1. Physical Description: Authors may describe the physical appearance of characters, including features like height, weight, hair color, eye color, clothing, and any distinguishing marks or characteristics. This can help readers visualize the characters and understand their personalities and backgrounds.
2. Dialogue: The way characters speak can reveal a lot about their personalities, thoughts, and emotions. Authors may use dialogue to show how characters interact with each other, how they react to different situations, and what their values and beliefs are.
3. Actions: Characters' actions can also reveal their personalities and motivations. Authors may describe how characters behave in different situations, how they interact with others, and how they make decisions. This can help readers understand the characters' motivations and what drives their behavior.
4. Internal Monologue: Authors may use internal monologue to share a character's thoughts, feelings, and emotions directly with readers. This can provide insight into the character's inner world, their motivations, and their perspectives on the events of the story.
5. External Reactions: Authors may also use the reactions of other characters to reveal a character's personality. How other characters respond to a character can provide clues about their personality and how they are perceived by others.
6. Comparison and Contrast: Authors may compare and contrast characters to highlight their differences or similarities. This can help readers understand the characters' relationships with each other and how they fit into the overall story.
7. Backstory: Authors may provide backstory information about characters, such as their childhoods, family backgrounds, and previous experiences. This can help readers understand the characters' motivations and actions, as well as their emotional and psychological development.
Combining these different means of characterization can help authors create complex, well-rounded characters that readers can relate to and empathize with, while also providing insight into their personalities and motivations.