How do I write a fictional character who barely talks and rejects individual identity, but says interesting things and shows signs of a personality anyway?

[JoshRaed]

I have a character who deliberately speaks at little as possible. He is actively against having an identity of his own at the start. It is supposed to be a big deal when he says multiple proper length sentences. I straight up considered having him not know english. But he is said to be boring and that the things he says is boring too. But as a character he would straight up not say an interesting thing aloud if he thought of it. How do I make him come off as interesting anyway?

For added context he has a tendency to just not say anything in difficult situations like he’ll just clam up, and a big part of this is some serious trauma including abuse and constant pressure put on him by other people, and unaddressed childhood loss that lead to him only continuing to isolate himself.

I think the real issue is that his character arc is just sort of lacking in prescience. It’s supposed to be the main thing the story is about but it sort of becomes background noise. There kind of aren’t any quests the main characters go on like there should be. They go on their adventure, spent a bunch of time doing nothing, then got chased down by a particularly strong villain, then he gets put in a mind prison, then confronts his dad, then discovers the rebellion, then the season finale happens.

[moontokkym]

Don't try and make him interesting; try and make him human.

If you make him and all the characters around him act like people, readers will notice the not talking on their own i'n the scenes he's and wonder a little. They'll also notice when other characters make a big deal out of when he does talk, they'll realise it's an unusual thing. Also having other characters react to him talking in line with their own character and how much of the reason behind the selective mutism they know will help give pieces to the audience about why. Say a really emotionally intelligent character hears him talk, they could hug him, or be overjoyed, encouraging and congratulating even though it was only a word or two, while a less aware or more bitter character could mock him "finally he speaks, and for nothing" and then everything in between.

Also try and put yourself in your character's shoes. You are now the traumatised person with selective mutism. You are now trying to exist and communicate with people without speech and sometimes it just gets too much and you freeze. From the outside it looks like you are doing nothing, but what's happening inside? Panic? Fear? Guilt? Anger? Frustration? Turmoil? Chaos? Or rather complète dissociation as you have a kind of outer body experience to protect yourself. Why don't you want an identity? What do you do other than not speaking to accomplish that? How is what you're doing helping you achieve that goal?

Just keep asking questions until you know that character well and then plop them in an environment where other characters reactions to their actions tells the reader a lot.

[kyupol]

They have to be a man / woman of few words. Such people are usually very mature sage types. Read stuff like Bible (words of Jesus), dhammapada, other works of philosophy to get an idea how to capture the essence of such characters.

[krazycafetales262]

You can also look at characters in fiction who don't say much but there actions speak volumes. Ferb from Phineas and Ferb and Wallace from Wallace and Gromit are two that come to mind. I'm sure there are others.

Studying them a bit may help give you an idea on how to make someone interesting without them needing to speak.

[NickRowler]

If you are writing a novel, write it from their perspective. Most of the dialogue will just be internal as opposed to spoken.

If there story is not from their perspective, you can have other ways of communicating like pointing, hand gestures (ASL), writing notes, etc.

In my own work, which is a comic, more my selectively mute character, I rarely have him talk and when he does it's in super short statements and only around his foster family. If you are writing a comic, you could have most of their dialogue be thought bubbles.

[Leyelle]

Well, everyone has more to them than just the things they say. You can show more of who he is through his actions and personality. Even people who rarely talk still have interests and traits that will show through, whether they are infants or nonverbal people. Long before babies start talking you'll see them gravitate toward specific kinds of TV shows, books, animals, etc, that they like and the same holds true for anyone whether they can or do speak or not.

You can focus on his mannerisms and habits. What things does he like to do? He might have unique habits when it comes to his eating or clothes and things like that. I have one character in my novel "Crystal Blue" who rarely speaks, but what makes him notable to the main characters are his mannerisms, which remind her of a bird. Things like that can make characters feel fuller/realer whether they speak or not.

[BoomerZ]

For a novel, good luck. You will have to be constantly pointing out that he isn't talking or the reader will forget he's even there. For a comic, you can use "quiet" panels, only using facial ques. This would require a pretty good knowledge of drawing and I would go a little cartoony so you can push the poses. Think Disney or Dreamworks eyebrows.