Creating Unique Voices, Mannerisms, and Appearances for Your Characters

In the previous parts, we covered how to create distinguishable personalities for your fictional characters. This included their family origins, environments, predispositions, interests, traits, flaws, and motives. Now that you know what your character is defined as, you can begin to brainstorm how to reveal that identity through showing, which is far more effective than telling. In writing, you can reveal a personality through their speech/voice, mannerisms, and appearance.

It can be challenging to avoid throwing your own narrative tone into every character’s voice — projecting your personality onto them — which results in them all sounding and acting similarly. This should be avoided as much as possible. In order to do this, you need to determine how each character will speak, and what type of communication styles (both verbal and non-verbal) they will have.

In addition, we will also consider how their physical appearance can reveal their personality.

COMMUNICATION STYLES

There are 4 main communication styles according to Mark Murphy, who studied this topic in depth.

As humans are inclined to use indirect communication (not perfectly stating the messages we want to convey), it can be a challenge to both get our point across accurately — what one person says can be misinterpreted by another — and to write realistic fictional conversations. This is because we are not just capturing what two people said to each other, but also trying to include their physical cues and subtle undertones.

Assertive
Assertive communicators are the healthiest and most articulate of the 4. They have developed the proper skills to communicate both effectively and empathetically. They tend to be more confident, self-assured, and emotionally stable.

Aggressive
Aggressive communicators are unempathetic of the emotions of others. They tend to be more arrogant (what they have to say is the most important), rude, and childish. They may also throw tantrums or resort to gaslighting.

Passive-Aggressive
Passive-aggressive communicators have difficulty expressing themselves assertively, often due to a lack of self-confidence (or simply because they don’t know how to). Because they struggle to constructively say when someone has bothered, hurt, annoyed, or angered them, they become resentful and act in a passive-aggressive manner instead, hoping the other will clue in and figure it out for themselves. This can come off as sarcasm, or as tones or mannerisms that don’t align with what’s being said.

Passive
Passive communicators also lack self-confidence, and would prefer to keep the peace than disturb it (they may have trauma or anxiety regarding conflict). They may also become resentful, but keep it more private. They also have a hard time advocating for themselves, saying “no,” and maintaining eye contact.

Something to note is that communication styles can be altered and improved over time, so your character who struggles with standing up for themselves or controlling their temper can improve that aspect of themselves over time.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the dynamic of a dialogue will change depending on what type of communicators are involved. A passive and aggressive communicator will speak to each other one way, and an aggressive communicator will speak to their counterpart in another.

EDUCATION & CLASS

A character’s origin doesn’t only affect their personality, but also their speech, mannerisms, and appearance.
To determine how, you’ll want to consider your character’s level of education and what societal expectations are placed on them, both of which are often closely related to their family origins, environment, class, and culture.

Someone who grew up royal, for instance, may follow strict manners that are seen as “dignified” and use a lot of large words with near-perfect grammar. On the other hand, someone who lacks an education may use more slang, make more grammatical errors, and not be as concerned with manners.

When creating your fictional world’s culture, it helps to think of certain mannerisms and social norms the upper and lower classes have which distinguish them from each other, and what privileges the upper class will have access to. (For example, the upper class may be the only ones who receive an adequate education.)

Some ideas include:

• Speech: Upper-class people may speak in a more sophisticated and intelligent way, whereas the lower-class people might use more “street slang” and slur their words together.
• Manners: The upper-class may be more concerned with manners than the lower-class, taking appearances seriously and making sure to follow etiquette rules and social expectations (bowing or curtseying to respected individuals or peers, holding the fork and knife in certain hands, not touching their food,..).
• Dress: Upper-class individuals may dress in more colorful clothing, embellished with jewels and precious metals, lace and embroidery, whereas lower-class individuals might wear more dull colors (dye is expensive), and have worn-out and tattered clothing (as they only have one or two outfits).
• Grooming: There may be popular hair-dos and grooming habits for the upper class that the lower class do not partake in, and vice versa, such as certain wigs, hair dyes, hair and beard styles, shaving, tattoos, etc.

