You have a spunky, smart attitude, adolescence character who thinks he knows everything under the sun but his parents see him as a lonely teen looking for friends. So what’s really his personality? How do the readers see him as a character? What is your impression of this boy after knowing what his parents thinks of him?
How your characters view themselves and how other characters view them can mean a lot to how your readers interpret the character.
So, which viewpoint of the character is real?
If you’re looking at the character’s opinion about himself and the thoughts of others, which one really matters? Which one is how the character really is?
Both. If you have a character that sees himself as a playboy but every one else seeing him as a wannabe, you have a complex character. It matters what other characters think just as much as the character thinks of himself.
It’s the blended thoughts of a character that helps the character stands out. Think about real life for a second. Not everyone is going to like you no matter how many times you change and try to please them, so why bother?
How the characters in your book see other characters adds to both of their personalities. For the character that’s being judged, it makes them seem imperfect or different in the eyes of someone else. For the character that is judging then it shows what type of people they prefer and not prefer whether the thoughts about that person is good or bad.
Things to consider:
How do your character see themselves
What is their confidence level?
Their attitude?
Their self-esteem?
How do they see the world?
Now, how do your other characters see them?
Do they think your character have weird mood swings?
Talents?
Attitude?
What do they think of your character’s appearance?
Even if you don’t have plans to use this information in your story to drive your plot, it is good information to know as a writer. The more you know about your characters the better.
Hope this gives you something to think about.
Happy Writing,
Shaquanda