How Do You Create a Character From a Detail?
Often it is the details that make the difference. Those details, especially, that you don’t initially pay attention to but later turn out to be a key part of the story. In some cases, it is an object (the famous Checkov’s gun), and in others, a detail that belongs to a character.
That is why sometimes characters are born from a point, as we explain in this article on character development.
What are these details? How do you create a character from a detail? Let’s see how.
What Does “Create a Character From a Detail” Mean?
Have you ever heard a song and thought of a person you know? Or see a drawing and relate it to your best friend’s tattoo?
Think about your friendships. Surely there is a physical detail, such as hair color, the texture of a face, the way they interact and speak, or even clothing that immediately brings you back to a person.
These details are those particulars that stick in the mind so much that we remember those particular people even when we should not associate with them. How many connections exist between people and details?
In the world of fiction, it is the same. A character can be created from physicality, background, or personality, even from a simple detail.
How to Create a Character From a Detail?
One way to start building a character can be to think backward. So don’t start creating the character but think about a detail and then create its owner.
Look around and be inspired. What catches your attention? A color? You could write about a character with intense green eye color, or if you think of red, a protagonist with red hair. Do you like a particular car, a song, or a piece of clothing? Starting with this detail, imagine what the character would look like related to it and create it.
However, remember that that detail will be so crucial within your novel that it must almost become a protagonist along with the character you create. The reader, reviewing that object or thinking back to that detail even in reality, will automatically have to think back to your character.
Characters Born From Details: Some Examples
There is a broad psychological aspect to creating a character from a detail. If you succeed in your purpose, your reader will carry the narrative with him always, in his mind.
For example, think of Harry Potter‘s scar. This detail is so specific that one only has to see it again, even separately from Harry Potter, to think of the world’s most famous wizard immediately.
Similarly, a green and red striped shirt immediately triggers terror in fans of horror readings and movies, thinking back to the horror character Freddy Krueger.
This is the power of detail. They may appear to be unimportant, but they are, in fact, of great value because if well used, they enable the reader to become attached to a character and never to forget them again.
“There are films that we have loved so much, characters that have stayed so much in our hearts, that they have affected our attitudes, choices and even the loves of our lives.”
Giuseppe Tobia
Choose the Right Detail for Your Character With Bibisco
bibisco features novel writing software that lets you keep track of any detail of your story.
In the case of creating a character, you can establish their physical character traits here, make notes on their past and even think about the detail that sets them apart.
It will be easier to remember all the characters to be created thanks to this software and the ability to develop a detailed sheet for each character in your story.
Conclusion
Details make a difference, even in narration.
They can be the particular features of a character that the reader becomes attached to and will never forget.
Unleash your imagination and create a complex character, starting with a small detail that catches your attention.
