When writing stories, there's always that scene where you want to introduce a character, but at times, this can be hard in the moment. I would think this because I write all the time, and the most stubborn part of the story's progress is the introduction of a character. Do you struggle with this? If so, which characters do you struggle with the most? I know for a fact that I do, especially with secondary or primary characters, occasionally even the main characters or those who appear only once or twice.
Introducing a character can be as simple as literally plopping them into existence and having them go "hey i exist", but the hard part is making their first impressions last. Since new characters come as a fresh slate to readers, how they're introduced can really help with how readers will view said characters as they gain development and whatnot. Really, I have to say my introductions to the more minor characters are my weaker side. Could just be because I haven't planned out stuff for a while (yeah it's probably this reason right here) or because I couldn't quite come up with appropriate introductory scenarios that correspond with the characters' importance to the plot as a whole. I dunno.
Oh, that title was clever. It sounds like an award show host in my head! I tend to vary how I introduce characters. For main characters, I’ll do a brief overview of their appearance and the mood they give off. I think the way someone speaks can be particularly telling (no pun intended). If they snap, they’re a grumpy character. If they babble, they’re maybe more on the immature and naive side. For minor or one time appearance characters, I do the same thing but more concisely. And for characters who you can’t see, but will appear again, i try and describe their voice.
I usually have that problem myself. In fact, I'm having that problem right now with Drake and Heather, a pair of Pokémon Hunters that I'm basing off of Jessie and James. They make their first appearance by reciting their own motto, which I'm still struggling to finish. Typically, I struggle with this most with the main character, which I usually introduce at the very beginning.
I mostly think about the kind of character that is needed in the story or who I want to write, and (this is important) what have they been doing for the past week. It feels weird to have someone unrelated just plop in, and this person has reasons for doing things, right? They weren't born when I first typed their name, so they must have been doing something while the characters I've been following were doing what they were doing: working with or against or unconnected to them. So I generally go with: paths cross (new person finds or is found by known people), visual identification is made (just the important bits, I keep it at enough to pick the person out of a crowd in two sentences), introductions are made when convenient (might be later depending on how action-packed we are right now). I just always try to keep in mind how every character always existed, even off the page. Maybe they were quietly working a 9-5, or they were the boss of a known antagonist, or they just came out of cryo freeze; but either way they spent their previous few days doing something, and that matters to their involvement in the story.
Introductions in my stories just aren't that important to me. They can be as simple as a person walking up and introducing themselves, or they can be as complex as the plot you are building, to me it really doesn't matter. Get a visual and a behavioral impression then move on. To me the real meat of the character is...well, their character. Who they are, and figuring out who these characters are is the real meat of the story and something that should be explored over a long journey rather than given as an introduction. I find that I do rather well with character introduction. This comes mostly with how I write and if you've seen this in one of my other posts, bare with me. I take a character, learn who they are inside and out, then throw them into situations and see how they will act. Often times, the stories write themselves. This makes introductions rather easy for me as I just throw two character into a room and see how they behave.
I Have The Same Problem. I Simply Can't Nailed This Well-Especially When I Tried To Introduce Cassini Into My Story Because...She Is A Spacecraft That I Have To Make A Unique Different When I Have Introduce Actual Cassini And Modified Cassini Individually. So Both Modified Cassini Spacecraft And Actual Cassini Spacecraft Are My Weakness Characters To Introduce Because of Size And Personality Different Despite Having The Same Name And The Fact Modified And Actual Cassini Spacecraft Are Connected By The Same Cassini Spacecraft That Plunged Into Saturn. I Know, I Was Like Make Cassini Spacecraft Having A Identity Crisis In My Story Series.
Introductions in my story? I usually plan our my character introductions and make sure they fit the character. Introductions are usually pretty easy for me to write.
