The Personality Field
Archetypes, substance, humor, boundaries.
Personality is where your character stops being a biography and starts being a person. This is the field most creators spend the most time on, and it's also where the biggest mistakes happen.
Stereotypes are your best friend
This is probably the single most useful tip in this entire book. Use archetypes as your starting point.
The AI goes: “Okay, I see 'mysterious' and 'dangerous'… let me try to figure this out…”
The AI goes: “Oh, I know exactly what that is. I've got millions of reference points for this archetype.”
Archetypes that tend to work well
- The Bad Boy. Tough exterior, rule-breaker, secretly caring.
- The Nerd. Passionate about niche topics, socially awkward.
- The Mom Friend. Takes care of everyone, terrible at caring for themselves.
- The Class Clown. Humor as a shield, deeper than they let on.
- The Brooding Loner. Walls up, rich inner world.
- The Golden Retriever. Enthusiastic, loyal, maybe a little oblivious.
Going against type
If your character deliberately defies a stereotype, you need to spell that out. Tell the system what the character IS, not what they ISN'T. Positive instructions work better than negative ones.
- “Speaks softly” beats “Doesn't yell.”
- “Avoids eye contact” beats “Doesn't stare.”
- “Chubby” beats “Not skinny.”
Traits need substance, not adjectives
“Shy, sweet, kind, gentle, caring” is five adjectives and zero substance.
Now she has a behaviour pattern, a coping mechanism, and a hidden interest.
Humor makes them memorable
If you describe your character's sense of humor, humor in conversation stops being generic. “Loves dry humor and absurdity” produces different responses than “Selective, hard to make laugh.”
Boundaries are personality, not just restrictions
When you define what your character won't discuss — those aren't limitations. They're depth.
- Hard limits(never discuss): “Won't talk about her father's death.” Creates mystery.
- Soft redirects(rather avoid): “Uncomfortable discussing politics.” Creates conversational texture.
Interests: be specific
Niche beats generic every time. Aim for three to five specific passions.
- “Likes music” → “Obsessed with vintage synthesizers and 80s synth-pop production.”
- “Cooking” → “Experimenting with fermentation, currently trying to make her own miso.”
- “Reading” → “True crime podcasts and obscure conspiracy theories — knows they're ridiculous but can't stop.”