The Anatomy of a Character

There's more to a critique than simply answering a few open ended questions. Today I'm going to describe the way I look to critique characters. Please feel free to take from it what you like. When considering characters, description, dialogue and design.

Description of a character can be done in many ways, and much of the time this can depend on the point of view of the story. "Sarah picked up the bouquet of hydrangeas that complemented her blue eyes." This method of inserting description attaches the description to an action, keeping the reader in the moment of the story. From that sentence, readers will know that Sarah's eyes are a very specific blue; perhaps they have some lavender in them if they're complimented by hydrangeas. The reader also learns that Sarah has some interest in the flowers; though from that one sentence, the nature of her interest can't be surmised.

"Sarah was a tall girl, not particularly lean in the way that tall people sometimes seem stretched, but of average build. Her blue eyes contained a hint of lavender that contrasted with the short strawberry hair that framed her round face." That sort of prose is devoted solely to description. With a few sentences, the reader gets a clear picture of what makes Sarah so unique. Without action though, too many sentences of description, in a row, can bore the reader. When critiquing, look for descriptions that seem out of place or that seem to drone on and on. Think about how those descriptions could work if altered...and you'll have some constructive comments to provide in your critique.

Dialogue between characters can reveal a lot about them, and should be written in the voices of the characters speaking. Chances are, most Americans, for example, wouldn't say this, "Verily, my dear friend, I am most concerned about the approach of the potentially inclement weather," when they can say, "Looks like it'll rain." Be true to your characters, and their speech. When critiquing, try to imagine the character saying what's written between the quotation marks...if possible, read the dialogue out loud, so that you can hear how it sounds. Listen for halting moments, usually caused by choppiness (cannot vs. can't, for example).

Design of characters means their motives. What is pushing the characters to do what they do? Is it obvious? Is it hidden? If it's hidden, is it hidden on purpose (e.g. mystery genre)? Look at the choices made by the characters and see if you can pinpoint their motivations, or designs, fueling their choices. When critiquing, note these designs and ensure that they're credible. Then, look at how each character's reasons are revealed in the story itself. Sometimes, even telling someone "I think Joe robbed the bank because he has a Robin Hood complex," can be helpful, and the writer can decide if that was meant to be Joe's design.