EXERCISE 1 (CLASS DIFFERENCES):

To get an idea of how your world’s class system impacts a character’s observable qualities, write a page or two of an upper and lower-class individual meeting for the first time, perhaps dining or walking through the streets together. You can even write a page for each POV. They are both not familiar with socializing from someone in a different class than them.

Ask yourself during and after:

What key differences do you notice between them?
What differences do they notice in each other?
How does their speech differ?
How do their mannerisms differ?
How do their appearances differ?
What do they judge in each other, if anything?
Are either of them ever offended by the other? Shocked? Disturbed? Annoyed?
Are there any communication or topic barriers?
What varying opinions do they have, and do these opinions influence their tone in any way? (anger at class injustice, arrogance due to superiority beliefs, etc.)

PREDISPOSITIONS & TRAITS

Predispositions and traits have a lot of overlap (one is innate, the other is created in someone due to circumstance), but both will affect your character’s voice, mannerisms, and appearance in a similar way.

As discussed in part 1, predispositions are characteristics which a person innately possesses. There are four main temperaments according to Galen (sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholy, and choleric), and some of the traits include: introverted, extroverted, chaotic, reckless, people-pleasing, relaxed, realistic, perfectionistic, confident, dominating, and ambitious.

Traits may also be the result of a trauma or life experience/origins and include: intelligent, funny, imaginative, confident, kind, shy, narcissistic, obsessive, and naïve.

We can expand on these traits by considering how they would impact a character’s observable qualities. Some examples include:

• A character with chaotic and reckless traits could be prone to hot-headedness, swearing, and irritability, losing their temper in conflicts (aggressive communication) and making impulsive decisions.
  Their outward appearance might match their inner fieriness, donning darker colors paired with an angry red, having sharp facial features with intense eyes, and they may even cut and dye their hair impulsively multiple times throughout the course of the book.
• A character with introverted, shy, and people-pleasing traits would likely use gentler speech, be more willing to offer sympathy, and be very patient; hardly ever blowing up or revealing their angry side (passive communication).
  They may prefer to wear softer colors and fabrics and dress modestly to fly under the radar as much as possible, uncomfortable with standing out in a crowd.
• A narcissistic, ambitious, and obsessive character may use gaslighting and manipulation when speaking to people (to get them to bend to his will), use grandiose terms to describe themselves, and go on and on about the same obsession and how he will achieve his goal(s). They could have a mixture of aggressive and passive-aggressive communication styles.
  They might dress in a way that makes themselves look alluring or seductive, basking in their own beauty and wanting everyone around them to recognize it, too.. or they may look like they haven’t eaten or bathed in months, so consumed by their obsession that they can’t be distracted by anything until they have achieved greatness.
• An optimistic character will be compelled to use more uplifting and positive diction, while a pessimistic character will use depressing language.
• A funny character will throw in occasional humor, and the type(s) of humor they prefer (sarcastic, banter, immature, “dad jokes,” puns, degradative, pranks,..) will correspond with their other traits. For instance, they may be genuinely kind-hearted and love puns and dad jokes, they could use self-degradative and sarcastic humor as a coping mechanism, or they may enjoy seeing others struggle by cruelly pranking or degrading them (more masochistic and antagonistic personalities).

MANNERISMS & QUIRKS 

Mannerisms are the subtle verbal and non-verbal cues, gestures, and habits a person exhibits, and when they are less common, or “normal,” they can be referred to as quirks.
A quirk is an exaggerated or unusual trait or mannerism. Physical quirks are uncommon physical features that sets someone apart (for example, Harry Potter’s lightening scar in Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling).
Many things can influence a person’s mannerisms and quirks, such as anxiety, mental health, who they are speaking to, energy levels, inner truths or beliefs, and social norms and expectations. They can also change over time or depending on the situation (especially social mannerisms and quirks).

