History SoYouWantTo / DevelopCharacterPersonality

The issue of sex differences on personality is still a hot topic in psychology and in biology. Which personality traits (if any) are exclusive to female and male people is still a source of debate. However it can be safely assumed that physical differences between sexes are biological in nature and not psychological. [[NotSoDifferent Generally there's more variance within the sex itself than the patterns between them. People are people, first and foremost]].

!!Personality disorders

While it's an important part of personality, the topic is too big to be exposed here. To learn more of this topic in depth the following reading is recommended.

# HollywoodPersonalityDisorders analyses personality disorders as they appear in media.
# [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder Wikipedia's article on the subject]].

* Characterization through [[PersonalAppearanceTropes appearance]] can be important because they may reinforce the character's personality, like choice of [[CostumeTropes attire]] and {{hair|Tropes}}do.

[[caption-width-right:260:[-[[VisualPun Puppet Busters! Say no to puppet characters]].-] ]]

!!Individuality.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-You are special! ...[[TheAssimilator unless Mr. Smith assimilates you]].-] ]]

!!Flaws (Human error).

[[caption-width-right:298:[-Flaws can be funny too!!!-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:335:[-What is the passion of your character? Fashion, sports or something else?-]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[-I have horrible self-esteem, really!-] ]]

!!Personality types.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-Extraverted: Always happy and very sociable!-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:327:[-Introverted: Serious or timid?-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:297:[-One expression can tell more about a character's soul than pages of descriptions.-]]]

[[caption-width-right:333:[-[[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} The woman on the right]] is more realistic than [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 the one on the left]] [[BlatantLies ...right?]]-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:229:[-Girly isn't a synonym of weak!-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:335:[-What is the passion of your character? Fashion, sports or something else?-]]

The importance of personality in a character is undeniable. Some fictional works are only considered interesting because of just one character's personality. For example, the popular show ''Series/{{House}}''. If it wasn't for TheProtagonist, the show would be a generic MedicalDrama. [[TheWonka Jack Sparrow]] is the main reason ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is successful. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides#cite_note-Depp-14 Disney even admitted that without "Captain Jack Sparrow" the franchise would be "dead and buried."]] Good characters will make people care about everything else in your story.

All persons are unique and special. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin#Identical_.28monozygotic.29_twins Even identical twins that share the same DNA aren't exactly the same (regarding personality)]]. The preferred example of this is when one of the twins is homosexual and the other is not.

[[quoteright:318:[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/interests_9681.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:318:[-What is the passion of your character? Fashion, sports or something else?-] ]]

For this reason knowing is a great way to give your character's personality depth. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_mechanism#Level_1_-_Pathological Psychological defense mechanisms]] are an overlooked aspect in personality that are a major point in continuity and depth of a character. Try it: pick a favorite character, identify their most important defenses, and now change them. Are they still the same person?

# [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder Wikipedia's article on the subject]].

If a character is most of the time "extraverted", that character will be considered as "extraverted." The same will happen with introversion. Now we are going to see the most common traits of each one:

* Extraversion. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extroversion_and_introversion#Ambiversion These kind of characters are mostly identified by their happy and positive dispositions]]; they enjoy being around people. On the contrary, being alone is very unpleasant for them. This kind of character can be best described as "enthusiastic," "talkative," "assertive," and "sociable." [[WhenSheSmiles They are hardly ever seen alone or without a smile]], unless they're the type that likes to go be miserable with other people or just complain to a crowd.

Another thing to keep in mind is that extraversion does not necessarily refer to how positive a temperament a character has, only how much they enjoy other people's company. A positive temperament is covered under low neuroticism. See: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits The Big 5]] (another theory of personality).

[[quoteright:298:[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twilightsparkling_8553.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:298:[-One expression can tell more about a character's soul than pages of descriptions.-] ]]

-->-- [[http://traditionalanimation.tumblr.com/post/128949011548/pegasus-wing-animation-cycle-from-hercules Model sheet for]] [[Disney/{{Hercules}} the Disney take on Pegasus]]

[[quoteright:229:[[Disney/{{Mulan}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulanpwns2_791.jpg]]]]

Ignoring the fact that the word "flaw" sounds like something "bad," it is actually '''a very good thing''' for characterization. [[ThisLoserIsYou Characters that have the same flaws as the audience]] are considerably easier to identify with than their [[MarySue less]] [[TheAce flawed]] [[BoringInvincibleHero counterparts]]. Some flaws can make your audience identify with the struggles of your character. Other flaws will make your character unique and interesting. Making your characters outgrow some of their flaws can make interesting {{plot point}}s.

