Characterization - Part One - Outer Life

Each short story or novel that you write will have several characters. You will need a protagonist, suspects, villain, and other minor characters. This article will focus on how to outline the outward appearance of your protagonist.

Protagonist

First you have to decide which of these genres you are going to write. If you choose suspense or thrillers, your protagonist can be whomever you want him or her to be. If you choose to write a detective fiction short story or novel, then your protagonist should be a detective.

A protagonist is the main character of the story. He or she should be developed in such a way that your readers can relate to him or her. Characters need to be realistic.

Making Your Characters Real

The easiest way to make your characters realistic is to outline their personalities. For example, you need to write down a character's name on a sheet of paper. Then, you need to start making a list of their outward characteristics.

Let's say your character's name is Penny. (I chose this name because she is the main character in the novel I am writing.)

Physical Description

Penny is about 5'7", slender, and has brown hair that hangs just below her shoulders and flips up. She usually wears her hair in a pony tail with a ribbon that hangs down. Her favorite outfits are slacks with matching tops, especially blue. She also likes brown and green outfits.

Where Does Penny Live?

Penny lives in an apartment complex in Lakeview. Lakeview is a fictious name. Her apartment is on the first floor and in the first section of apartments. Her best friend, Abby, also lives in the apartment complex but down the hall from Penny.

Penny's Occupation

Penny is an amateur detective and freelance writer. She enjoys writing suspense, detective fiction, and thrillers. She also enjoys solving real cases. Penny's friend, Abby also likes to solve cases with her.

Penny's Possessions

Penny has a blue, four door, Dodge Dynasty and a camper that she uses when she wants to go camping. She also has a laptop computer that she always takes with her on her camping trips. Her clothes are basically slacks with matching blouses, comfortable white tennis shoes, a few jumpers, and several personal items. She also owns her furniture in her apartment.

There are many other chracteristics that are involved in outlining the outward characteristics of a person such as education, family, police record, etc. These will give you an idea to get started with your character outlines.

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