How to Write Shy or Stoic Characters

The month of July is all about characters here at JPC Allen Writes. This is my favorite element of writing fiction. I can’t get started on a story until I have a good grasp of the main characters. For my weekly tips, I’m going to focus on certain types of characters, kicking off with how to write shy or stoic characters.

The Problem with Shy or Stoic Characters

Shy or stoic characters present a particular problem with the prevalent style of show, don’t tell. Show, don’t tell is becoming more and more visual, as Janice Hardy points out in her book Understanding Show, Don’t Tell ( and Really Getting It). People expect to be able to “see” a story like they do movies. So expressive characters with broad mannerisms and incisive, funny, or simply lots of dialogue are easier to build on the page. The subtleties an actor uses to convey a character’s shyness or stoicism can be difficult to put into words. 

Drawing Attention to Shy or Stoic Characters

I have a few shy or stoic characters, and they’ve stretched my writing skills as I’ve tried to construct them realistically.

Chris Kincaid is a possible boyfriend for my main character, young adult amateur sleuth Rae Riley. He’s twenty-three with a fierce features that usually mask his true emotions. One way I’ve dealt with Chris’s lack of expression is for Rae to notice and correctly deduce what slight changes in his facial features mean. Rae is the kind of character who notices small details like that because she’s also an amateur photographer. So when she sees a muscle tense a ong his jaw or his eyebrows raise more than millimeter, she knows he’s experiencing a strong emotion. It’s also fun to write because I can make it funny.

“I don’t know what to do.” The muscle along Chris’s jaw tightened.

Wow. I didn’t know Chris found the situation so infuriating.

Another character, Luke Norris, is in his sixties and basically a shy man. He’s the father of Rae’s uncle. One way I can convey that trait is to place him on the outskirts of group scenes.

As the church members lined up for the potluck dinner arrayed on the various tables, Mr. Norris waited near the front door, tugging on the end of his moustache.

When he does speak, I need to make every word count even more than with other characters because he’d only speak when he felt it was necessary.

Other ways to convey shyness are hiding techniques–pressing into a wall, using an object as a shield, avoiding eye contact, shrinking into themselves, focusing on a task or object rather than a person.

Stoicism can be shown with mannerisms instead of dialogue. Nods or shakes of the head instead of “Yes” or “No”. Leaving a scene when angry or upset without a word.

What words or mannerisms have you seen a shy or stoic person use? Who is a memorable shy or stoic character?

Here are more tips on writing characters for novels.