Forming your Characters

 So you have your setting as we talked about before....but now what?
Well the most important thing in your book comes next and that is: who is your protagonist?

There has to be someone at the center of the action. This will be the person your readers will be rooting for. (And make them real. Every being is flawed. Everything has a history.) Everlyn Fox is deeply flawed. She comes from a rough home, her father died when she was young and her mother after she meets Oliver. She has temper issues and somewhat trust issues, she is not perfect. But in the end, you care what happens to her because she's likeable and real. Oliver starts out as a hard ass and cocky but as you get into the story he is revealed as a sweet loving guy.  Every great novel is character-driven; your protagonist must be a character worth caring about.

You mold and construct your characters as if they are a real people.
Think of your character as the sun in the solar system of your story. Without it, all of the other elements will freeze or burn up or hurtle into space. Without strong characters that are compatible with one another, your story cannot sustain life.

Steps to creating a good character.

1. What is their name? Their name says a lot about their personality. I use unique baby name generators (for first and last names). Just go to google and type in baby names. There are millions of names out there don't just settle for any common name. You look until you find a name you know will fit the idea of your character. (If you name an assassin a girly silly name no one will take them seriously. Unless you give them the name and the assassin shoots people in the face when they laugh about it.)

2. What do they look like? Short, tall, thin? Hair color? Hobbies? Think about yourself or a friend. You can find good characters in just looking at the people around you. Write down everything about this character. You might not even use half of what you write but you'll know your character as if they are someone you see every day.

3. The most important part when creating strong protagonists or characters in general is: what is there personality? Smart, cute, clever, mysterious, strong, gentle, the list can go on forever. But, whatever you choose make it consistent. I have mood swings of my own and it comes out in my characters. But if you are writing about a character that is not like you at all and you throw something in there they wouldn't do you will have your readers confused.

Another important part when creating a unique story is the protagonist’s relationships with the other characters. Think about who your character likes and dislikes. Why does your character feel that way about them? How does your character act around them? How do they interact with one another?

These are just a few tips to help you build solid characters that are believable.