: Re: Do my characters need to have different mannerisms in order to be perceived as different? My editor returned to me with her initial critique of my novel, saying some characters were too similar,

@Kevin153

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Overexplaining and clearly delineating characters are two different and separate problems. It's worth remembering that fiction is not life, and things that happen often in life --like two people having similar likes and dislikes --can be unsatisfying in fiction. Even when people write autobiography, or lightly fictionalized versions of true events, several real people are often combined into one "composite character" because it's easier and more compelling that way for the reader. It's hard for most readers to keep track of many different characters, especially if their differences aren't "cartoony and extreme." Some of us even have that problem dealing with real people.

There's really three different ways to solve this problem. One, already mentioned, is to reduce your number of characters, and to keep only the ones you really need, combining similar characters into one. Another is to embrace "cartoony and extreme" differences. For instance, there are several theater traditions (notably British and Italian musical comedy) that always revolve around variations on the same set of familiar, clearly delineated characters. People may deride this approach, but it's a reliable, time-tested crowd pleaser.

The final solution is just to put in some careful, conscientious work on character building to make sure these characters really come alive as separate people. If you have built them up vividly enough, you shouldn't have to overexplain them --their differences will naturally make their way into your work.

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