The importance of personality in a character is undeniable. Some fictional works are only considered interesting because of just one character's personality. For example, the popular show ''Series/{{House}}''. If it wasn't for its MainCharacter the show would be a generic MedicalDrama. [[TheWonka Jack Sparrow]] is the main reason ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is successful. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides#cite_note-Depp-14 Disney even admitted that without "Captain Jack Sparrow" the franchise would be "dead and buried."]] Good characters will make people care about everything else in your story.

** Flanderization [[TropesAreNotBad isn't generally bad]], but [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools using it too much]] will cause bad reviews and may bring pitfalls as well.

** Flanderization [[TropesAreNotBad isn't generally bad]], but [[TropesAreTools using it too much]] will cause bad reviews and may bring pitfalls as well.

-->''"When you make a character, make them '''human'''"''.

The importance of personality in a character is undeniable. Some fictional works are only considered interesting because of just one character's personality. For example, the popular show ''Series/{{House}}''. If it wasn't for its MainCharacter the show would be a generic MedicalDrama. [[TheWonka Jack Sparrow]] is the main reason ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is successful. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides#cite_note-Depp-14 Disney even admitted that without "Captain Jack Sparrow" the franchise would be "dead and buried".]] Good characters will make people care about everything else in your story.

Personality is defined as "A dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognition, motivations, and behaviors in various situations." In other words your character's personality will be the behavior your character has with themselves and with others. It's important to note that even though all people have personalities, the person isn't his/her personality.

Interestingly, the word "personality" originates from the Latin word ''persona'', which means "mask". This is relevant to us because it will help us to understand the [[BeneathTheMask concept of social masks]].

# Does your character have a burden/secrets that he/she isn't able to share?

!!What makes a person the way he/she is

Finally, it's important to note that both making characters defined only by his good traits or by their flaws are signs of bad characterization. For example, a villain could hate revenge, while a hero doesn't. [[CharacterDevelopment Part of being human is not being devoid of flaws but overcoming them]]. Consequentially, having moral flaws will not make a hero less admirable -- on the contrary, [[AntiHero antiheroes]], heroes with flaws uncharacteristic of the archetypical hero, are more fascinating in modern fiction than heroes who have very few/no noticeable moral flaws at all. Imagine a hero not killing a villain but he's a PuritySue. Now imagine a hero who struggled with revenge and anger throughout the whole story not killing the villain because he realized that it would hurt other people- even if he still has anger and revenge issues. One of them is a more interesting hero than the other.

# Making your character face situations that he/she has never experienced before. For example, marriage.

How big of an emotional spectrum does the character have? How are these [[EmotionTropes emotions]] expressed? When are they expressed? The bigger the spectrum is and the more detailed the answers to the other two questions are, the more complex the character tends to get.

How much does your character love/appreciate themselves? What is the perception your character has of him/herself? This perception your character has of him/herself is going to dictate greatly how your character behaves.

A character who acts arrogantly does not necessarily have a good concept of him/herself. As we discussed before, a character may try to hide self-loathing and insecurities behind a false mask of security. For instance the StepfordSmiler, [[NotSoStoic or the fake stoic]].

Narcissism isn't a synonym of "super high" self-esteem either. On the contrary, it's a sign of a low self-esteem. People with high self-esteem accept themselves unconditionally, accepting realistically both their defects and their flaws. On the opposite side, a narcissist, instead of accepting him/herself just the way they are, try to exaggerate their own virtues in order to feel better with their own selves.

One of the most common divisions of personality is between [[ExtraversionTropes extraversion]] and [[IntroversionTropes introversion]]. By reading this you may be wondering, "what's 'better', introversion or extraversion?" Neither, of course. It is often wrongfully assumed that extraversion is "good" while introversion is "bad." They are simply different and neither of them is superior. Both are able to develop very interesting, complex characters.

