How to Write a Book: Typing Your Characters
Using dialog, imagery, and giving your character "warts" to type characters
Have you ever read a story with a good plot, but you went away feeling that something was incomplete? In all probability, the author failed to type his characters adequately and the result was a bored reader. This is one of the most common failures in stories.
You can type characters in a number of ways: by their education, their conversation, family background, associations with other people, by showing their passions, their needs, gifts, the plot of the story,  by their conversation—or by giving them warts.
1. Giving Your Character “Warts
It has been said that every character 'should have a wart'. That means every character should bear something that is noteworthy in the reader’s mind – something that will make them recognizable and memorable.
Let’s say one of your characters has a crossed eye, one has a mole on her cheek, another has a scar, and another has a limp. These are “warts”, i.e., noteworthy details that will help your audience separate the many characters in a long story. A wart may or may not contribute to character typing.
2. Imagery in character typing
What would you think of a male character described as having manicured nails and spit-polished spectator shoes? Now compare that mental image to another man who is described as having halitosis and an unevenly buttoned shirt hanging on the outside. Do you see the difference between these two people in your mind? If you read those descriptions in a book, you would know that character # 1 was very likely a business man, very detailed, clean to a fault, probably very punctual, and quite responsible. Character # 2 would be altogether different. He would be a man who doesn't care about himself or anyone else. He may be a drinker, has no personal pride, and couldn't care less about what people think of him. But notice how little I said about them. This is character typing, also known as Show, Don’t Tell, and Imagery.
If you say a man has a “toothless smile” you’ve said a mouthful. (pun) Insinuate things about people’s teeth and jewelry to help typify the character. Think about a girl who wears no earrings- as compared to one who wears small earrings - or huge hoops. Can you see how this helps type a character in the reader’s mind? You can do the same thing with dirty nails, acrylic nails done in French tips, or nails chewed to the nub. You can do it with bleached hair, mini-skirts, torn tennis shoes, a woman wearing a dress shirt with a tie, etc. All of these things paint a picture of your character for your reader.
3.Using Dialog to Type Characters
How your character treats others and is treated by others will make indelible footprints in your reader’s mind. Think how easily you can portray a sassy-mouthed teenager, a nagging wife, an unfaithful husband, a nasty store clerk, or the innocence of a child by using dialog. There is no trick to it. Get into your character’s head and say what a real character in his/her circumstances would say.
When you learn the skills of typecasting, your sales will sky rocket.
Deborah Owen has founded the first fully mentored writing school on the net. Each student is personally mentored through the web of rules that surround writing. Check it out at http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com
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