Social characteristics can be thought of as demographics. Are they outgoing or shy? Optimistic or pessimistic? Patient or short-tempered? Greedy, overly-sensitive, confident, competitive, charming, uptight, lecherous and/or kind? What are they most afraid of? What do they enjoy? What are their political, philosophical, and religious beliefs? Are they gay, straight, or somewhere in between? Social: Psychological traits are the elements of the character’s personality. Are they male or female or transgender? How old are they? What is their race? Are they athletic? How is their health? Are they graceful, clumsy, sexy or sickly? Naturally attractive or ugly? Do they have a high-pitched, squeaky voice or a deep, soothing voice? Psychological: The nature of a character’s body affects their attitude toward the world and the world’s attitude toward them. Why do we say three dimensions, rather than four or five or ten? Because there are three aspects of a person’s (or character’s) life: Physical: We don’t care about what happens to them, so we don't care about the story. Underdeveloped characters are called “flat” or “cardboard” for a reason. ![]() We need realistic characters to ground us in these strange environments. This is especially true with stories set in unfamiliar worlds, like science fiction, fantasy, and historical drama. ![]() Also, realistic characters are necessary for the audience to suspend their disbelief and buy into the story. ![]() And the more real the character seems, the more the audience will identify with them and care about what happens to them. We often call good characters “three-dimensional.” Three-dimensional characters are complex and unique, with fully developed fictional lives.
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