If a character is most of the time "extraverted", that character will be considered as "extraverted". The same will happen with introversion. Now we are going to see the most common traits of each one:

* Extraversion. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extroversion_and_introversion#Ambiversion These kind of characters are mostly identified by their happy and positive dispositions]]; they enjoy being around people. On the contrary, being alone is very unpleasant for them. This kind of character can be best described as "enthusiastic," "talkative," "assertive," and "sociable."[[WhenSheSmiles They are hardly ever seen alone or without a smile]], unless they're the type that likes to go be miserable with other people or just complain to a crowd.

# (Free-will) How much does your character follow the rules of that society? Does your character defy or follow what society expects of him/her? And how much to they follow/defy them?

!!'''Principle Number One'''
-->''When you make a character, make them '''human'''".

The main goal of developing a character’s personality - as already stated - is to make that character human. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the character needs to be a human being or act exactly like one. Exceptions where a character has an inhuman personality can only be made interesting if human nature is understood first.

The importance of personality in a character is undeniable. Some fictional works are only considered interesting because of just one character’s personality. For example, the popular show ''Series/{{House}}''. If it wasn’t for its MainCharacter the show would be a generic MedicalDrama. [[TheWonka Jack Sparrow]] is the main reason ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is successful. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides#cite_note-Depp-14 Disney even admitted that without "Captain Jack Sparrow" the franchise would be "dead and buried".]] Good characters will make people care about everything else in your story.

Furthermore, some fictional works are centered towards just one character. In fact, the personality is both the most complex and most important part of a character. A character’s personality is the main drive of most stories. It’s very likely you have heard people talking about having a “favorite character.” This character is more often than not the main reason people care about this fictional work at all.

!! Avoiding Puppet characters

[[caption-width-right:260:[-[[VisualPun Puppet Busters! Say no to puppet characters.]]-] ]]

->"Pegasus should always have an attitude when he's flying based on what he's doing, why he's doing it and how he feels about it. He is [[LivingProp not a taxi.]]”
-->--[[http://traditionalanimation.tumblr.com/post/128949011548/pegasus-wing-animation-cycle-from-hercules Model sheet for]] [[Disney/{{Hercules}} the Disney take on Pegasus]]

It’s important to note that the following advice is to help make a fully human character. It is of course possible to develop personality without following all of this advice. However before effectively breaking the rules you need to know them first, otherwise you may have a puppet-character instead of a person.

! What is 'personality'?

Personality is defined as “A dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognition, motivations, and behaviors in various situations.” In other words your character's personality will be the behavior your character has with themselves and with others. It’s important to note that even though all people have personalities, the person isn’t his/her personality.

You can apply this knowledge to characters. [[FlatCharacter While many authors like to make their characters without any “masks,”]] this trait could certainly give more depth to your characters. Because the struggles between the outside and the inside of your character are an important part of a character’s personality, the following questions will help you to define this aspect of your character’s personality.

# Does your character have a burden/secrets that he/she isn’t able to share?

# '''Genetics'''. These factors are in the DNA of the person. They can’t be chosen or changed by the person. For example, age.

! What makes a character feel “human”? (Human nature)

Even though the question of what makes us “human” is still a hot topic in philosophy, there are certain traits we can identify that are proper of a “developed human.” This will help a character feel human.

This concept means “the capability of making decisions without coercion.” In other words, you need to remember that your characters must have their own dreams and goals. You need to portray characters as how they would act if they were real, as you want them to act, but taking into account their own goals, not as what you want them to act for the sole purpose of shaping the {{plot}}. Unless it’s justified in the {{plot}}, characters won’t betray their objectives nor their personalities spontaneously. That’s the difference between CharacterDerailment and CharacterDevelopment.

Autonomy is also the difference between a character that is just a puppet, an extension of your will, and a person. Characters that are true people will act as they want, not as you wish they acted. If you consciously try to avoid writing a puppet character or a MarySue, then you are inevitably going to disagree with your character’s reasoning or actions sometimes. But that’s how a realistic character would act. This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to control your characters. You can make your character do whatever you want without losing characterization if you take care to not betray what makes your character autonomous.

!! Individuality.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-You are special! ...[[TheAssimilator unless Mr. Smith assimilates you.]]-] ]]

->"It is important to foster individuality, for only the individual can produce new ideas."
-->--UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein

All persons are unique and special. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin#Identical_.28monozygotic.29_twins Even identical twins that share the same DNA aren’t exactly the same (regarding personality)]]. The preferred example of this is when one of the twins is homosexual and the other is not.

