Here is how to reveal character through choices, actions and speech so the people in your stories feel real.
To reveal a character through action, show them making choices, especially small ones, and speaking in their own way. The reader then works out who they are without being told. “He was generous” is only a claim, but a scene of him quietly paying a stranger’s bus fare proves it.
Why does telling fall flat?
“She was kind, clever and brave” gives the reader a list but no feeling. It is a conclusion with no evidence, so it does not convince. The character also stays flat, because the reader never sees them act.
When you show a kind action, the reader decides “she is kind” on their own. A conclusion the reader reaches feels much stronger than one they are handed. This is the heart of writing about a character.
How do choices reveal character?
What a character chooses, especially when it costs them something, shows who they are. Give your character a small dilemma and let the choice do the work.
Imagine a character who finds a wallet on the pavement. One keeps it. One hands it in.
Another opens it, sees a family photo and hands it in, changed. Each choice shows a different person, with no traits stated.
Why do small actions matter most?
Small actions feel unplanned, so readers trust them. How a character treats someone who cannot help them, or what they do when no one is watching, says a great deal.
A character who straightens a crooked picture in a stranger’s house shows a need for order. One who gives all their change to a beggar, then worries they gave too much, shows both generosity and anxiety.
How can body language show feelings?
The way a character moves can show their inner state. A nervous character checks the door or picks at a sleeve. A grieving one moves slowly, as if underwater.
Instead of “he was anxious”, write the leg that will not stop bouncing or the phone checked for the tenth time. The reader feels the anxiety because they see its signs, just as they would in real life.
If this is where marks are going missing, a trial hour with an experienced teacher can work on it one-to-one.
How does dialogue reveal character?
Give each character their own way of speaking. One is blunt, one jokes to avoid things, and one never quite answers the question.
Told that a trip is cancelled, “Fine. Whatever.” shows a different person from “Oh well, these things happen, don’t they?” A long silence shows someone else again. Our guide to punctuating dialogue helps the speech look right on the page.
Why give a character a contradiction?
Real people are not just one trait. A generous person who is mean about one thing, or a brave one scared of something small, feels real. Give your character one contradiction and let it appear in a small action.
How should you introduce a character?
Avoid opening with a paragraph of description. Introduce the character in the middle of doing something revealing.
Compare “Maria was a careful, anxious woman of forty” with “Maria checked the stove twice, then went back a third time to be sure.” The second version shows both traits in one action. Our guide to opening a narrative has more ideas.
How do you practise showing?
Each time you write a label such as “she was ambitious”, stop. Ask what she would do that shows ambition, and write that instead. With practice you will reach for the action first.
How our teachers help students write real characters
Many students know “show, don’t tell” but still write characters who are only described. In our writing-paper focus lessons, teachers take a student’s flat character and rebuild them together through choices, small actions and distinct speech. The student feels the difference in their own story.
If your child’s stories have plenty of plot but flat characters, book a paid one-hour trial lesson. The teacher will take one of their characters and bring it to life with them.