Character Creator
A mannerism is a gesture, a way of speaking or behaving; that is habitual (you probably don't know even know you are doing it)
Some examples of mannerisms are...
1) tapping a foot
2) chewing the inside of the cheek
3) biting fingernails
4) greeting everyone with a hug or handshake
5) a quick smile in greeting or nervousness
6) a toss of the head
7) lowering the eyes flirtatiously or timidly
8) running fingers through hair
9) snapping fingers or cracking knuckles
10) blowing breath out through the mouth in exasperation
Follow the steps below. Remember, the more detail you include the more believable the character. Be prepared to share your character profile with the rest of the class.
1. Where does your character live?
What country does your character live in? Does he/she live alone or with a family? In a caravan or an mansion? How did he end up living there? How does he feel about it?
2. Where did your character's life begin?
Did she grow up running around the woods in a small South Western Australian town, or learning to speak fluent French verbs in a Parisian boarding school? Obviously this influences things like the kinds of people your character knows, the words she uses to communicate with them, and the way she feels about a host of things in her external world.
3. How old is your character?
Though this might seem like an obvious question, it's important to make a clear decision about this before you begin writing -- otherwise, it's impossible to get the details right. For instance, would your character have a cell phone, a land line, or both? Still get money from his/her parents, or worry about what will happen to his parents as they get old?
4. What is your character called?
Your character's name provides a lot of information about your character's age, background, and social class.
5. What does your character look like?
Is your character tall enough to see over the heads of a crowd at the football? Or short, muscular and agile? Though you need not have a crystal clear picture of your character in mind, physical details help your readers believe in the character, and help you imagine how your character moves through the world.
6. How does your character deal with conflict and change?
Most stories involve some element of conflict and change -- they're part of what makes a story a story. Is your character passive or active? If someone confronts her, does she change the subject, head for the nearest door, stalk off in a bad mood, or do a deep-breathing exercise? When someone insults him/her, is he more likely to take it, come up with a clever retort, or excuse him/herself to find someone else to talk to?
7. Who else is in your character's life?
Relationships, how people interact with others, reveal character. They're also excuses for dialogue, which break up description, offering another way of providing necessary information. Think about who will best help you convey this information, and what kinds of people would realistically be in your character's world in the first place
8. What is your character's goal?
In longer stories or novels, you will have to ask this question repeatedly. Many of your character's actions will result from what she/he is trying to achieve and her personality, which is composed of everything you've invented in answering the above questions. When in doubt about how your character should behave, ask yourself what your character wants from the situation, and think about the answers you've given to all of the above