How can I give the 4 children in my fictional story personality traits? One is a bossy 12 year old girl, one is a 11 year old girl that thinks that life is unfair, one is a 12 year old problem solving boy, and the last one is an kind 11 year old boy.Is this enough to develop a whole personality or do i need more information about my characters?
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They are just past the cooties phase and into the everything-is-the-biggest-deal-in-the-whole-wide-world phase. They might be preparing for coming-of-age rituals. Self esteem dangles by a thread over a cliff. Selfish exclusion of kids that don't fit in begins. Competition is taken seriously but play still rules. And don't forget about that first kiss!– Stu WFeb 21, 2016 at 1:55
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@Stu W. Thanks so how cani give them personality traits– WritingNerdFeb 21, 2016 at 1:56
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@Stu W You should have read the question. The children are eleven and twelve and there's no indication that they will grow up and marry in the book. Therefore, their first kiss could be a decade or more after this book's close.– Kai MaxfieldFeb 21, 2016 at 4:57
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I wasn't talking specifically about the characters in the book; I was talking about tweens in general. The OP gave no indication of plot or storyline, so I just pulled from child psychology and experience.– Stu WFeb 21, 2016 at 5:14
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2 Answers
The bossy one. (Per my daughter) She points her finger at me like an accusation. "You said I was the b-o-s-s boss!"
The frustrated one. [My son then says] "Why do we always do what she wants to do. It's not fair!"
"Daddy says I get to make the rules. I'm the b-o-s-s."
"I hate girls!"
"Yeah, well what about Charlotte? You just spent the last hour playing with your hair because we're going to their house tonight."
The problem solver. "Maybe if we tried to compromise we can figure out something we all want to do." Yeah, right.
The introspective kid that just wanders off and does their own thing. "What do you mean you just started painting? We finally all get our shoes on, and now I have to clean paint off the floor?"
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It's far more cute and interesting if your 11-yo girl is the bossy one and the 12-yo boy is the frustrated one. The other two don't matter so much. A dominant male will come across as a bully unless you're particularly adept at working in a strong, moral character besides the bossiness. Really successful coming-of-age stories work in a lot of humor. You might try the Nickelodeon show 100 Things to Do before High School.– Stu WFeb 21, 2016 at 2:33
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I agree with Stu. It's cuter if the boy is older and frustrated at the bossy girl.– AbsFeb 23, 2016 at 1:07
Rather than prescribing their traits, you can let them reveal themselves to you by just putting them in situations together and writing. See how they interact, how they disagree, how they respond to conflict, etc. I find this exploratory writing to be a lot more effective than deciding who's who ahead of time.
