Creating a Diverse Cast of Characters

Writer what you know is a great adage for creating similitude; however, it does not help create diversity. I am constantly reminding readers that I am not my narrator. I am sure that you have encountered that, too. But, our readers are not the only ones who need this reminder. Drawing from our personal experiences can lead to characters that become redundant: exaggerated, simplified, or otherwise modified versions of people we know.

So how do you break out of this rut? Seek a therapist. No I don’t mean you actually need to schedule an appointment, but a little psychological analysis might be helpful. Linda N. Edelstein, PH.D. wrote a fabulous resource book entitled Writer’s Guide to Character Traits (2nd edition). Edelstein’s profiles 23 adult personality types, child and adolescent types, criminal types, as well as psychological disorders. She also discusses the influence of environment on personality and the influence of personality on environment.

This book is not only a great resource when creating characters, it’s a great resource for generating conflict. She discusses various interpersonal arrangements like love, marriage, parenting, adopting, and birth order as well as transitions like adolescence, aging, bereavement and trauma.

If you’re in search of a tragic flaw, chapter ten covers substance abuse, eating disorders, sleeping problems and other disorders. Perhaps you’re at a loss for the perfect career for your character. Chapter eleven discusses career choice, career problems, career development and the personality traits of people in 42 different careers.

The bulleted points on the back of the book clearly illustrate how useful this resource can be, providing:

• Comprehensive instruction on how to best use the book
• New statistical information to help you create true-to-life characters
• Corresponding exercises that show you how to put the material to work in your stories
• A quick reference index to make cross referencing a snap
• Idea sparkers to get your thoughts out of your head and onto the page

With a resource like Edelstein’s Writer’s Guide to Character Traits you can explore possibilities beyond your own personal experience. Trying to imagine the critical flaw of an extrovert? Edelstein’s profile tells us that when taken to the extreme, an extrovert’s friendly personality may become flighty, superficial, or lacking in intimacy. That’s just the kind of tidbit that fires up the imagination right?

I purchased my copy from the Writer’s Digest Book Club, however, I did locate it on Amazon.com where you can get a peek inside and check out the contents for yourself. This book won’t write dynamic characters for you, but as a resource it can help you build consistent characters who act out of genuine personality rather than the convenient twist of an author’s pen.