While this doesn’t mean that you can’t create characters that are exactly the same if your plot needs it [[CloningBlues (for example clones)]], it does mean however that you can’t make characters that are (in theory) different people but always or nearly always behave perfectly alike (unless it is justified by the plot), nor characters that always have exactly the same opinion or think exactly the same way. Even people that share the same goals tend to think differently on the means.

For example, two heroes want to save the world from the BigBad, but one of the heroes wants to kill the BigBad while the other wants to redeem him. This would be a good way to express individuality. This doesn’t mean characters can’t agree in many topics, but it does mean that the less differences characters have, the less human they will be.

!! Flaws (Human error).

->"Perfect people are boring. Perfect people are obnoxious because they're better than us. Perfect people are, above all, too good to be true."
-->--Literature/HowNotToWriteANovel, "Too Good to Be True"

Ignoring the fact that the word “flaw” sounds like something “bad,” it is actually '''a very good thing''' for characterization. [[ThisLoserIsYou Characters that have the same flaws as the audience]] are considerably easier to identify with than their [[MarySue less]] [[TheAce flawed]] [[BoringInvincibleHero counterparts]]. Some flaws can make your audience identify with the struggles of your character. Other flaws will make your character unique and interesting. Making your characters outgrow some of their flaws can make interesting {{plot point}}s.

A classic example of a fake [[CharacterFlawIndex flaw]] is being “SoBeautifulItsACurse.” While this trait appears to be a flaw, it is actually a form of WishFulfillment disguised as a flaw; the reason is that a desirable trait is being “masked” as something undesirable. However, it can’t be considered as a true flaw because the benefits of this trait are still present. In this case the character is still going to be considered as special and important because of his/her 'beauty.'[[note]]It is possible for a character to ''really'' be SoBeautifulItsACurse (say, to be married off against her will or to genuinely suffer because of the jealousy of others), but the overwhelming majority of SoBeautifulItsACurse characters never really suffer for their beauty in anything more than a token or superficial way. In those characters, their beauty isn't a flaw, only a positive trait with a few negligible negative side effects[[/note]]

A perfect example of single-flaw characters is the concept of the “FatalFlaw.” People in RealLife aren’t single-flawed. Even though it’s true that people may have a “FatalFlaw,” people will make not just one -- but many mistakes throughout his/her life, and for different reasons.

[[CharacterFlawIndex Flaws]] are also able to be a great source of humor. After all, not all kind of flaws need to be “big.” Other flaws can be humorous and even become a very unique trait of a character. For example, a character that always arrives late despite having SuperSpeed, or a rich character that always forgets his wallet.

[[CharacterFlawIndex Flaws]] are also what makes a character’s virtues believable. It’s very easy to give character good traits, making a perfect character even. But without flaws those virtues are not going to be believed by the audience. That’s the reason flaws are fundamental for creating a well-developed character.

# Skill flaws. Your character can’t be [[TheAce good at everything]]. Characters tend to have unique talents and interests. There are going to be things they aren’t very good at, even on things that they are skilled with. They can’t be perfect at them all the time. Characters need both strengths and weaknesses.
# Moral flaws. Your character can’t be always “right” or always “wrong.”

Your character can’t always be “the moral standard of your work.” A villain can’t be completely devoid of redeeming qualities. All people have some good and some bad in them (with few counted exceptions). How much depends on each character.

Finally, it’s important to note that both making characters defined only by his good traits or by their flaws are signs of bad characterization. For example, a villain could hate revenge, while a hero doesn’t. [[CharacterDevelopment Part of being human is not being devoid of flaws but overcoming them]]. Consequentially, having moral flaws will not make a hero less admirable -- on the contrary, [[AntiHero antiheroes]], heroes with flaws uncharacteristic of the archetypical hero, are more fascinating in modern fiction than heroes who have very few/no noticeable moral flaws at all. Imagine a hero not killing a villain but he's a PuritySue. Now imagine a hero who struggled with revenge and anger throughout the whole story not killing the villain because he realized that it would hurt other people- even if he still has anger and revenge issues. One of them is a more interesting hero than the other.

Multi-facet ability consists of making complex, three dimensional characters that have a lot of conflicting [[MotivationIndex motivations]] and [[InternalConflictTropes internal conflict]]. This will result in more fleshed out, interesting characters. In return, this will give your character realism, conflict, and a way for your character to show many different sides of themselves. This will make the character interesting, surprising and "unpredictable."

