we see how much he hates meeting new people, or how uncomfortable he is raising his hand in class [Basketball player looks terrified]

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There’s one thing in a book that gives the author a whole bunch of options for characterization

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Take first person: when we see the narrative through one character's eyes. [Point of view footage on a roller coaster]

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Since this perspective gives us a clear view of what's in one character's head, their thoughts

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and feelings can be revealed directly.

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That said, first person also gives a lot of wiggle room for indirect characterization.

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How? Well, there’s the indirect characterization of all the characters whose points of view [Dino grabs hold of another toy and hits it into the floor]

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we’re not seeing through… You know like our main characters best friend our their annoying big sister.

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And even the protagonist can be revealed through indirect characterization.

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Most of the time, shy people don't just stand around thinking, "I am shy," so a quality

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like shyness can still be revealed indirectly through actions rather than direct description. [Sped up footage of a busy street]

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The same range of options is available in third person: which is when the narrative isn't told

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through any particular character's perspective.

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Since we're not limited to what one character knows, all of the characters can be directly [Kid hitting on older person on the head with a rubber duck]

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described if the author wants.

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Or, if they want to hold back a bit, they can let actions and dialogue reveal character [Someone typing on a keyboard]

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traits indirectly.

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Whether it's done directly or indirectly, characterization is incredibly important if

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an author wants their characters to really jump off the page. [Characters jump off of books onto a desk]

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And guess what, they can use characterization to tell us how good the character is at jumping.

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Like that shy basketball player?

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Probably a great jumper.

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But also, probably doesn’t love when everybody’s making a big deal about it. [Basketball player jumps and puts the ball in the hoop]

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Sorry dude, we'll stop calling you out on this video, this must be a nightmare for you huh? [Basketball player looks upset and slides down his classroom chair]

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