Think about certain quirks your character(s) could have that would further individualize them and showcase their unique persona(s). Although quirks often coincide with personality, they can also be opposed to it to reveal human inconsistency, or for humorous purposes (for example, an arrogant man who likes to be degraded as a kink). This (quirk) trait should be unique to them (intelligence is a common trait, but super-intelligence is rare), or shared by only a small handful. You don’t want to overdo quirks, so it’s better to limit them to round characters and to make it relevant to your story somehow (though this isn’t necessary). These quirks may be revealed through what they say or through their actions.

Some common mannerisms include:

• Crossing your arms (to show superiority, annoyance, impatience,..)
• Leaning on things (can reveal distractedness, disinterest, boredom,..)
• Poor posture
• Never sitting on a chair properly (disregard for manners or sexist norms)
• Nail biting (anxiety)
• Twirling your hair (flirting)
• Twirling
• Sneering
• Eye rolling
• Blowing raspberries (can reveal immaturity)

Some examples of quirks include:

• A hero or god complex with a strange need to martyr themselves
• A crippling phobia
• Age regression
• Always eating or thinking about food
• Laughs when anxious and at inappropriate times
• Picks their nose
• Always forgets where they left things
• Won’t leave their house without a book on them
• A stutter
• Jumps when excited or happy
• Hyper-sensitive and cries all the time

Some examples of physical quirks include:

• A missing eye with an eyepatch
• No teeth, gold teeth, pointed teeth
• Uncommon eye color, or two different eye colors
• Always wears florals, stripes, dots, etc.
• Very very hairy
• A creepy or full-body tattoo
• Only wears green clothes
• Uses a cane to walk
• Has a mythical or animalistic feature, such as wings, horns, or scales

EXERCISE 2 (DISTINGUISHING VOICES):

This is a great exercise to help distinguish your character’s voices from each other, to ensure they are all different.

For each round character, write a page of:

1) Their inner monologue (about something they deeply wounds or inspires them, which reveals their motives, goals, or pain)
2) Your character communicating with someone else. 

Ask yourself during and after:

What is their communication style?
Are there any unique things your character does while alone or socializing?
How much of what they think do they reveal versus keep hidden, and why?
What mannerisms are constant, and which are reliant of their environment? Do they like to engage in banter?
Are they able to read between the lines and understand indirect communication, or do they take things literally?
If they take things literally, do they also speak in literal terms?
Are they ambiguous or direct?
Are they easily irritated, or a great listener with a lot of patience, empathy, and understanding?
Do they take charge of the conversation, or are they more of a listener? 

LIKES & DISLIKES

Lastly, you may want to consider your character’s interests when creating their voice, mannerisms, and appearance. As we tend to talk of things that we enjoy, your character should be no different. It may be anything from a hobby, to a way of life, to an occupation, to an obsession. Depending on how important it is, your character may bring it up to varying degrees. Likes and dislikes will also affect your character’s physical appearance and wardrobe choices.

• If a character loves animals, they might know all of their scientific names and “fun facts” that others don’t know.
  They might refuse to wear furs and leathers, not wanting to contribute to animal cruelty in any way.
• If a character is a farmer, they may be judgmental of how other farmers grow their crops or raise their livestock, along with knowing a lot about the weather and seasons, soil, farm animals, and plants.
  A character who is a farmer may dress or appear a certain way, for example, with dirty clothes and wearing overalls.
• If a character has an inclination for the arts and beauty, they may be in awe of nature, think in a unique and creative way, and express things descriptively. They might enjoy telling elaborate stories and creating things.
  An artistic character may dress colorfully and vibrantly, using clothing and hair as a form of self-expression.

Your character may also have smaller, less important likes and dislikes, which you can “sprinkle in” to make your character feel more real. For example, they may love pickles, hate mice, collect shiny rocks, or run away from spiders.

There are other things you may want to add to make your character even more iconic and distinguishable. Catch phrases are one way to accomplish this, though you don’t want to overdo it (for example, Ron Weasley’s famous “bloody hell”).