While people tend to have a main behavior, for example TheHero is a good person and will try to do the right thing, there is a part of a character’s personality that can’t be predicted. While the goals of a character should always be predictable (unless they are hidden from the audience), the way those goals are accomplished shouldn’t be set in stone.

It’s important to take care of not making your characters predictable. If the audience knows (literally all the time) what a certain character is going to say or do, then the character just has a role disguised as a personality. However it's important to note that consistency and being multifaceted aren't mutually exclusive. The former is what makes the character unique, their "essence," while the latter is how the character's goals are accomplished.

!! Goals and dreams

-> For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
--> [[Literature/TheBible Matthew 6:21]]

-> Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
--> Creator/KurtVonnegut's [[http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/538 rules for writing a short story]].

All humans have dreams and desires. It doesn’t matter how “gifted” or “rich” a person is. Characters need to have [[GoalsAndObjectivesIndex goals]]; both in short and long term. Goals can be as simple as wanting a sandwich or as complex as wanting to save the world. Their motivations are very important factors linked to personality. All people desire things (even omnipotent characters tend to desire [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment being able to desire something]]). These goals will be very important in order to define a character’s personality.

!! Mutability
->"Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don't change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow."
--> '''Woodie Guthrie'''

People change by various factors. The most important of them is time. Characters that never [[AesopAmnesia learn from their mistakes nor mature]] are devoid of an important part of the character’s humanity. While this trait is often ignored in order to preserve the [[StatusQuoisGod status quo]], mutability isn’t an essential human trait for a fictional story. Furthermore, some fictional works could be ''hurt'' by having mutability. Mutability is still an excellent way to develop a character, however it isn’t a synonym of improvement. Mutability may include the StartOfDarkness of a character.

! Inspiration
[[SoYouWantTo/BeOriginal It’s important to remember that Real Life is the source of all art. Real people are the most important source of personality there is]]. [[WriteWhoYouKnow Quite possibly you have seen/met people]] in RealLife that could be a good source of inspiration. RealLife has an infinite source of unique personalities that you can be inspired from. Knowing psychology is also a good starting point to define character’s personality. Even basic studies in psychology could help a lot to get the logic behind very different personalities (even "insane") to write them.

Theme characterization is also a very common and a very good source of inspiration. However it’s important to take care when you design a character to not define a person solely by a role (TheSmartGuy, TheHero, BigBad etc.) or a theme (ShrinkingViolet, TheSmartGuy, {{Yandere}} etc.). While getting inspired by a certain trait may be a good starting point, a person’s personality is more complex than can be solely defined by one thing. For example if you want to make a {{Tsundere}} character, you need to make a person that also happens to be a {{Tsundere}}, '''not''' a {{Tsundere}} that also happens to be a person.

! Developing the personality

! Backstory

! Developing the Personality

Narcissism isn't a synonym of "super high" self-esteem either. On the contrary, it’s a sign of a low self-esteem. People with high self-esteem accept themselves unconditionally, accepting realistically both their defects and their flaws. On the opposite side, a narcissist, instead of accepting him/herself just the way they are, try to exaggerate their own virtues in order to feel better with their own selves.

Depending on the level of self-confidence your character will have we can classify various levels using Nathaniel Branden’s scale

* With high self-esteem, your character will feel “confident” and “capable”, “worthy” and right as a person. They firmly believe in their ideals, trust their own judgment, don’t feel guilty when others disagree with their judgment or ideals, trust in their own capabilities (but may ask for help when needed), and they consider themselves as valuable as everyone else (not superior or inferior, just different).

While your character's own self esteem will be defined by you as an author, it’s important to take care of your character’s background, because it will be the reason your character has their current self-esteem. For instance a character with AbusiveParents is very likely to have a very low self-esteem.

The best way to change a character’s self-esteem is gradually through CharacterDevelopment. For example while revealing a character that was believed to have a high self-esteem as being self-loathing all along (or vice-versa) isn’t uncommon and may in fact be a good way to give your character HiddenDepths, portraying a character that “instantly” changes their self-esteem is unrealistic.

Defense mechanisms are unconscious (this means that your character won’t be aware of them) psychological strategies people use to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. These mechanics are normal for any person.

