The Creation of Characters:
What makes a good character? One that’s believable or unbelievable? Remarkable characters come alive as we read their stories. They stick in our minds and become the very thing we breathe. It is their story we are writing onto paper or typing on a computer. They ultimately decide what happens and who goes with whom. The author is there to express their story and experiences. A good character is one that is hard to forget even though they are only fictional.
Characters often turn into people that we have already met. You observe their actions, listen to the way they speak, if they have an accent or if they speak another language, if they stutter or how high pitched their voice is, and you watch how they react with other people around them. You need to watch how to character transforms and interacts with other characters. You also need to observe how the other characters respond to them. You, the author, need to search for clues to their purpose and significance in the story. Without having the significance there is only a character with no story.
There are different types of characters either major or minor and either unchanging or dynamic. The difference between a major and minor character is: whoever dominates the story is the major character. The more the readers know about the character, the easier it is for them to visualize character. We can learn about a character in a lot of ways like: physical traits, dialogue, actions, attire, opinions, and point of view.
Do not be fooled by all the overwhelming information, there are no limits on a type of character inhabit the story. One of the most important things the author needs to remember is that the characters in the story are the ones who set the mood. They need to convey the same set of emotions as the reader whether it is: happiness, anger, love, sorrow, anguish, peacefulness, tender, or disappointment.
Advice from a published Author:
Here is good advice on creating characters by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author the Den of Shadows series, the Kiesha’ra Series, and Persistence of Memory.
Information from: http://www.randomhouse.com/features/atwaterrhodes/advice2.htm
Eventually every story needs a character. The richer and more alive this character is—the more passion his creator can put into him—the more life the story has. Whether the reader laughs with the character or cries with him, loves him or hates him, fears for him or cheers for his enemies, a reader should never be neutral. In order to do this, the author can never be neutral. Learn as much about your character as you can: What he fears, what he loves, what his dreams and goals are, what his favorite color is—learn anything you can.
Ask yourself:
What is he?
Human, animal, vegetable, mineral, none of the above?
What does he look like?
Tall, short, beautiful, dirty, pale, purple, furred, multi-tentacled?
What does he wear?
Formal attire, jeans and a T-shirt, fur, medieval doublet, Egyptian linen?
How old is he?
Baby, middle-aged, grandfatherly, as old as time?
How does he speak?
Timidly, strongly, obnoxiously, shyly, with an accent?
Then, once you can picture him in your head, learn his name.
Where is he from? What time period? Do you want his name to mean something specific?
You will be spending a great deal of time with this character; take time to introduce yourself.
Ask yourself:
Where is he? Why?
Who is he with? Why?
What is he doing? Why?
Once you have this basic idea and can visualize your character, put him in a situation and let him run. Put pen to paper and see how he reacts. Never assume you know everything about your character. Unexpected ideas may occur that were not in your plan. He might make a decision you did not desire. You give him life, but after that you must step back and instead of asking: What do I want my character to do now?
Finally, ask yourself:
What would this person do in this situation?
