The one thing that is so imported for a good story is a character. Most storys have two or more, and some a cast of thousands! Sometimes the “character” is you. Regardless of who the characters are, you need them without them the story would be lifeless and boring. Start with a few questions:
Where, who, what, when, why and how.
Education, school, occupation, workplace, purpose.
Conflict, dilemma, opportunity, choices/actions (benefits and consequences).
Health, sexuality, mentality, stages of life, danger, triumph/defeat, growth/decay, death.
Of course you don’t need to answer all the questions but try to make your character so complete as possible. If you’re at the point of creating a character, chances are you have at least the idea of a plot/story in mind. Are you’re creating a grand, sweeping narrative such as The Lord of the Rings, you will need an entire world of characters—some good, some evil, some male, some female… even some that are neither good nor evil, neither male nor female. But if you’re creating an introspective story, you may not need more than a single character.
Creating a charactar:
Stap 1: Define the setting your character is going to be introduced. This tells a lot about your character.
your character must exist somewhere, even if that somewhere in some kind of magical land. It may be an apartment in New York, or a castle, in a fantasy world. This not only sets the stage for your character, but will help define him or her, as well.
Stap 2: Think creatively
Not every character in a story has to be human. They can be hybrids, wizzards you name it. Be creative
Stap 3 Archetype/pattern
By starting with broad criteria, you can start to make decisions that will gradually define your character by reduction. A pattern includes a culture and the individual traits (common/everyman or heroic, tyrannical, superman or ogre). You’ll likely want a protagonist (hero) and antagonist (villain), as conflict is the basis of plot.
Maybe you need a secondary character such as a henchman, a best friend, a romantic interest, a sidekick, or a significant other. Note that sometimes, what you think of as the protagonist—the good guy—is painted as the antagonist. You might need anti-heroes, sympathetic “villains”, a femme fatale (an irresistible woman who leads her man into greatness, difficulty, danger or disaster), a treacherous friends or perhaps a trickster. Each of these characters began as archetypes, and then became more defined as the stories were fleshed out.
Stap 4: Add specific characteristics
Once you have your character’s archetype defined, you can add traits and features, remove things the character is not, and generally start to reveal the sculpture buried in the marble. Ask yourself what you want your audience to feel about your character: love, pity, revulsion, compassion—or nothing at all. Rememeber age is a factor. Older is generally seen as wiser. A young villain is generally portrayed and seen as a bad seed or simply insane. An old villain can be all that, but might also be twisted that way by life’s circumstances—giving him a lot more depth. The young, idealistic hero elicits a different feeling than the world-weary veteran who is just doing the right thing. The reactions are all different, think about that if you make a character.
Stap 5: Define your character’s purpose or goal
How your characters deal with the inevitable obstacles that stand between them and their aims will most clearly define them. In complex stories these might cross repeatedly, with the motivations and accomplishments of some characters getting in the way of others, generating further action and twists.
Stap 6: Personality
To really flesh out a character, give them a personality that goes beyond the story itself. Some parts of their personality may never make it into your story, directly, but will help inform the decisions your characters may have to make. You can make a list of likes and dislikes your character has, and make sure the list is balanced.
A character’s attitude is likely made up of complementary traits, which can lead to actions that are unexpected and could change the audience’s perception of your character. For example, the character that loves freedom is likely to dislike authority. If your character is merciless, but unexpectedly rescues a helpless child from a burning building, the audience is forced to rethink the character completely.
Stap 7: Give your character quirks
Good habits, bad habits, or just things the character can’t stop doing without some serious discipline or counseling. This can be minor, such as biting fingernails (which would indicate a worrier), or obsessive hair-combing (vanity or insecurity); or as serious as a drug addiction (somebody who evades responsibility and craves escape), or a death wish (hopeless and forlorn).
Stap 9: External features
Work on external features such as where he or she lives, what he or she looks like and whether or not he or she has any pets, etc.
Stap 10: fears, weaknesses, motivations and biggest secrets
Work out their fears, weaknesses, motivations and biggest secrets. It creates a much more realistic character and helps to develop the character’s archetype.
Stap 11: Use the people around you
Look at people at the mall, or on the subway. Suggestions for characters are everywhere. If you like peoples look, describe to yourself the details you find attractive, and translate that to your characters. If you see somebody that looks scary, honestly tell yourself why that person scares you, even if the reason is totally irrational or politically incorrect. Use this information for your character. When Creating these characters combine these traits—don’t base an entire character on one or two people. Mix it up a little.
Stap 12: Get into character
Feel your character, and put yourself in his/her/its shoes.
Freedom Novel Writing 