For this reason knowing is a great way to give your character’s personality depth. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_mechanism#Level_1_-_Pathological Psychological defense mechanisms]] are an overlooked aspect in personality that are a major point in continuity and depth of a character. Try it: pick a favorite character, identify their most important defenses, and now change them. Are they still the same person?

!! Personality disorders

* Extraversion. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extroversion_and_introversion#Ambiversion These kind of characters are mostly identified by their happy and positive dispositions]]; they enjoy being around people. On the contrary, being alone is very unpleasant for them. This kind of character can be best described as "enthusiastic," "talkative," "assertive," and "sociable."[[WhenSheSmiles They are hardly ever seen alone or without a smile,]] unless they're the type that likes to go be miserable with other people or just complain to a crowd.

! How personality is expressed

!! How is personality expressed? (Externally):

This part of the personality is how a character expresses his or her feelings to the people around them. They aren’t necessarily the same feelings the character has on the inside. It should be noted that unless a character isn’t human or is affected by the plot, they must experience the full array of [[EmotionTropes emotions]]. Whether or not those emotions are expressed will depend on how you develop your character.

** [[BodyLanguage Body language]]

!! How is personality expressed? (Internally)

* Is the character [[DynamicCharacter dynamic]] or [[StaticCharacter static]]? Does the personality have room for change?

* What are the characters short/long term [[MotivationIndex motivation]]/[[GoalsAndObjectivesIndex goals]]/desires/temptations?

* What are the character's [[FearTropes fears]]/regrets/doubts/ethics?
* Characterization through [[PersonalAppearanceTropes appearance]] can be important because they may reinforce the character's personality, like choice of [[CostumeTropes attire]] and [[HairTropes hairdo]].

An interesting character will be interesting regardless of sex. Take your favorite character and change his/her sex. Is that character still with an interesting personality? As you may note a character’s depth isn’t going to depend on sex at all.

Most differences that are perceived between men and women are social in nature. In other words the society is going to decide what is acceptable for a male or a female to do. For example the stereotype of [[PinkIsFeminine pink being a female-only color]] wasn’t true in the 19th century, where it was considered a male-only color. What a society perceives will depend directly on the time and place that society is placed.

In order to understand how a character’s personality will be affected by gender roles, you need to take into account the 3 things we spoke of before.

!! Realistic Female Characters

->''Girly doesn't automatically equal stupid. Girlyness doesn't make a show bad, bad writing does.''

The main issue when creating female characters is that they are, most of the time, defined by a stereotype or a role instead of a personality. When not protagonists of their own stories (and even then), they typically have the roles of girlfriends, wives, [[AcceptableFeminineGoalsAndTraits mothers]], [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]], or sex symbols. In other words, they are defined by what society expects of them instead of having a true personality.

[[http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/ One of the most common mistakes while portraying female characters is that they are depicted as an “army of cookie-cutter nice-girls or cookie-cutter beauty queens”]].

When you portray women in a story there should be a diversity of personalities, ambitions, talents, strengths and even flaws. Don’t be afraid to portray any of these to diversify them. Regarding personality there isn’t a “male or female only” assortment of traits, while inside a story and in RealLife society won’t accept some of them.

[[BeneathTheMask It’s your job to define how much your female characters are going to embrace their dreams, goals, interests and how being (or not being) true to their own selves will affect the treatment they get by others and of much their personalities are defined by them]].

!! Additional Reading

** Real people sometimes [[FreakyFashionMildMind dress in ways that are not typical of their personality.]] Real people don't have [[PosterGalleryBedroom bedrooms that accurately represent a cross section of their interests]] unless they have the money to do so and an interest in shopping and decorating. Even people with awesome taste will like a few things that are tacky. Even a person who despises whimsy may bake cupcakes for a living, if that's the job that was available when they happened to be broke.

*** It is important that theme characterization isn’t a pitfall when it is caused by technical issues. For example, anime characters' rooms are often devoid of anything personal (often due to budget restrictions) and they often all wear the same school uniforms; at least some characterization of this sort does not hurt.

** If you change characters' personalities without a pretty good reason, you pretty much going to mess up big time to the pitfalls.

Using a popular example from media, Franchise/SpiderMan [[{{Trickster}} is a superhero that is famous for making fun of his enemies while fighting]]. What some people don't know is that he does this because he tries to hide his fear. The mechanism of defense used here is humor. As you may have already noted, this is a good way to give depth to personality without emotions.

