Characters

Creating a character requires a lot of time, thought and patience. Finding the character that suits your story perfectly both physically and psychologically is a task that many find extremely difficult.

The first thing to keep in mind when creating a character is not to make it perfect. We all want our protagonist to be beautiful and intelligent, but perfection does not make a character interesting. What makes us fall in love with characters are their faults and flaws. Furthermore, avoid creating villains that are ugly, scarred or completely evil.

Secondly, when creating a character, think of why it looks and acts the way it does. (For example, if you character was attacked by an animal as a child, perhaps it has some scars, perhaps it is scared of all animals...) Most of the time, it is easier to find psychological traits and later fitting a physical frame to it. You can also give very little physical description of your character, leaving the reader free to imagine it on their own.

Lastly, think of how you will present your character to the reader in your story. Not all it's characteristics need to be given at once. (How many people you know like reading grocery lists?) Give the readers occasional hints and brief descriptions along the way, helping them slowly create a portrait of the character.