How to Use Character Details to Create Verisimilitude

3 Strategies for Unique Details That Lend Believability

I often feel confused by readers who label complex characters “undeveloped.” When a character is sympathetic but flawed, wounded but likable, when she changes in a satisfying way over the course of a novel, why might a reader still feel something is lacking? What I’ve come to realize is that these readers aren’t actually unhappy with the character’s development; instead, they’re unhappy that, to them, the character lacks verisimilitude.

When we say a character has verisimilitude, we mean the character feels real. Often, writers try to make characters feel “real” by lending them flaws, like obsessive ambition (Victor Frankenstein), meddlesomeness (Emma), or cynicism (Katniss Everdeen). They might also give a character defining traits, like fastidiousness (Hercule Poirot), an obsession with coffee (Lorelai Gilmore), or a sharp wit (Elizabeth Bennet). This all works great. But often, it’s the details that are unique to a character, details that we haven’t encountered with any other character we’ve read about or person we’ve met, that make her feel real to the reader.

Here are three ways to create unique character details that will help make your characters seem real:

1. Bend Logic

Don’t throw things at me, but I love The Catcher in the Rye. One of my favorite parts of the novel is when Holden mentions that his childhood friend, Jane, always used to keep her kings in the back row when she played checkers. This is obviously a terrible strategy, because kings are powerful pieces that can be used to dominate the board, so keeping in the back row wastes their advantage. It doesn’t seem to make sense that Jane would do this, and Holden’s only explanation is that “she just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row.”

A million high school students have been tasked with writing about what “kings in the back row” might symbolize, but the beauty of this strange detail is that it gives readers room to form their own opinions of Jane. Is she merely childlike? Especially orderly? Does she feel the need to line up the kings in order to exert control over her pieces because she doesn’t have much control over her life with her awful stepfather? Or is she only trying to let Holden win the game? Whatever your impression of Jane, her illogical habit makes her seem like a real person, because real people often do things that contradict reason.

A detail like this risks alienating readers, though, if it seems to be only a random inconsistency. We might not respect a character who plays poorly at checkers for an illogical reason, but because Jane’s habit makes sense alongside her other qualities, namely her childlike vulnerability, we find her approach to checkers to be endearing and even poignant.

2. Tap Into Flaws

I once told a friend that I’m more of an “everyday” person than a “holiday” person; I find it easy to feel happy on ordinary days but I tend to be anxious and stressed by holidays. (I mean, maybe this everyone?) I shared the secret strategy I’ve developed for making special occasions happier: I think of one thing I want to happen on that day and tell myself that if that thing happens, then I’ll be happy, no matter what else goes wrong: “If I get to see one beautiful thing in nature, I’ll be happy!” or “If I get to eat my favorite kind of brownie, then I can say it’s a good holiday!”

If this sounds familiar, it’s because my friend then asked me if she could use that detail for a character in her book. In Emily Henry’s Happy Place, Harriet has trouble asking others for what she wants. She tries to please everyone and upset no one; she wants to be “easy” for everyone to be around. Out of this flaw comes her poignant habit of secretly choosing one thing that she needs in order to make her birthday “happy,” no matter what else happens. (By the way, I don’t feel Harriet and I share the same motivation for this strategy!) Her friends end up adopting this idea and everyone tries to accomplish their one happy activity before their trip together ends.

I love how Emily uses this detail to turn Harriet’s flaw into something both endearing and a little sad. We root for Harriet to find her happiness even while we wish she would learn to express herself, to be a little difficult once in a while, to choose herself over everyone else for once. Harriet’s unique way of approaching birthdays lends us insight into how she needs to change, but it also makes us feel like she’s a real person with an interesting way of handling her problems.

3. Illustrate Dynamics

You won’t find a story with more character quirks than the movie Amelie. In one lovely montage, the main character’s parents are summarized in a list of their likes and dislikes. We learn that her father likes, among other things, “emptying his toolbox, cleaning it out, and putting everything back,” while her mother likes “emptying her handbag, cleaning it out, and putting everything back.” These practices aren’t entirely unique to these characters (I’m sure many people enjoying organizing toolboxes and purses), but the parallelism between the two practices is unique, or at least it feels unique. With just this short montage, the audience gets a sense that these two people are meant to be together, not just because they share a small habit, but because this shared habit proves they are both orderly and exact.

I think this is also why people love the “hand flex” moment in the Joe Wright adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. After the very serious and chilly Mr. Darcy hands Elizabeth into her carriage, he walks away, seemingly unaffected by the moment of proximity between them. But a close-up of his flexing hand shows that the brief physical interaction with Elizabeth has registered deeply with him. It’s a unique reaction that nevertheless rings true for a character as reserved as Mr. Darcy, who often feels emotions keenly even while he seems aloof. Other women don’t seem to have this ability to affect him so strongly, not even the beautiful and fashionable Miss Bingley parading around the room in front of him; only Elizabeth provokes the “hand flex,” which proves their chemistry. The hand-flex moment is short and simple, but it’s a unique moment that lends the romance a bit of realism.

Tell me your favorite character quirks and other unique character details in the comments!