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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29029
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29029
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Well, it is impossible to tell from what you have told us which of these problems you have, but there is a fairly easy test you can do to find out. Write character descriptions of real people you know. If you are happy with those descriptions than your ability to write descriptions is fine and the problem is that you do not know your fictional characters as well as you think you do. If you can't describe real people either, then you know that your problem is with writing character descriptions.

If the issue is writing character descriptions, here is an approach you can try. Describe your characters in terms of:

- The things they love
- The things they want
- The things they are willing to do get what they want

These are not sophisticated psychological categories, but they are the matter of fiction, which we might reasonably describe as character in action. How your character acts in a story depends fundamentally on what they love, what they want, and what they are willing to do to get it.

You may or may not be interested in why they love what the love, want what they want, or are willing to do what they are willing to do, but the why is a separate matter from the basic what of description. You must at least start with the what and go from there.

Original score: 15