A classic example of a fake [[CharacterFlawIndex flaw]] is being “SoBeautifulItsACurse.” While this trait appears to be a flaw, it is actually a form of WishFulfillment disguised as a flaw; the reason is that a desirable trait is being “masked” as something undesirable. However, it can’t be considered as a true flaw because the benefits of this trait are still present. In this case the character is still going to be considered as special and important because of his/her 'beauty.'[[note]]It is possible for a character to *really* be SoBeautifulItsACurse (say, to be married off against her will or to genuinely suffer because of the jealousy of others), but the overwhelming majority of SoBeautifulItsACurse characters never really suffer for their beauty in anything more than a token or superficial way. In those characters, their beauty isn't a flaw, only a positive trait with a few negligible negative side effects[[/note]]

A classic example of a fake [[CharacterFlawIndex flaw]] is being “SoBeautifulItsACurse.” While this trait appears to be a flaw, it is actually a form of WishFulfillment disguised as a flaw; the reason is that a desirable trait is being “masked” as something undesirable. However, it can’t be considered as a true flaw because the benefits of this trait are still present. In this case the character is still going to be considered as special and important because of his/her 'beauty.'

"Human Nature," according to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, is "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_nature the distinguishing characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling and acting—which humans tend to have naturally, independently of the influence of culture]]."


Of course, the article goes on to admit, "The questions of what these characteristics are, how fixed they are, and what causes them are amongst the oldest and most important questions in western philosophy,"

At the most basic level are biological needs: food, water, air, shelter, clothing, etc. Humans are social creatures, so things like family, friendship and love are among our most complex ones and from a literary point of view the most essential. Finally there's the slightly more individualistic and variable needs of self actualization: the desire to be who we are meant to be, to be respected, to accomplish our goals. These complex set of relationships are what constitute human nature and the essence of our very beings.

Most differences that are perceived between men and women are social in nature. In other words the society is going to decide what is acceptable for a male or a female to do. For example the stereotype of [[PinkIsFeminine pink being a female-only color]] wasn’t true in the 19th century, where it was considered a male only color. What a society perceives will depend directly on the time and place that society is placed.

Using a popular example from media, {{Spider-Man}} [[{{Trickster}} is a superhero that is famous for making fun of his enemies while fighting]]. What some people don't know is that he does this because he tries to hide his fear. The mechanism of defense used here is humor. As you may have already noted, this is a good way to give depth to personality without emotions.

# '''Genetics'''. These factors are in the DNA of the person. They can’t be chosen or changed by the person. For example, sex and age.

[[caption-width-right:333:[-[[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} The woman on the right]] is more realistic than [[VideoGame/{{Half-Life2}} the one on the left]] [[BlatantLies ...right?]]-] ]]

"Human Nature," according to TheOtherWiki, is "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_nature the distinguishing characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling and acting—which humans tend to have naturally, independently of the influence of culture]]."

->"Pegasus should always have an attitude when he's flying based on what he's doing, why he's doing it and how he feels about it. He is a [[LivingProp not a taxi.]]”

-->-- '''LaurenFaust''', creator of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

Finally, it’s important to note that both making characters defined only by his good traits or by their flaws are signs of bad characterization. For example, a villain could hate revenge, while a hero doesn’t. [[CharacterDevelopment Part of being human is not being devoid of flaws but overcoming them]]. Consequentially, having moral flaws will not make a hero less admirable -- on the contrary, [[AntiHero antiheroes]], heroes with flaws uncharacteristic of the archetypical hero, are more fascinating in modern fiction than heroes who have very few/no noticeable moral flaws at all.

Most differences that are perceived between men and women are social in nature. In other words the society is going to decide what is acceptable for a male or a female to do. For example the stereotype of pink being a female only color wasn’t true in the 19th century, where it was considered a male only color. What a society perceives will depend directly on the time and place that society is placed.

* Flanderization and CharacterizationMarchesOn are two of your worst enemies in Personality Development.
** Flanderization isn't generally bad, but using it too much will cause bad reviews and may bring pitfalls as well.

# '''Free will''' (our choices). Regardless of circumstances, every human being is able to choose how to guide at least some aspects of their lives. These choices are a big factor in defining what we are. People in nearly identical circumstances can take different routes of actions. This category includes our history, past and present.