The key to a successful story, one that makes your readers comeback for more is the characters themselves. If people can relate to your characters in some way, be it emotional or from their own real life experiences, they will keep on wanting to read your story. Interesting characters with a back story behind them will also help as well as a bit of mystery, that will make people curious and wanting more.

To make other people believe in your characters and relate to them you have to relate to them yourselves, if you are in way doubtful about you characters features or personality then chances are that the people who read your story will feel doubtful about the characters as well.

There are simple steps that you can take to define your character and understand them. Even if you have sketches or drawings of these characters they need a personality and a description of how they act and relate to the story.

People take many different approaches to help them define their own characters, and some people take years to fully develop characters. I myself have been developing my own characters for at least three years.

Below is a basic process that I use when it came to finally creating my characters to be used in my own stories. Although I haven’t written their story yet, I know their background and how they act which shall make writing it easier and enjoyable.

Take your time when designing characters, the best characters are thought out and well planned in advance.



1) Your character needs a name.
Although most writers name their characters first, others wait until they know the character, then name them. Remember, this is your own character and you can change their name at any time during the process if the name doesn’t fit the character.
~~Example~~ A name for a muscular strong man needs a fittings name- can you imagine the name Twinkle-toes for this type of character. (Unless of course you want t write something comedic and humorous. Which opposing names are perfect for.)



2) Describe your Character.
List 6/7 adjectives to describe them basically. If you met your character for the first time, what would they be like? Would they be funny, grumpy, larky, annoying, stupid etc...? Make sure that these adjectives don’t contradict themselves. Someone cannot be loving and caring and want to destroy the world.
~~Example~~ I’ll use my own character, Thor, as an example for this. Thor is basically these main points-
-Cheeky
-Brash
-Impulsive
-Flirty
-Annoying
-Childish
-Youthful



3) Describe how your character will act.
This helps you incorporate there movements into your story and helps the reader imagine how he/she might react with other characters and move. A strong man will move with heavy movements that indicate he isn’t one to be messed with while a person who is regal or with a high rank might move with grace or elegance. Include signature gestures and movements that might define them (twitching eye or a hand movement they make when they communicate.
~~Example~~ My own character, Choudou is a perfectionist and is uptight when things get out of hand.
When she’s calm or knows that everything is in order, she’ll walk with a slight strut with her head raised (or held high) but if things get out of hand she’ll walk with hands clenched and walk with a hurried step with her head lowered indicting annoyance or anger.
Try and make sure that emotions are expressed in actions unless your character would rather hide them.


4) What’s their background?
Are they educated? Have they been brought up in a rich family or are they an orphan?
In most stories every character has at least a mention in their background. Their background usually is the most important part as it explains how they came to be where they are in your story. Most villains have a hard and unfair life growing up or they where created for a distinct purpose (such as in a war) or something has changed them.
The main character (protagonist) and the main villain (Villain) usually come from the same background but have gone in opposite ways in most stories. In others the villain and the main character have a history with each other.
For other characters you don’t have to explain much about their back story unless it’s important to the story or the main character or villain.
~~Example~~ My main character- Avion Gene Phoenix.
Brought up by her mother single handed and raised under poverty like conditions. Her mother was killed by Deljio (main villain in the story) when she was eight and she was forced to work on a farm in order to keep herself alive. She made friends with a son of the farmer whom disliked her and then lashed out at her for causing his son to fail at school. After he whipped her she was enraged and burned all his crops with her ability to control fire. (Full history too long for this)
This can only be a few paragraphs but make sure you know your characters history in the story so that it explains why he/she is the villain or main character or even a companion.



5) What is their objective in the story?
Are they trying to stop someone taking over the world? Are they trying to take over the world? Are they trying to win the heart of their sweetheart?
This is the most important part of the story as it explains the goal of the characters. The last thing you want is a well thought out brilliant character who just sits there in a corner having no real purpose in the story.
~~Example~~ Deljio’s purpose is to take over the land in which this story is set.
Make sure there purpose is explained in the first few chapters or paragraphs in the story or in the parts where they appear. They can be subtle explanations (A Character talking or thinking) or to the point (a narrative piece or the character explaining something.)



6) How will they respond to other characters and situations in the story? Will they be shy around others, confident or just want to destroy every being they see?
How your character reacts to others and situations makes a story interesting. If a character just stands and watches through out the entire story then what is the use of that character.
If a character reacts in extreme emotion towards some thing or someone this might imply love or extreme loathing.
A character’s personality can make or break a story so make sure to think this part through. Consider- Do they love someone?
How will they react to the villain in the story?
How will they react to friends or other characters and how will others react to them?
~~Example~~
A friendly outgoing character will be non judgement of other people’s idea’s and be will to be their for other characters- people shall feel happy to be around this character and the reader will like them.
However, the Villain- Will be the opposite in most cases and want to hurt others and is arrogant and stubborn. People will feel threatened and uncomfortable around this character and your reader should feel the same.
The more descriptive you are about how your characters act is the key thing to making people engage with their story. This also includes how they speak and talk to others.



7) What real life things have you incorporated with your characters?
Knowing what real life attributes in your character helps build them. Some authors base their characters on people they know and friends as well as famous figures and even other author’s fictional characters.
Just be sure that you keep most of your character original and not the product of someone else’s imagination.



8) Using your Character.
Write a small profile sheet about each of your characters in your story.
This helps make sure you know who’s who and you can quickly reference them when ever you need to know a little bit more.
Remember, even after you’ve created the character, you can add things on to their personality while writing the story.



Remember there are two types of Characters-

Major Characters-
Usually the Main Character and his opponent. These characters are usually where the story revolves around and is about their journey of confrontation as it were.

Minor Characters- Usually characters who aid the two main characters in the story. These can be friends or henchman, depending on the story.



~Hopefully this annoyingly long tutorial on character development helps you with your own characters and stories.
These rules don’t always have to apply to every story such as a parody or a humours story. If it’s a love story about two people meeting per chance and only serves bad luck stands in there way then there is no villainous character. Dreams can even influence your stories so don’t think there is only one way to write a story.

The best way is to know your characters, plan your story and then the story takes care of itself as you write...



If you have any queries (Or would like to ask me to explain it to you) or requests of anything concerning story writing don’t hesitate to use that little space below for comments.
Dalek Avion- aka Emily Bigg signing off!
2009-02-22